MY THOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP 1
Leadership has been a subject of fascination to the human
mind for a very long time. Everyone wants to know about it, and everyone can
say something about it. Many a research has gone into the study of leadership,
there are many theories on the subject, and thousands of books which have sold
in their millions, have been written on the subject by various authors and
speakers all over the world. These show the importance of leadership to us as
human beings.
Leadership can be defined as; “The process or act of
influencing people to achieve a task or vision.” From this definition of
leadership, it can be deduced that leadership is made up of three (3) important
elements which are;
- People
- Influence
- Vision
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| Elementsof Leadership |
People (Followers):
These are the followers of the leader, According to a
Chinese proverb, “If a man thinks he is leading,
but has no one following him, he is only taking a walk.” In other words,
a person is a leader because he has got some people following him. The
followers are essential if the goal of the leader will be achieved because they
are the ones to supply the labor needed for the work. While it is the
responsibility of the leader to define the vision of a team, it is only with
the support and participation of the followers that the vision can be achieved.
Considering the famous biblical saying; “where
there is no vision, the people perish…” I would also like to say that; “Where there is nobody to run a vision, the vision
perish.”
Influence:
Influence is the ability to affect or control someone into
doing something that he naturally may not want to do. This is an essential
trait that every leader must possess because it determines how far and how much
the followers are willing to go and give to achieve the set goal. A leader can
be successful irrespective of the vision if only he can get the right people to
believe in the vision.
Influence can be a function of age- an elderly man will
normally have an influence on younger men; it could be by wealth- A rich man has some
degree of influence on the poor; it could also be by position- the boss can influence his
subordinates; and it could be as a result of an individual’s past achievement. People will
always follow anyone they find better than them at something.
Vision:
Vision is that which is intended by the leader to achieve
within a set time. The vision defines the belief of the followers and they will
remain loyal to the leadership as long as they believe in the vision. Vision is
the yardstick for measuring the success of leadership. No matter the number of
followers or how charismatic the leader is, if he does not achieve the set
goal, he is a failure.
Vision can be something as mundane as collecting 1000 pieces
of shinning stones to something as difficult as building a tower that would reach
into the heavens. It can be as great and noble as Bill Gate’s vision of
eradicating malaria in the world, and it can be as evil as Adolf Hitler’s
vision of a world without Jews. The leader only needs to make the followers believe
in it.
In conclusion, Leadership is about influencing people to achieve a goal. The success of a leader is a function of how well the leader can influence his followers to work towards achieving the set goal.
In conclusion, Leadership is about influencing people to achieve a goal. The success of a leader is a function of how well the leader can influence his followers to work towards achieving the set goal.
Do you have a contrary opinion or something(s) you will like to add? You sure have you perspective of what leadership is and what its not. Please let us know in your comment. Thank You. :)
