A leader’s ability is to get things done. A leader should show an example and be a model for their peers, they should be creative, innovative and efficient.
Leadership allows you to communicate a clear vision and then unite your team around that vision. Ultimately, effective leadership improves your company’s base, resulting in fewer mishaps and people striving for continuous improvement. Here is a short story that we hope will make this message clearer.
Once there was a young boy in a small village who was addicted to eating sugar. He would continue to eat sugar in excess despite his mother scolding him over and over again.
One day while inquiring about how she could help her son, one of their neighbours told her about a wise man who might be able to help. So, to get help for him they went to the place where this man stayed. She requested him to help her son with his addiction, as it was not good for his health. He replied, “I cannot tell him that right now but you can bring him back after a month and then I will talk to him!”. Hearing this, the mother was puzzled as to why this well reputed wise man didn’t give any solution to her problem and she went back home.
After a month, they visited the man again. This time he looked at the boy and said, “Young boy, you should stop eating sugar as it’s not good for your health. Listen to your mother and follow her”. The boy promised that he would not do it again.
The boy’s mother curiously asked him “Why didn’t you tell him this the last time when I brought him here?” He gently smiled and said, “Mother, last time when you came, I had the habit of eating a lot of sugar myself.”. This man was none other than the father of India, Mahatma Gandhi.
If you want to be a leader who wants to be followed or listened to, then you should lead as an example for the things that you want others to follow. By leading the way yourself you will grow people’s confidence in you.
So next time when you lead a team and you ask a person to do a certain thing just pause and think for a minute, am I really doing it myself? Am I showing an example? If your answer is a yes, go on!