TOPIC:INGREDIENTS FOR GOOD LEADERSHIP
Leadership is the action of leading a group of people or an organization, or the ability to do this. It is about working with people to do new things in a world which is increasingly complex and fast changing.
Every leader needs to have experienced and grown through the following - learning to be dedicated, observant, capable of working with and learning from others, never servile, always truthful. Having located these qualities in themselves, leaders can encourage them in others. He/she must be able to:
1. Define the task at hand.
2. Prepare a structured plan on how to proceed.
3. He/She must have the ability to assign work and resources to the appropriate person.
4. He/She does not allow external pressure to speed up the process of quality control, possibly reducing the quality of the result.
The leader doesn't compromise on quality.
For leadership to be successful, there must be a fellowship with the followership. But LEADERS MUST LEARN! Knowledge cannot become functional wisdom until it interacts with other people’s perspectives and is tempered by reality. That is why only continual learners become enduring leaders!
Some basic ingredients of leadership which we are familiar with are:
1. Guiding Vision: The leader has a clear idea of what he/she wants to do - professionally and personally.
2. Passion: The leader who communicates passion gives hope and inspiration to other people.
3. Integrity, Self-knowledge, Candour and Maturity: Until you truly know yourself, your strength and weaknesses, and know what you want to do and why you want to do it, you cannot succeed.
But what we really need for Good Leadership are:
1. Authenticity: As a leader, authenticity means aligning who you are with what you do. It means making sure that your actions live out your words. If you say something is important, this is reflected in how you spend your time. When we see authentic leaders, we see congruence – people who are consistent in their beliefs and who behave in a way that demonstrates those beliefs in action. For example, if you say people are important, do you spend enough time with people, really listening to them? Authentic leaders have a
reputation for keeping their promises - they are 100% trustworthy because they are driven by their values.
2. Boundary Breaking: This is often the mark of a leader. Boundaries define what people are responsible for and enable them to decide what to do and what not to do. Boundaries exist in job titles, allocation of resources, working practices, methods of communication and hierarchical reporting lines. Leadership is about pushing at boundaries, using initiative and doing new things. It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. Focus on what needs to be achieved and the procedures or protocols that get in the way.
3. Coaching: This is the key to developing new leaders. Some people feel threatened by sharing their knowledge, but these days, most information are accessible through the internet. People, not knowledge, make the difference. Enlightened leaders understand that they get good results by working with the best people. Coaching is one way of developing the best team.
4. Distributed Leadership: This means empowering people to take leadership at every level in an organisation. It means giving the work back to people, instead of trying to be the leader who knows everything and solves all the problems. Use the skills and energy of the people around you. Ask them how improvements can be made. Encourage them to take responsibility for things that are annoying them. If you develop people, you can delegate to them. Delegation is not about dumping tasks you do not want to do. It is about delegating responsibility but retaining the accountability for achieving the desired results. It’s about creating capable people, and it can free you up to be more creative.
5. Emotional Intelligence(EL): By emotional intelligence, I mean understanding your emotions and how to manage them, and it is recognising emotions in other people and then managing your relationship with them. The ability to recognise and manage emotions is considered four times more important than IQ in achieving success.
6. Feedback: It is one of the great tools of leadership. It is the ability to give people real feedback about what they have done well and what needs improvement. Many people avoid giving negative feedback but it is equally difficult to give positive feedback without being patronising. Effective feedback is given with positive intent, either to build confidence, recognise a contribution or to identify what might be getting in the way of progress.
Another facet of leadership is the ability to receive feedback with an open mind and not becoming defensive. The more senior managers become, the more they are protected from feedback. Try to ensure you always ask for feedback and that you are open minded when you get it - it is not always easy to accept other people's views of us.
The above six ingredients fully digested with the basic ingredients make you a leader worthy of followership.
Finally, a leader is best when people barely know that he exists, less good when they obey and acclaim him, worse when they fear or despise him. Fail to honour people and they fail to honour you. But of a good leader, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say ‘we did this ourselves.’ Know yourself. The most inspirational leaders are people who know themselves. Their leadership is developed from the inside out. They are able to speak confidently about their strengths and weaknesses without any embarrassment or defensiveness. They get their confidence from understanding and liking themselves. They are open to feedback and they are able to apologise and admit mistakes. Their self-esteem is based on recognising that no one is perfect, but that life is a journey with lessons to be learnt along the way. Learning about yourself is often the hardest lesson.
