A Good Leader
Introduction: Who is a good leader? When we think of leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa we invoke the images of good leader in our minds. On the contrary when we think of leaders like Adolf Hitler, Stalin and Fidel Castro we invoke the image of bad leadership in our minds. Dearth of good leadership is pervasive today in all fields like politics, business, religion and sports. So let us come to our primary question, ‘who is a good leader?’ and when we think of good leader what kind of qualities and traits he or she displays. Let’s take a survey of it.
Vision that encompasses the good of all: A good leader has the ability to see beyond. In other words he or she is a person who has a vision but that vision is not for his own welfare but for the welfare of all. In other words he or she believes in Win-Win situation. It’s not a selfish vision that serves the purpose of self but it is a vision that encompasses the welfare of others as well. It is not a vision that says, ‘I win at the cost of your loss but a vision that says, ‘I win and help you also to win’. That’s the basic difference when it comes to distinguish between good and bad leadership. So to be a good leader, have a vision for the future. You don’t want to be complacent in the present situation that is restricting you. You want to move ahead, reach that place and help others to reach that place where you will find betterment and bliss. Barack Obama’s vision encompassed the good of all. ‘We need a change’ Here the words, ‘We’ are important, it shows a vision that the change is for the benefit of all.
Courage that treads on the unbeaten track: The second trait of good leadership is Courage. It’s the courage that embraces the challenge of taking the unbeaten path. “Two roads diverged in the woods, And, I took the less travelled by, and that has made all the difference” says, Robert Frost. A good leader knows that the beaten track won’t help him or her reach his ideal or vision. He got to choose the unbeaten track; he got to muster up enough courage to go against the current. He knows very well, “Only the dead fish swim with the current.” Even in the face of peer pressure, when things look gleam and dark, he or she keeps the faith to keep on keeping on the unbeaten track. In the world fraught with dishonesty, there was Abraham Lincoln who took the road of honesty, in the world fraught with callousness, there was Mother Teresa who took the road of Love and in the world fraught with suppression and violence there was Gandhi who took the road of Non- violence and Truth. To be a good leader, have the courage to embrace the unfamiliar, insecure and the unknown.
Inspiration that enthuses life: The third trait of good leadership is that he/she is a good motivator. He brings life in the face of death and gloom, he brings joy and merriment in the face of sorrow and despair, and he brings faith and hope in the face of hopelessness and despair. There are many people out there who are uninspired, hopeless and in despair. They need to be enthused with life! They need a good leader who will take the initiative to do that. Somebody said, “If you are not inspired, you have expired.” That’s very true for the word ‘inspiration’ means ‘breathing life into’ and expire means, ‘sucking life out of’. Norman Vincent Peale, the author of “The Power of Positive of Thinking” tells of an incident where in a seminar he met a president of a company who wanted to fire a certain employee. Dr. Peale suggested that instead of firing him why doesn’t he try to put fire in him. In other words he suggested him to encourage and motivate the employee and when the Director of the company followed the suggestion, the employee really started performing well. This example tells us that many times what people need is just inspiration that can motivate them to go on to the next level.
Communication that connects: The other thing in the list of being a good leader is effective communication skills. But here when we say communication, we are not just talking of certain formalities to be observed. We are talking about being a communicator who connects to people. A good leader is one who reaches out and touches people’s heart. He or she is a connector. He can build bridges where once there were gulfs, he can fill the vacuum of despair and despondency by sharing his love and life with people. When the leader communicates, people hear and hear do they, with respect and awe. People respect and are able to connect to a leader because not of what he or she speaks but they also know that the leader will stand true to his or her words. “What you are shouts so loudly in my ears; that I cannot hear what you are saying.” A good leader is what he or she says. He or she is man/woman of action.
Legacy that continues: Finally let us conclude our survey of good leadership qualities by this very important point that a good leader displays and without which the cycle of good leadership won’t be complete. A good leader leaves behind him or her good leaders to continue his legacy. Good leaders train and encourage the next level and the next generation of leaders. They don’t feel threatened by an upcoming young leader who may display better dynamism. Rather they would guide and encourage so that when it’s time for them to step aside, the show continues. So training the younger generation and encouraging leadership qualities in them is the other trait of good leadership. Many times we find an organization that is run superbly because of one dynamic leader but when it’s time for him or her to step down there is no one to take over. The next generation of leader has not been encouraged as a result, the new leader cannot keep up to the expectations that match the performance of the first leader and the organization starts taking a dip. It’s very vital to encourage and develop the next leaders to take over and that’s not an option but obligation.
Conclusion: So here we are, if a leader displays or even learns and inculcates the above mentioned qualities, he or she can prove to be an effective leader. Finally, let me end up by saying, that good leaders are not born but made. A person who was touring different cities happened to visit a particular city. He encountered an old man sitting at the gates of the city and he asked him, “Were any great leaders’ born in this city?” “Nope”, the man quipped, “only babies”. Friends, the moral of the story is that we can always work ourselves to be a good leader and don’t forget as Robin Sharma says that if you breathe and live, you are a leader and leadership starts by leading yourself first
Joy be all yours.
Sohan.
Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts
Friday, October 29, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Champions: The stuff they are made of.
Champions: The stuff they are made of
Introduction: Champions! We see them everywhere. We adore them, we love them and we secretly envy them. We all desire to be like them. We all have our own idols who are champions in different capacities and areas but let me at the outset tell you something, that you are a champion! Yes, that’s true. You have it in you (though you may not have realized it) to be a champion. That’s how the Intelligent Creator of this Universe, God has designed you and that’s what he has purposed you for. The challenge for everyone of us is to realize this that we are champions, we have in us the stuff that champions are made up of, if we are willing to work on it and bring it up to fulfill our dreams and goals in life. This article will make you aware of the qualities as a champion that you need to nurture, develop and demonstrate.
