” Great leaders move us. They ignite our passion and inspire the best in us. When we try to explain why they are so effective, we speak of strategy, vision, or powerful ideas. But the reality is much more primal. Great leadership works through the emotions.” …Daniel Goleman in Emotional Intellitegence
This week’s Time published an article on Leadership: Who needs Charisma? Take away from this reading is:
- Take responsibility. Leadership means you don’t duck when things go wrong. Young or old, handsome or plain, quite or loud – the surest way to win followers is to convince them that when the going gets tough, you won’t run and hide. You step in and take responsibility for it.
- Don’t worry about your looks. It’s what you do that counts. Your looks may fool your adversaries but you need to be contextually aware and cognizant of the situation to make your different
- Self-Reflection. It is very important to remember who you are, what you are, who you lead and what you lead. Different situations require different styles. When leader understand the nature of their followers they can get away with an awful lot.
- Stop Talking. Start Acting. Good speech can only get you so far. That’s all. But your actions and your decisiveness is what matters the most. Leaders needs to have a courage to make quick decisions – not spending forever looking for the perfect decision.
- Persistence pays off. Try, try, and try again. never give in. Resistance in the face of adversity is a key quality in a leader.
Bottom line
A great leader’s charisma makes us all into believers. But where does the truth lie between the personas that a leader presents to us and the one we are never privy to. Does it matter?
Yes, It does matter. Leader must be authentic in his/her integrity, in his/her understanding of his/her connections to, and his/her empathy with the people he/she leads. Leaders should see what’s right and possible, not for what’s missing and wrong, and move from strength to strength rather than always trying to identify and fix what’s wrong. You should focus on designing the ideal of what should be rather than envisioning the what might be. Achieving the sustainable destiny is the key. Imagine the future and elevate the strengths, achieve high engagement with your team, create magnetic working environment with strong bonds and a culture that attracts and keeps the best talent.
See Also: Four Pillars of Leadership
