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Demosthenes

Leadership

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Is it simply a trait that is inherently granted? Or is it a skill that must be learned and mastered before it actually becomes anything worthwhile? Before answering this question with the answers provided; consider another question first. Why can’t it be both?
Granted, some people are born with a gift to lead others, but it doesn’t mean that they always do it the right way. They may have the ability to work others over with their elegant way of wording things, but lack the authoritative tone to actually produce positive results. On the other hand, some may have been gifted the harsh tone and bark of a prominent leader, but lack the tact needed to coax others into doing as they intend. Leadership is something that will always need constant attention, and one style will not always work with everyone you lead. We all come from different backgrounds and have different ways of influencing others, and of being influenced. Use your background to your advantage when you can, otherwise learn from the people around you to find the ways of dealing with those people you just can’t seem to connect with. Adaptation and spontaneity are two very good traits that all leaders should acquire.
Being an effective leader doesn’t mean knowing how to give commands and expecting them to be followed. Leaders must know themselves, every strength and weakness. It’ll always be these attributes, whether positive or negative, that define who you are, especially in the eyes of the ones that make it their duty to follow you. Because in the end, it doesn’t matter what you think of yourself, it matters how people around you can gauge your confidence and ability to lead through the actions you take and the words that you choose to speak. Make yourself an image to be replicated; an image that others wish they can be, with the right encouragement and ultimately smart decisions.
Every success and failure is detrimental to the process of becoming a good leader. You must show your team that you can achieve victory, but also your team needs to be able to see that you can accept defeat and failure, and still move on, learning from your mistakes. Its not how many times you fail or succeed, it’s how you allow yourself to grow and learn from these experiences that shows others who you are as a leader.
I’m not saying to not try to achieve perfection in everything you do. A great trait that historical leaders all share is perseverance. The will to always push themselves further than they previously thought capable in order to achieve new goals and reach new heights. Allow yourself to fail. Allow yourself to show weakness and your team won’t learn to take advantage of these mistakes but will learn that you aren’t this grand image that they cannot emulate, but are rather a person that they can relate to and are more willing to become.
Leaders must know every aspect of the men that they are leading. As a leader, your followers must be able to follow you out of, not awe or fear, but instead out of mutual respect. Not respect because they see something in you that no one else has, but rather, everyone has. So each and every one of your followers can relate to you somehow, whether it being ignorant on one matter or another, or being less proficient in a specific area than somebody else.
It’s the weaknesses that others can relate to; it’s the common fact that humans fail that brings you closer together as a team. When two rivals face a new danger of overwhelming power, they recognize this new problem and understand that they have a dilemma that is shared by both sides. Putting aside all differences, they work together for a common goal and achieve greater ends by working together. It is paramount that you put aside all personal feelings towards the people you work with to accomplish a common goal.
When it comes down to it, leadership is not a talent that all possess. It’s something that must be learned and mastered just like riding a bike or throwing a football. It comes down to your own ability to learn and your hunger to better yourself. You must learn to not base your ability to lead on charming or frightening your team, but rather a combination of the two, a happy medium. You must learn to gauge the responses of your team and of your opponents in order to make a decision whether to call the bet and play your hand, or to fold. A smart fold or surrender is sometimes as good as a victory, giving you the opportunity to lead again in the future.
There is no better way to build loyalty and to inspire. Allowing your team to see that you care about their welfare, shows that you value their future rather than the present situation. It’s a necessary loss, and it will cause more mental and psychological anguish to you than needed, but it is a burden that is the key to success down the road. The greater the burden you bear, whether it be physical or mental, the more you absolve others of hardship. In turn, this allows others to learn from you; that leadership isn’t given, it’s earned.
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