- Who is a leader?
- Differences between a good leader and a great leader
- Charaterstics of inspirational leaders
Who is a leader?
A leader is an individual who has the power to bring out the best in his team. He or she is always known to be positive, competitive, passionate and empathetic. Leaders do anything and everything to make sure their team is always motivated, energetic and equally passionate about what they do for the team. They protect their team when in need and give them all the support they need to become the best of themselves.
Difference between a good leader and a great leader
- A good leader inspires his team to work towards achieving the team goal
- Great leaders work with their team in person and help the team achieve the goal
- Good leaders help their team and assist them in case they commit any mistakes
- Great leaders let their team learn from their mistakes and encourage them to make more
- Good leaders are good managers and lead their team from time to time
- Great leaders know when to lead and when to follow his team
- Good leaders often use task oriented approach
- Great leaders use a process oriented approach
- Good leaders work by the principles of line of command
- Great leaders involve every team member in the decision making process
While there were many leaders who led the Indian cricket team to a number of Test series wins , T20 wins and ODI wins over the past decade or so , there are only a handful of them who have stayed young and alive in the minds and hearts of Indian cricket fans all over the world. While Kapil Dev is known far and wide for leading the Indian cricket team to our first World Cup win in 1983. Sourav Ganguly is known to be the most successful Test Captain. While MS Dhoni led India to 2007 T20 World Cup title and also 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions trophy , making him the most successful whiteball Captain of India.
While all them sure were able to achieve a commendable amount of success in leading the Indian Cricket team to winning a number of trophies and accolades. Every leader has his own way of leading his team. Maybe it be the cool and calm attitude MS Dhoni displayed on the field, even while being challenged with pressure filled situations, or the aggressive way used by Ganguly. Every leader certainly possessed a few common qualities/characteristics in them that made them inspirational leaders.
Characteristics of inspirational leaders
- Vision: A leader must have a vision.
- Travel unexplored path: A leader must be able to travel on an unexplored path as well.
- Manage Success and Failure: A leader must know how to manage success and failure.
- Courage: Leader must have the courage to take the decision.
- Nobility Management: Every action of a leader should be transparent. A leader should work with Integrity and succeed with it.
Vision
A vision of a leader is always beyond the visual perception of his team. In other words, a leader simply knows what he and his team needs to do to achieve any given goal and can easily break the end goal into simple tasks that can easily be achieved by his team in a given period of time, without putting too much pressure on them.
Every leader discussed above had a clear vision and was able to break down the end goal into simple tasks that the team can complete on a daily basis. It is very normal for any teammate to steer away from the tasks while on the job, an inspirational leader goes the extra mile to make his teammate aware of how important it is to achieve the given goal and how it would in turn help him/her in achieving their personal goals as well.
Travel unexplored path
It only makes sense to call an individual a leader, only if he or she is willing to explore paths that haven’t been conquered before. The path that needs to be taken to achieve a given goal isn’t always straight forward , there certainly may be some sticks and stones on the way that may break your bones.
A true inspirational leader fights every difficulty on his path alongside his team, in this course he inspires them, encourages them and does whatever it takes for them to make the road not taken a lot more smoother than it really is.
Manage Success and Failure
Success and failure are two destinations on the road to learning new things. While success reassures a team of their efforts and dedication being invested on the right track. Failure simply teaches the team about aspects they did wrong or didn’t do right enough
A true leader always owns up to the failures of his team, while he shares the success they achieve as one. While some say failure is just success awaited, the lessons learnt on either journeys are truly life changing.
Courage
Courage to fail , courage to stand by what you and your team believes in. Courage to learn more and more from experiences and not let them hold back your way towards achieving a goal in the end. Courage to learn from feedback from your team members , friends and family.
A good leader always shows the appetite to be courageous enough to take any given risks on their way. Change is always a gray area in our minds and it is important that a leader grows the courage to embrace change and use it to his advantage.
Noble
Nobility is a quality that every leader should possess, he or she should be fair to their team and always stand for what is true and right. A noble leader is known to be calm, cool and assertive, his teammates around him/her always feel comfortable and clear headed, while at every step also learn a thing or two. Are you a noble leader? Do you care for your team or just do the least it takes to get tasks done?
Do you as a leader possess any of these qualities? Are you an inspiring leader or just another individual who got pushed into leading a team? Take your first step to being a great leader today by signing up for professional courses designed and delivered by world class faculty from all over the world.
