The Myths About Leadership and How Anyone Can Be a Great Leader
The most important skill set in crisis situations is not being able to build a shelter or hunt wild game, it is having proper leadership. Without vision, motivation and direction the finest tools or tradesmen become their own worst enemies and of little help to any situation. There must always be a goal or next step to keep the mind focused on reasons to continue working for a better life. Without direction and motivation most people will simply give up to whatever fate they have resigned themselves to.
The word "leader" can conjure up many images from the stalwart captain of an ocean vessel to the ego maniacal head of a polygamist cult. There has been much stigma attached to the label most of which is pure romanticism. A true leader does not command respect through amassing power but earns it through helping others empower themselves. In many ways the definition of a good leader has more to do with service than it does with command.
It might seem impossible for you to consider yourself to be a great leader. Some believe you have to have certain innate qualities at birth in order to be an effective one. Contrary to popular belief, leaders are not born, they are forged. You are never too young to be a great leader. Mark Zuckerburg started his company at 23. Solomon took the throne of Israel at 10 years old. You are never too old to be relevant and effective. Mary Kay started at 49. Colonel Sanders opened his first chicken shack at 65. Ray Kroc was 52 when he started working with a little burger joint called McDonald's.
You are never too 'stupid' to be a great leader. No matter what opinion other's hold of you they do not determine your destiny. When growing up as a child Thomas Edison's teacher had told him that he was just too stupid to succeed at anything. F. W. Woolworth, while working at a dry goods store, was told by his employer he couldn't wait on customers because he lacked the sense needed to do so. Walt Disney was fired from his job at a newspaper by his editor because, “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”
You do not have to lead a privileged life to be an great leader. Less than 1% of successful businesses had founders from extremely rich households. Oprah Winfrey grew up in an abusive home and was fired as a television reporter because she was "unfit for TV." J.K. Rowling started her multi million dollar business while on welfare. Madame C. J. Walker grew up in Mississippi the daughter of slaves, and became arguably the first black millionaire in America by developing a commercially successful hair straightening system. After being in prison for 27 years convicted of sabotage, Nelson Mandela went on to lead a nation.
You do not have to be perfect to be a great leader. Leaders make mistakes. Abraham Lincoln was a failure at business and suffered a nervous breakdown as a result. Henry Ford went bankrupt 5 times before starting the Ford Motor Company. Akio Morita's first product was a rice cooker that burned rice but went on to become the founder of Sony. R.H. Macy started 7 business that were total failures before founding the department store Macy's. Great leaders rise from their mistakes to become wiser and stronger from the experience.
You are never too 'weak' to be a great leader. Moses stuttered and needed Aaron to speak for him. John Milton, author of "Paradise Lost" rose to be a literary authority after he became blind. Alexander the Great King of Macedonia suffered from epilepsy and was considered to be one of the greatest leaders of history. Franklin D. Roosevelt had Polio, was governor of New York State then became elected President of the United States for 4 terms. Steven Hawkings is considered to be the greatest scientific leader since Albert Einstein and suffers from a motor neuron disease that confines him to a wheelchair leaving him unable to move most of his body.
There is no stereotype for who will make the best leaders. Great leaders are simple people who rise to meet extraordinary circumstances. They can come from any creed, race, gender, ability or age. Each of us has the power to remove these preconceived limitations and take on the mantle of leadership when called on to do so. To good leaders challenges are opportunities. They do not make excuses but help craft solutions. Anyone with a will to succeed can be a great leader.
To learn what good leadership is we must define first what it is not. Leadership is not bullying people into agreeing with you. You cannot force someone into consensus. It will matter very little if your decision will save lives. Trying to make someone do things your way will only lead to rebellion and separation. A good leader is not unyielding or a tyrant.
"You don't lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership." Dwight D. Eisenhower
Politicians are not good leaders. There is an old saying; "A camel is a horse designed by a committee." The point of the statement is to illustrate the ineffectiveness of too many conflicting opinions on a single project. Trying to consider all avenues could result in so much time wasted that any plan would be pointless. A good leader has to have a vision that people can relate to and would be willing to follow.
"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus." Martin Luther King, Jr.
Leadership is not management. Leaders are innovators of better methods to benefit the group as a whole. Managers take care of routine situations that arise day to day. A great leader will have many managers but does not concern themselves with management. Rather, a great leader uses their time to motivate, facilitate, educate and advise many managers.
"Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing." Tom Peters
There is no glory in true leadership. Great leaders do not make pompous speeches and take credit for being able to accomplish so much with the help of the "little" people. They do not measure their performance in hash marks but by the people who follow them and how they engage them. A true leader must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them to success. This type of leader enables others to be successful by working along side them. In the end the glory belongs those he/she helped become victorious.
"A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves." Lao Tzu
Great leaders do not sit behind a desk delegating all day. Truly great leaders are always working in every facet of the society. They are leading by example working the fields, building the dams, and are the first to step into danger. By their actions they inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more. Leadership is not practiced in planning or public speaking, but in decisive action with a positive attitude. A great leader knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
"It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership." Nelson Mandela
There are many myths and misconceptions about what leadership is and we have spent a lot of time describing what good leadership is not. A great leader must be many things to all people. He/She is a counselor, a teacher, motivator, servant, as well as an advisor and visionary. Great leaders do not stop at impossible and innovate new ways to overcome.
"Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve." Tom Landry
If any aspire to lead they must never quit being a student. Being a leader means being in a constant state of learning. A great leader is never satisfied with "good enough" or "works just fine." A leader that stops learning becomes ineffective the day they quit pursuing advancement. Free time for an effective leader includes a great amount of study and experience to advance the good of everyone.
"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." John F. Kennedy
The best leaders care more about the well being of their community than they do their own. They don't collect storehouses of goods by hoarding them in private barns. Their wealth is spread to their neighbors and kept secure by the advancement of those he/she has helped become successful. Their riches are not in gold, silver or meat within their own homes, but the treasure on every table and in every home within their community.
"A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better." Jim Rohn
In the end leadership is not about seizing power or controlling resources. It is about empowering people to live in an abundance they created for themselves. It is about inspiring others to believe they can be more, to achieve more than they ever dreamed. It is about motivating people to doing the hard work and take the steps necessary to complete what they perceive to be impossible. Great leaders do not keep vassals or amass followers to command armies of soldiers. Truly great leaders are with the people to be one of them and not to rule above them. The best leaders work everyday of their lives to make themselves obsolete though great leaders never are.
