We seem to have an obsession with ‘Leaders’. At least once a day I see a post relating to the qualities which make a good leader and wonder why really. Most of our Clients (in PTP) want authentic, hard working people, knowledgeable in their area’s of expertise. If they were all leaders, mayhem would ensue I imagine.
Today, for example, there were a huge number of likes on LinkedIn for a post on Boss Vs Leader. According to the post when it comes to authority a Boss says ‘I’ and a Leader says ‘We’. ‘We’ is great when everything is going well but sometimes you want a Leader who says ‘I’ – someone who takes control and responsibility and with conviction says “I believe we go that way no matter what anyone else thinks and I’ll accept the consequences”. Comparing Leaders to Managers again gives the perception that being a manager is somehow not quite as honourable. Why ? Don’t managers lead ?
In my opinion the success of a leader is proportional to the quality of the team he/she has working with them. Leadership ‘qualities’ are qualities we should all aspire to not just ‘leaders’. The constant flow of quotes from famous leaders as examples to us all serve only to make the leadership concept seem less attainable to the ordinary worker who has achieved no fame or fortune for the hard work, sacrifice and dedication he/she has put in. The term is now over-used, removing the label might help us recognise some of the qualities in ourselves, our co-workers and allow us to focus on those we can improve on.