Reflections on Practicing Effective leadership

There is so much buzz nowadays about the concept of leadership. Everyone that has some position of authority seems to call themselves leaders. To burst the bubble, that is not what leadership really means. Yes, getting certain positions does open up the opportunity to lead. For example, if someone is the president of a country then being a good leader would definitely help them in that role. John Maxwell, does provide some very good insights on the topic and mentions that the position is merely  level one (of five levels) in the ladder to be a real leader. He also points out that the organization is always one level behind the leader, so if someone is always stuck at level one, the organization will struggle to achieve any meaningful results. This is usually followed by constant churn of people coming in and then leaving.

Leadership can be very complex in larger organizations but it really comes down to some basic principles to be an effective leader. Here are a few:

• Have a clear vision and goals
• Influence others to share the vision
• Enable others to achieve the vision
• Lead by example at all times

John Maxwell will say that leadership is all about influence as the end goal. The vision is very important and being able to communicate that will be the first step in the process. Being good at building strategy will play a key role in this first step. Bear in mind, leadership could come into play in various situations. For example, if a group of people are in danger, then the vision of the leader in that case is to get everyone to safety. 

Once, the vision (The concept of MTP is a great way to create vision statements) is fairly well understood, then it's time to sell it to others for them to join in on the mission of achieving that vision.  Good communication is critical which also goes into how the leader enables that the team for the vision.  Humility really comes into play as an important characteristics of a leader. One has to accept that the focus is on the vision and not yourself.  In the bible, the Jewish messiah is a great example of being selfless at all times. Most aspiring leaders fail at the art of humility as they always seems to like authority and the spotlight of credit and so forth.  It is very important to listen and enable within the context of the vision. Let the smart people share their part of how things could or should work. Of course others will praise you for achievements but have to avoid distracting your energy away from achieving even more. Never forget to share the accolades with the team that is helping to achieve the vision.

The final important point is that the leader has to set examples. Always demonstrate full belief in the vision and going out in front to fight for it. In ancient times, kings would lead their troops into battle. Not just hide in the palace and hope things work out.  The leader has to keep learning, get into the trenches and support the mission 100%. This could mean doing just about anything to help. Outsourcing is great to get help but you just cannot outsource the core of ensuring things get done.

Taking these principles and applying them to even more complex situations will work. For example, the CEO of a large multi-divisional corporation has to know how to organize the business to succeed without the need to babysit every single employee or manager. The CEO has to rely on important leaders within the team to do their part. Typically, for large companies, it make sense for the leader to be at what John Maxwell calls level 5 leadership. This is where the leader focuses on creating other leaders in the business or movement.

The world has needs to fix many issues, so there is no shortage on the need for great leaders that can take on challenging issues and work with their teams to find the best sustainable solutions. Let's be part of the solution and not the problem.

Hope this gave some good insights, feel free to share your perspective