Becoming a leader

When a group of people are together, there has to be a point of agreement. There has to be a common goal, and someone has to take responsibility for the attainment of the goal. He/she co-ordinates a series of activities that keeps the group in harmony, and then, ultimately, take action.

Leadership is the solution to national challenges. When you have the right person at the top, the leader influences every other person. You can guess what happens when you have the wrong person at the top? It is clear that a group of Dogs led by a Lion will likely defeat a group of Lions led by a sheep.

Leaders set goals and achieve them. We can only achieve the goal of becoming one of the largest economies of the world come year 2020 under right leadership. Citizens have to learn to cast their votes for the right person, and not sell their votes. Business executives have to employ the right person. That will solve a lot of problems.

Leaders get the job done. A leader does not compel others to do things, but inspires them to do it. I had to change my attitude of giving orders, to become a leader. It wasn't easy, but I learn't that you have to serve the people you lead.

Leaders challenge stereotypes. Stereotype is a fixed idea or image that many people have of a particular type of person or thing, which may not be true in reality. If you want to be a leader that people will like to follow, then you have to break loose from what the musician, MI, calls "the crowd mentality."

Leaders don't follow the crowd. You should not expect the crowd you follow to follow you. A leader does not follow the crowd; the crowd follows the leader. When an idea has been around for a while,people haven gotten a feel of it, oftentimes, crave for something more. A leader therefore comes up with a novel idea.

A novel idea is an idea that is different from anything known before. It may be new, interesting, and often seeming slightly strange. That's what you need to be a leader. You need to have something that no one else has.

Leaders do things right. Leaders don't only do the right thing, they do things right. Doing the right thing means following the rules. It means doing what is expected. Doing the right thing means following the status-quo or business as usual.

Doing things right, however, means using your own creativity to achieve a better result. A leader may not play with the existing pieces, but seeks to change the existing pieces to get optimum result.

Leaders use their initiative. A Chinese proverb says "If you do what you've always done, you will get what you've always got. A leader sets new rules that are easier ti implement, and more effective. He/she uses its initiative to raise the bar.

Leaders are goal setters and goal getters. A leader has a vision. He paints the big picture for his team, and inspires them to take action. When a goal is achieved, the leader quickly sets another goal, and the circle continues.

Be a leader of one. If you can't lead yourself, you may not be able to lead others. Set goals for yourself, and discipline yourself yo achieve your goals. When you do, other people will join your queue.

Agbolade Omowole runs Interpersonal Skills Trainings for corporateorganizations. He trains for Terry E. Gillen, Institute of Personneland Development UK. He is also a financial adviser at Aims Asset Management Limited.
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