THE LEADER STARTS FROM THE BACK (SERIES 2)
I recommend that if you are looking for a leader, don't look for a leader at the front row. Exceptional leaders do not start out as senators, governors, CEOs. They are those you will find just behind the scene. So many of us have at one time or the other craved to be Bill Gates, Warren Buffet etc., but we never really realize or dig deeper into what it means to carry such names. I am not saying these are exceptional leaders, but looking at what flows into their wallets, we believe only a good leader who has led a team well can have so much going on for them. Here we forget whatever input these people must be putting into the leading a team, responsibilities attached to managing the people, headaches from resolving conflicts between teammates etc.
Hey, being a leader starts with very menial things, starts with the way you treat the man at the gate of your organization. It is often possible that life leads you on a faster pace of good unfolding events than your mind can handle. We get into such positions because life has smiled on us, but we are not prepared mentally and emotionally for what life has placed in our hands. Here, not knowing what is in your hands will not allow you maximise its potential. If you seriously dont know how to take good care of it, you could suddenly lose it.
Isnt it amazing that leaders actually come from places that are ordinary, where they deal with ordinary issues. So, let me remind you that when you are clamouring and craving to be a great leader or exceptional team lead, you are asking for trouble. Think about it, anytime you move up the ladder in a structured organization like the corporate work, you are paid more money, but it comes with more responsibility. In the basic hirarchy in such organizations, the Manager most likely is getting more paid than the Secretary, the Regional manager is getting more paid than the branch manager. Isnt it obvious already, they are paying you more just to resolve conflicts. I remember working in the last organization I served, issues always arise from one teammate not totally agreeing to what the other has said and it sometimes results into the battle of words and drags itself to my table as the manager of the organization then. Only then do I realize that the extra pay for me, is just to stand in and get the whole team commited on the common goal, resolve conflicts and settle quarrels. Only then I realized that having a good degree is not enough, I was being paid to manage pressure and ease struggles within and without.
Interestingly, as simple as it sounds, all of us are leaders in one way or the other. Some of us lead a family, a group of people, a band, a choir, a business, some of us even lead ourselves.
Getting your thoughts all together about leadership already..... To be continued...