TOW#481 — What does not make a leader?
The simple question of what makes leaders, leaders, confuses even the best minds that deal with the subject. Many books have been written, but it’s still truly rare to see a proper definition of a leader that you won’t have to think about for hours. This is a problem for many, because they’d like to know how to recognise a good leader. The problem becomes even more acute since many people call themselves leaders, but only a rare few really are. There are many possible banana skins, and they’re usually linked, so let’s take the easier route and look at the things that are not in the job description of a good leader, though many claim that they are.
Being positioned at the top of a company’s hierarchy does not make you a leader
We often call the most senior managers, members of the management team or board members, leaders. Unfortunately for them, and for those who refer to them like that, they’re only members of the company’s leadership. Getting to a certain level in the hierarchy or having a particular salary doesn’t automatically make you a leader. Of course, it’s possible that an urge to lead could be awakened in someone once they arrive at a leadership position, but there are no guarantees. Having a particular title doesn’t make us a leader. The opposite is also true; someone can be a leader without a title or position, but if they lack the title, we overlook their leadership abilities. The important thing for leaders is to be an example to their employees, colleagues, family and friends. Leaders are the ones people turn to when they have a problem and who they believe will lead them onto the right path. A hierarchically superior title doesn’t nurture trust, empathy or inspiration in those people; the question is whether we’re ready to tell them that.
There are no set attributes that make leaders
When we talk about leaders, most of us immediately think of a dominant, charismatic individual capable of inspiring and leading masses of people. This unhelpful image has been planted in us by the romanticised biographies of history’s great military leaders, whose most important quality was that they waged war. Not many of us will lead an army into war, and our everyday activities don’t exactly resemble a war. The fact that we’ll never be like Alexander the Great or Napoleon isn’t a bad thing, and shouldn’t discourage us (even though the reason they’re constantly promoted is precisely to discourage us).
It’s important to be a leader in everyday situations, and there’s plenty of them each day!
We don’t have to be extroverts or charismatic to be leaders. The most charismatic people aren’t necessarily leaders. The influence we spread around and share with others, the conversations we lead and the ways in which we lead them, the advice we give and the ways in which we receive it, creativity and innovation in everyday life, are just some of the important characteristics that a good leader must know how to apply. However, that doesn’t mean to say that these features are prerequisites to becoming a leader. Leaders are unique to themselves and their followers, and there’s a reason why that particular person, and not somebody else, is the leader. Don’t doubt that you can be a leader armed with the abilities you have, and don’t curse fate for not making you Hannibal or Patton. As long as your attributes are helping you and your companions to reach a desired goal, in a way that’s acceptable to both you and them, then take up the reigns of leadership!
Managers are not leaders, and vice versa
People often confuse these terms, manager and leader — which isn’t so surprising. Back in the day, Fayol listed leadership and motivation among the main managerial tasks. Different managerial specialties have developed over time, and, thanks to the needs of organisations, they’ve branched off into separate positions. Since none of us is ever responsible for just one task, there are frequent overlaps, which leads to roles being mixed up. It’s the same with leadership. Do you have a job that you’re responsible for? It’s not easy, and you need good managers. Managers plan, monitor, coordinate, resolve, employ, sack, and many other things. Managers spend most of their time completing various tasks, and thus make the firm efficient, prosperous and in demand. However, they often do nothing more than that, that is, they don’t work with people as much as they should. Of course, there are managers who are also leaders, but such people, unfortunately, are still only exceptions.
What does not make a leader?
On the other hand, leaders lead people; this means that any of the manager’s subordinates can be a leader if there’s a specific team of people that they lead. In other words, he/she spends more time guiding the team than managing their own workload. Shift leaders, team leaders, board members, and even members of a lower-ranking team, are often leaders by the simple fact that their concern for people, their way of managing employees, the examples they give, are not only important for those who are part of their sphere of influence, but also for the whole enterprise. In addition, every employee can be a leader of his colleagues or leader of a temporary team.
After all, what in fact is leadership?
Leadership is a role that anyone can take up, if they know how, and if they dare. If they know how, people will follow them, because people always follow leaders who have proven that they can lead. Leadership is a process of social influence that maximises the work of others for the purpose of achieving a common goal. Others’ work in this case is maximised with the help of leaders who encourage and inspire members of their team. The definition involves finding and achieving something better and greater, and not just influencing without progress in achieving the goal.
Leaders’ starting point is social influence, not authority or power. Leaders make those around them better, and hence more influential in every aspect of their lives, on the foundations of their own example, because people perceive them as trustworthy. The best leaders gather together people from all levels of society, so it would appear that those with the greatest level of social influence are also the best leaders.
Everyone can be a successful leader, no matter their appearance and their style of leadership. The task for us who want to become leaders is to find our style, and to promote it in the best way possible. Therefore, don’t wait for titles; leadership is not something that anyone can give you — you need to deserve it, and take it for yourself.
Wishing you success with the changes to come,
Igor Pureta
Chairman of the Management Board — Grawe Croatia
*You can read the original text in Croatian by clicking here.
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