I find 'Leading at The Edge' an inspiring book and this week's chapters made some of the most convincing points about leadership. Chapter two highlighted the importance of symbolising actions and bringing in personal experience as a means of gaining trust. It is through visible leadership that people are able to rely on their leaders and follow them from the heart. Chapter three focused on the aspect of optimism explaining how the mind can affect the quality of leadership. Although we tend to think that skill, ability and knowledge make up the best leaders, the most decisive factor lies in the positivity of mind.
Reading these two chapters made me think about the role of a leader. My image was that a leader needs to be someone who is standing at the top with authority and power, someone who is different or special compared to the rest of the people. However, this is not necessarily true and although a leader should have the power to gain cooperation, he or she is still a part of the group. The leader-follower relationship is not like that of a master and servant. That is why I think it is so important for a leader to symbolise whatever he or she is trying to convey. The act of symbolising shows that they are on the same level as the rest of the group and it creates a better relationship. The role of a leader is valid only if there is a group of people seeking to achieve the same goal. If it were all individuals acting on their own, leaders will not be necessary. I think it is clear that the biggest difference between working alone and working in a group is the need to communicate with others. Ultimately, the most important thing a leader can do is to build a healthy relationship which will encourage active communication making it one step closer to the main goal.
I have mentioned the significance of building a good relationship within a group and this also connects to the third chapter about optimism. Being optimistic can give you the energy and motivation to accomplish whatever it is that you are trying to do, even in the toughest of situations as proven by Shackleton. It is also contagious! So if the leader is optimistic, the others will also become optimistic. If everyone in the group believed in the team, naturally the relationship is going to be good. On the contrary, if the leader was pessimistic and the others became pessimistic, the whole group would fall apart because the relationship or the team spirit would be damaged by despair. It is crucial for leaders to be optimistic so that the group can become one.
In relation to the strategies covered in chapters two and three, I can say that I consider myself an optimist even though there are times when I do end up feeling depressed. However, I try to look on the bright side and make each obstacle an opportunity for improvement. With symbolism, I want to believe that if I ever do become a leader, I can set a good example for the rest of the team. Knowing my personality, I think it would be difficult for me to become a visual leader because I do not like getting a lot of attention, but I will try to overcome this weakness.
Good post, and it is great that you are fundamentally an optimist. With that you can then start building your confidence by challenging yourself to complete increasingly difficult tasks (with a few failures that you recover from) and then you will have the whole package.
ReplyDeleteI too used to believe that a leader should be someone who towers over everyone else with authority - like a regime of terror. There's this book "The Prince" by Machievalli which says that "To be a leader, you have to choose between being loved or hated, you can't be both. Upon choice, it is better to be hated than loved." I forgot the logic behind, it, but back when I was a high schooler, which was when I read the article, I remember it ringing true. I think that one important aspect of a leader is the motive behind one's action and whether it is possible to be associated with consideration of the subject. Capital punishment, for an example, was natural a while ago in Japan. (Not to a degree of injury, but perhaps a slap on the butt.) There's the term "愛の鞭" in Japanese, too. On the other hand, when capital punishment became normalized, naturally inputted in the education system and teachers' behavior, it lost its meaning. Teachers unthinkingly smacked students' hands with rulers when they did something wrong.
ReplyDeleteAnd then there are the incidents now concerning students suffering from capital punishment.
I'm not saying capital punishment should be allowed, but even here I thought we could see that motivation and symbolism plays a huge role in our lives.