Reflections on Leadership

“A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.”
Henrik Ibsen (Norwegian playwright 1828-1906)

Leadership is a subject so all embracing that has been the topic of so many books and articles, that to write anything new is almost impossible. So why am I writing this?
I'm doing it to inspire, motivate and to move you into action (whoops…that sounds a lot like a definition of leadership). Can I really do that by writing this article?
Why not? I just need to capture your attention and your imagination, make you think and then make you act - hopefully in the right way since I don't want you to do anything criminal or reprehensible for which I will be blamed…
That is another of the characteristics attributed to leadership - taking responsibility.

We all have a leader inside us just waiting to get out.
Think of Michelangelo with his statues being released from blocks of stone.
Do you want to be surrounded by works of art or blocks of stone?
It is really a question of courage and the right situation.

Different situations need different types of leadership.
The obvious example is a ship where the captain rules, there is no consensus or leading by example, but strict discipline since the captain may have to make life and death decisions if the ship is in danger. Although being made to walk the plank has gone out of fashion the captain still has a lot of power. He needs immediate obedience since failure to carry out an order might easily cause a collision, running aground or capsizing in heavy seas.
The men in the engine room have no idea of what is happening in many situations and to inform them might waste precious time. Hence there needs to be a great deal of trust by the crew in the skills of the captain and by the captain in the crew carrying out his orders correctly and quickly. Obviously the captains’ leadership skills are layered on to extensive seamanship skills that have already been acquired usually over a substantial period of time.
On the other end of the leadership spectrum I have an example for you. My brother-in-law was recently chairman at the annual Horticultural Society show in the town where he lives. I was rather surprised since he has never shown any extrovert or assertive behaviour, plus I never knew he was interested in flowers. I don't know whether everything was handled democratically, with consensus, or whether he had to be firm with some people.
I'm sure he would have asked people their opinion, made polite requests, thanked them with genuine gratitude and lead by example. I doubt that he played favourites between the runner beans and tomatoes.
Since all of those helping with the show were volunteers, their motivation comes from a shared sense of purpose and considerably more people skills are required than horticultural expertise. I shall try to go next year.

Leadership nowadays is about being emotionally intelligent, knowing yourself and being able to understand the others and communicate with them in the most adequate way.
Learning and practising the varied skills and behaviours of leadership can be done individually, using a variety of situations. For example, Toastmasters is an excellent organization to join to improve your speaking and leadership skills. A coach can also be a great help to assist you in identifying your goals, to keep you focused and motivated.

There may come a time when there is an opportunity to do something for the community, or for your company, that is outside your comfort zone. You may have to rise to the occasion and try to use difference ways of motivating people.
It may not be easy, but the challenge might be what you need, character building, that gives confidence to do bigger and better things in the future.