True purpose of leadership

SOME people are in positions of leadership, but they just occupy the office. On the other hand, some people, both the leading and the led, don’t know the true purpose of leadership. Some people that should be leading are impeding progress. Are you clear about leadership? What is leadership? What are the traits of great leadership? How do leaders respond in times of crisis? What is the true essence of a leader? Out of the acronym “clarity” I explain what the leader must do to accomplish his or her mandate.

Communication

Great leaders appreciate that they will not win alone, but they win with people. As such, they communicate with clarity what they want to accomplish, and how they intend to accomplish their dreams. Communication takes many forms. First, you communicate with your true being. Your unspoken word communicates your attitude. Gravitas (the energy) speaks before the leaders speak. Everyone has an aura that follows them wherever they go. The second mode of communication is overt or explicit through the spoken or written word.

Learning agility

The leader knows that he does not know it all, as such he/she is ever learning and searching for clear meaning. The moment the leader stops learning from others, he/she usually detours into authoritarianism. A leader learns about people. It’s never enough to have an MBA; the leaders must learn soft skills that nudge people to do more. A research that I am currently carrying out on bank executives proves that emotional intelligence (soft skills) is becoming the crux of great leadership more than intelligence quotient (IQ). This takes more learning and unraveling of people’s personalities.

Action

We usually judge people not by what they believe in, but by how they behave. Action (behavior) is an expression of belief systems (thought patterns, or paradigms). Great leaders are known by their fruits and those fruits can be measured using tools such as balanced scorecard (BSC) and key performance indicator (KPI), among others

Responsible

A true leader gets unsettled when he sees situations that need solutions. The moment you feel very troubled about problems around you, just pose and think. Most people when that urge comes their way they want to blame someone. It’s time you become responsible and become part of the people that bring solutions. Never allow yourself to become part of the gang of blamers.

Inspiration

Inspiration is what makes people buy in. John Quincy Adams once said: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

Temerity

And inspired leaders have temerity. Temerity means great confidence or boldness. People are ready to follow a leader who has confidence in the future. People are not so sure of the future, they are looking for a bold Moses that will say: “Let’s cross the Red sea, there is a better promise yonder”. They are looking for a dedicated Nehemiah who will say: “Let’s build this city, to benefit next generations”.

Your purpose

Your purpose as a leader is to take people beyond an ordinary dream. In a nutshell, leadership is the influence and motivation or drive to exploit individual latent abilities, improve one’s surroundings, fulfil obligations, purpose, and the passion to help other people live their best lives. It is being active and impactful on the forefront of development.

This development could be individually, intellectually, ideologically, and institutionally realised, and it may transcend the lifespan of that leader. True leadership offers hope, help, insight, foresight, and intuition through pioneering, modelling, mentoring, modifying, monitoring, motivating, mind development and influencing.