What is leadership?
There are many ways in which people have defined leadership across time and age. I have been privileged to come across a few of those definitions. Amazingly, all the ones I have come across in my study about leadership are insanely good. However, the definition that resonates with me the most was the one given by John Maxwell, who defines leadership as “Influence, nothing more, nothing less!” Maxwell also says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership!” I couldn’t agree less with him because, whichever way you look at leadership, it is simply about influencing, inspiring, and motivating people to do things they would not think of doing on their own. Leadership is taking people from a state of inactivity to a place of extraordinary accomplishment. When you can genuinely mobilize people to get things done without force or coercion, you become enlisted in this type of ingenious leadership. But when you fail as a leader to inspire people to get things done, it reveals a deep flaw in your leadership ability.
Now, to tweak that definition a little more, I would like to imagine leadership as you being grounded in your authentic self and not needing the blind followership of people to be relevant. For real leaders, followership should not be at all costs! As a leader, you must be unapologetically your authentic self. The right people and opportunities will align and make things happen for you, while the wrong ones will fall away as withered leaves.
There have been many questions about those who aspire to become leaders. The problem is not always with leadership aspiration. Some people have thought it is wrong to aspire to become a leader. No! There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a leader. What you should be concerned about is why you want to become a leader. This is a question that reveals your leadership motive, intent, and purpose. Your motive is very important if you hope to become a leader that society would be proud of and to celebrate.
Why Do You Want to Be a Leader?
What is the intent and purpose of your leadership? Any leader who has not genuinely arrived at this answer is not yet fit to lead. If he does, his leadership will be chaotic! In addition to that, he will lead with an iron fist. The goal of your leadership should not be to seek followers but to inspire climbing companions. I am referring to people who are going to share in your leadership pain and struggles. People you can look into their eyes and call your friends and not your fans, or even worse, your subjects! Zig Ziglar said it perfectly: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Great leaders don’t finish ahead of people; they help bring others to the finish line. Don’t feel any sense of accomplishment until all your team members have something to point to as their own achievement. True leaders only have their fulfillment in the positive outcomes of other people. The mark of achievement for them is making other people win big in life. To be an effective leader, here are the seven habits I think every highly effective leader should cultivate:
Seven Habits of a Highly Effective Leader
- Creative Thinking
The number one responsibility of a leader is to pay the price of creative thinking for the people he is leading. There is a high premium on creative thinking all over the world. CEO of big corporations are not paid to do physical labor, but to think. They have to imagine the future that is not yet and inspire hope in people to commence on the journey to that future. Henry Ford articulates it well when he says, “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it.” Leaders must spend enough time thinking of a better approach to doing their work. Sometimes, to get the best result, leaders must embrace shared thinking with their team members to come up with a variety of ideas that can move the organization forward. - Execution
No matter how lofty your dream or ideas are, they are not going to amount to anything if you don’t execute them. For leaders, execution is everything! The act of executing is the art of getting things done. You may start by breaking your task into manageable acts to streamline your work. Napoleon Hill says, “If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.” The incompetent leaders are those who cannot get things done. But for you to earn the classification of a good leader, you must learn how to get things done without using coercion or brute force. It is because of this leadership responsibility that I believe that the act of getting things done is the real art of leadership. - Focus
A leader must get focused and refuse to be distracted if he must be on top of his game. There are many things that are constantly calling for the attention of a leader, moment by moment. He must not give in to frivolous and petty things. He must set his priority on getting the first thing done before moving on to other things. The mantra for a leader should be to get things done one thing at a time. Don’t put all your firewood in the fire at the same time. Determine what really matters today or in the moment and focus on it. Don’t be overwhelmed with many activities that only distract from achieving your main goal. Stick your life around this advice that was anonymously given: “Decide what kind of life you really want and then say no to everything that isn’t that.” John Maxwell reassures leaders that there is actually no loss when you focus. He says, “What you focus on expands!” It doesn’t shrink. It enables all the details to emerge for you for a corresponding and robust action. Distraction is what shrinks our dreams, not focus; so get focused! - Let Go of Your Past
The best we can do with our past is to learn from it. We cannot change it or rewrite it. The past for most of us is often very painful and traumatic, but we must not let it control us. Your best chance of any better outcome is by focusing on what you do today and ensuring that you do it very well. Your past does not define your entire life. The past should be allowed to remain in the past while we focus on today, for the hope of what tomorrow holds for us. Brian Tracy says, “Your past is a chapter, not the whole book. Turn the page.” If you don’t learn the act of turning the page of your past, you will be stuck in the past. It will leave an indelible imprint of pain and regret on your mind. You need to give yourself a new break! Start your life afresh if your life has not been very exciting in the past. Life can be beautiful again if you’re determined to work at it! - Do not Make Excuses
You either create a future that you can be proud of or continue to make excuses for why things are not working for you. The choice is yours! Excuses are bricks made into the wall between you and your goals. Please do away with them. Channel the energy you put into making excuses into making your dream work. Excuses are only good at excluding people from their potential successes. If you cultivate the habit of making excuses, you will be excluded from the good things of life. - Learn from Your Failure
Your failures in life are not out to trap you, but are there to teach you valuable lessons about life. “Failures are part of life. If you don’t fail, you don’t learn. If you don’t learn, you’ll never change.” – Anonymous. My greatest lessons about life have all come from my big failures. At first, I thought they were going to crush me, but after a more careful and patient listening to my inner voice, I clearly saw the insight those failures brought to my life. Every one of us should learn how to profit from our failures. We shouldn’t allow our failures to bring us to a place of despair, but to a place of deep insight about ourselves and what we do every day. John Maxwell says, “Your mistakes do not define you; they educate, empower, and enable you to reach your true potential.” - Consistency
Consistency is not a very attractive word. But it is the main ingredient for leadership success! You need to learn to show up daily for your life’s assignment to be crowned victorious. Consistency may be very boring, but it is what holds the key to your leadership success. The real definition of success most times is waking up every day doing the same things all over again without the feeling of boredom. As a leader, you have to grow daily by reading, journaling, listening to podcasts, and being committed to adding value to people around you. A leader who isn’t growing cannot take people to the next level of their lives.
On a final note, I hope I have inspired you with great insight about leadership intent and purpose, which is far important than busyness with activities. So, leading with the right motive is what everyone of us should strive for in our leadership. If our motive is the pursuit of the right leadership mindset, the outcome will be pleasant. But if the motive is wrong, it will be a source of generational pain.
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