Working in an office for other people for so many years gave the experience and educational foundation I needed to be successful at becoming an entrepreneur. I worked in a professional environment/office for 15 years before I went into business for myself. I had some great leaders and some not so great leaders. But what is leadership really? There are all kids of “leaders” in the world, all different styles of leadership. Even the Webster’s Dictionary definition leaves interpretation to eye of the beholder:
lead·er·ship
noun \ˈlē-dər-ˌship\
: a position as a leader of a group, organization, etc.
: the time when a person holds the position of leader
: the power or ability to lead other people
All humans need leadership no matter their position in life. Even Kings, Queens, Presidents of both counties and organizations alike have advisors who are influential in the decisions that the important figures make. It is human nature for us to need someone to offer, influence or flat out make decisions for us. But how do we know that that advice or those decisions are good for us? How do we know that we are being lead in the right directions?
Great advice can be found on how to be a great leader there is a plethora of books, training schools and websites on the subject. I have been called a good leader and I take that as a very humble compliment but also validation that I am good at what I do. I have never had formal training in leadership but have always found myself in leadership positions either by choice or by circumstance. Through my own experiences of both having being lead myself and also having lead others. I am of the opinion that true leaders are not made, they are born. Anyone can take courses, read books on what makes a good leader and even implement those lessons in the required situations. The matter of the fact is that while tips and tricks can be learned, true leaders just are. I think what makes the leader in me so effective is my intuitional understanding and inquisitive nature toward human beings. This intuition also gives me my natural interest required in my chosen profession of marketing. Knowing what makes people tick is essentially the nuts and bolts of marketing. Understanding the people that you are leading and being able to understand them in a very short amount of time as well as being a good judge of character. Understanding very quickly what a person’s strengths and weakness are and acknowledging those characteristics is the key of being a good leader. Being able to read natural skills in a person cannot be taught, it just can’t. You may have people in leadership roles who do their best with the intuition that they have in other areas but they may not have the strengths in the area of leadership that is truly required.
Any manager in any profession in any office or baker shop on the corner will tell you; managing people can be difficult. It can be even more difficult for managers that do not inherently understand humans and their behaviours. When people take on management roles in which they manage people, it should be closely identified what kind of manager they would be. When people are promoted or hired into management positions, in many cases they do not fully understand what their role truly means and are not fully prepared for what types of skills they may need to possess in order to effectively manage the people they have been charged to lead. By searching out the strengths and weaknesses the people they are leading, they are essentially affording those people the opportunity to flourish and lead within their own professional skill set. By doing this, we not only empowering the person being lead but also create an overall domino effect among other components/departments of the entre wheel that is being lead. By having a better understanding that people are people and if you can dig into the heart of the people you manage you would find a more harmonious work environment would follow. True born leaders are human intuitive. True leaders create more leaders.
The secret to true leadership
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