As we move towards the second and last phase of the leadership course (not the learning off course), there are learnings as well as questions (and some with their answers) that this course has provided us with. Learnings off course give us all the leadership theories, facts; figures etc which help us in the necessary understanding of concepts and principles (which are very necessary) but questions give us another paradigm to think. Leadership is probably one of the most talked about everywhere, but the least understood. Our ancestors and to a certain extent, we all, associate leaders with a charismatic personality or grey hair or people with experience or a set of mastered skills. But what in reality makes someone a leader or an effective leader? Is it only the support of the masses or the ability to topple governments or being the CEO of an organization? Well to most of us, this is what symbolizes leadership and leaders.
Consider this example (from today’s newspapers). Adhishree Gopalkrishnan, a class 9 student and her parents took the lead to fight a case against the alleged fee hike by private schools. Are they not leading the way for the benefit of the society? Are they also not leaders in some sense who are knowingly or unknowingly doing it for everybody?
We all know that an entire nation followed Mahatma Gandhi but what was there in a lean, thin, non-charismatic guy who was not even a good speaker. Well, it was his attitude and actions which gave him the ability to lead and so it’s important to shed some of our common, age old beliefs and understand the real meaning of leadership and the traits of a good leader.
In the organizational context, most of us are forgetting the role of leadership and its importance in the execution of our roles and responsibilities and our everyday lives. Is leadership a skill or an attitude? I choose to call it an attitude because attitude is what shapes everything. If a porter has all the skills in the world but no attitude to dirty his hands in the mud, the beautiful sculpture would never come out. But on the other hand, if he has the right attitude, he can do wonders. The same is with leadership and leaders.
Does position alone makes you a good leader or tells that you have a leadership attitude or ability. I believe no because had that been the case then no organization would have faced any issues that they face today.
Does spending 25 years in an organization make you a good leader? Is it just the sheer longevity of the job, experience that matters and is that why people today are heading the organizations or departments? Well unfortunately, in most of the cases it is the case and that’s why organizations tend to suffer from cultural and organizational issues including the succession planning.
So what exactly is leadership? Can it be learnt through books? Yes, we can study and learn all those books and concepts on leadership but to be an effective leader, you need something else and that’s called attitude, understanding and execution (the same can be broken down into multiple traits at times). You also need to have a vision and more importantly the sight of the goal that you intend to achieve and an effective way of communication that may not necessarily be verbal always. You don’t always need followers to be a leader. You can be a shop floor worker who thinks that wastage can be reduced and hence you take the lead, talk to the authorities and implement it, make everyone understand the benefits and scale it. The trust and confidence are earned and not learnt. Off course learning gives us the necessary skills and understanding but it’s one’s own attitude and will (combined with other traits) that makes him an effective leader.
--By Gaurav Sharma
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