Teacher: Elvis Sede
Every leader needs to have experienced and grown through the following - learning to be dedicated, observant, capable of working with and learning from others, never servile, always truthful. Having located these qualities in themselves, leaders can encourage them in others. He/she must be able to:
1. Define the task at hand.
2. Prepare a structured plan on how to proceed.
3. He/She must have the ability to assign work and resources to the appropriate person.
4. He/She does not allow external pressure to speed up the process of quality control, possibly reducing the quality of the result.
The leader doesn't compromise on quality.
For leadership to be successful, there must be a fellowship with the followership. But LEADERS MUST LEARN! Knowledge cannot become functional wisdom until it interacts with other people’s perspectives and is tempered by reality. That is why only continual learners become enduring leaders!
Some basic ingredients of leadership which we are familiar with are:
1. Guiding Vision: The leader has a clear idea of what he/she wants to do - professionally and personally.
2. Passion: The leader who communicates passion gives hope and inspiration to other people.
3. Integrity, Self-knowledge, Candour and Maturity: Until you truly know yourself, your strength and weaknesses, and know what you want to do and why you want to do it, you cannot succeed.
But what we really need for Good Leadership are:
1. Authenticity: As a leader, authenticity means aligning who you are with what you do. It means making sure that your actions live out your words. If you say something is important, this is reflected in how you spend your time. When we see authentic leaders, we see congruence – people who are consistent in their beliefs and who behave in a way that demonstrates those beliefs in action. For example, if you say people are important, do you spend enough time with people, really listening to them? Authentic leaders have a
reputation for keeping their promises - they are 100% trustworthy because they are driven by their values.
2. Boundary Breaking: This is often the mark of a leader. Boundaries define what people are responsible for and enable them to decide what to do and what not to do. Boundaries exist in job titles, allocation of resources, working practices, methods of communication and hierarchical reporting lines. Leadership is about pushing at boundaries, using initiative and doing new things. It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. Focus on what needs to be achieved and the procedures or protocols that get in the way.
3. Coaching: This is the key to developing new leaders. Some people feel threatened by sharing their knowledge, but these days, most information are accessible through the internet. People, not knowledge, make the difference. Enlightened leaders understand that they get good results by working with the best people. Coaching is one way of developing the best team.
4. Distributed Leadership: This means empowering people to take leadership at every level in an organisation. It means giving the work back to people, instead of trying to be the leader who knows everything and solves all the problems. Use the skills and energy of the people around you. Ask them how improvements can be made. Encourage them to take responsibility for things that are annoying them. If you develop people, you can delegate to them. Delegation is not about dumping tasks you do not want to do. It is about delegating responsibility but retaining the accountability for achieving the desired results. It’s about creating capable people, and it can free you up to be more creative.
5. Emotional Intelligence(EL): By emotional intelligence, I mean understanding your emotions and how to manage them, and it is recognising emotions in other people and then managing your relationship with them. The ability to recognise and manage emotions is considered four times more important than IQ in achieving success.
6. Feedback: It is one of the great tools of leadership. It is the ability to give people real feedback about what they have done well and what needs improvement. Many people avoid giving negative feedback but it is equally difficult to give positive feedback without being patronising. Effective feedback is given with positive intent, either to build confidence, recognise a contribution or to identify what might be getting in the way of progress.
Another facet of leadership is the ability to receive feedback with an open mind and not becoming defensive. The more senior managers become, the more they are protected from feedback. Try to ensure you always ask for feedback and that you are open minded when you get it - it is not always easy to accept other people's views of us.
The above six ingredients fully digested with the basic ingredients make you a leader worthy of followership.
Finally, a leader is best when people barely know that he exists, less good when they obey and acclaim him, worse when they fear or despise him. Fail to honour people and they fail to honour you. But of a good leader, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say ‘we did this ourselves.’ Know yourself. The most inspirational leaders are people who know themselves. Their leadership is developed from the inside out. They are able to speak confidently about their strengths and weaknesses without any embarrassment or defensiveness. They get their confidence from understanding and liking themselves. They are open to feedback and they are able to apologise and admit mistakes. Their self-esteem is based on recognising that no one is perfect, but that life is a journey with lessons to be learnt along the way. Learning about yourself is often the hardest lesson.
Teacher: Elvis Sede
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