1. Champions are dreamers: When we probe the lives of Champions, we see one common trait in all of them i.e. the ability to dream big. Yes, Champions are those who dare to dream big. They are not content to be where they are. So they always dream about the place, the Promised Land where they would stand one day as Champions.
They are not just wishers. We all wish for a better future, a better job, a better boss, a better income, a better savings, a better spouse, a better world, but rarely we are willing to make necessary changes in us so that things would start getting better with our world. If you fall into this category, then you are no more than a well- wisher. But Champions are dreamers not only do they wish for better life but take appropriate actions for it starting with their own lives. Yes, for a better job conditions they start to give 110% at their work place, for a better spouse they start loving their spouses selflessly, for better income they start saving their 10% of the income, for a better boss they start being a better employee, for better health they start eating healthy food and exercising everyday.
Mark Spitz the winner of 7 gold medals at swimming events in Munich Olympics in 1972 used to spend 8 hours everyday under water. This he continued to do 365 days a year without holidays, and for many years he put this as a regular practice, the result is that a champion was born. How many of us are willing to be a Mark Spitz?
How many of us are willing to be under water everyday even 1 hour. We wish to be a champion and have it in us to be one but many people remain mediocre because they aren’t willing to pay the price for their dreams. Champions not only dream big but go for their dreams, they give their all for achieving their dreams and when their dreams are fulfilled the world knows a new Champion.
2. Champions are Focused: Focus is what keeps Champions on the course of their dreams. Focus is what keeps them motivated when they feel down and the circumstances are against them. Focus is what makes Champions out of common people. The second trait that Champions have is Focus. First they dream big, formulate goals and then they focus on their goals.
Focus is important to be successful at any endeavor in life. If you want to realize the power of focus, take a magnifying glass and expose it to the sunlight. Allow the sun rays to pass through the glass and hold a paper under the glass. The sunlight that is scattered is now focused and targeted on the paper and lo, the paper burns! That shows the power of focus. When you are focused, you will be able to do great things and Champions realize this.
Focus is wonderfully explained in the bright quote by Stephen Covey as, “The main thing is to keep the main thing as the main thing” When you are focused you know what comes as the main thing in life and at all times and every circumstances your thoughts, words and actions are guided by this main thing. In other words you eat, drink and sleep on it..
Focus helps you not to get off the track at any time and even when you do, you are quick to realize it and come back on the track. Focus is like waking on the rope, you cannot afford to step out of the line or you are down. Why could Mark Spitz dare to remain underwater for eight hours daily for years together is that he was completely focused on his goals the Olympic gold medals.
3. Champions are risk-takers: Champions have the courage to take risk to realize their dreams. That is the other trait we find in them. Risk taking could be defined as, “the courage to come out of one’s comfort zone”.
Yes, Champions are willing to come out of their comfort zone. They are willing to stretch themselves out of their comfort zone and in the process of stretching themselves out of their comfort zone, they learn to grow. We all have our own comfort zones.
Our comfort zones could be our families that we don’t want to be far from, our city that we have lived in all our lives, our work place and the pay- check that it gives us, it could be our old habits that die hard, it could be our unwillingness to embrace new change because we dread to change our state and are unsure of our future. Champions grow themselves out of their comfort zones, they surely feel the same insecurity initially while moving out of their comfort zones, but they feel the fear and do it anyway.
Champions could be called Entrepreneurs in the modern sense of the term. Just as Entrepreneurs venture out and take risk in starting a new business project, so do Champions take risks. But Champions also calculate the possibilities that could turn out after the risk is taken. In other words Champions take calculated risks but they dare to take risks and that is what distinguishes them from the common crowd.
We do know that the Eagle is a bird that flies at a higher altitude than other birds. Do you know how a Mother Eagle trains her eaglets to fly? When they come of certain age, she just pushes them out of their nests and they start falling down. On the way down they learn to flap their wings and fly. If they do not flap their wings the mother will catch hold of them take them on her back to a certain height and again let them go off. In this process they learn to fly. Now it is certainly a risk to push the children off the edge, but the mother Eagle knows that unless that is done, they won’t learn to fly. That’s an attitude of a Champion.
When you take risks, in the process you would develop lot of potentials that hitherto were hidden in you. You will learn to flap your wings, you will learn to fly, you will know more of your potentials.
4. Champions fall down only to get up: “When times are tough, champions are made by going on for one more round.” That quote, sums up my next point very well. Champions do face tough times like any one out there but tough times only make them tougher. Champions outlast tough times, as Robert Schuller says, “Tough times do not last but, tough people do.”
There are times of despair, discouragement and downslides in a champion’s life. Champions are laughed at; face derision and cynicism from the people around them. People usually become uncomfortable with a person who goes against the tide. Champions take a different route of discipline, dedication and determination. They become completely focused on achieving their goals and dreams. This calls for criticism from many around them
When on the way Champions fall, people are quick to attack them like blood hounds. They pounce on them at every opportunity they get and try to discourage them. But Champions take all these things in their stride and continue on their path with self belief.
When Champions find that there is no one that can encourage them, they encourage themselves. In Bible, there is an incident when King David of Israel was very discouraged as King Saul sought his life, his family members were taken away by raiding soldiers and his fellowmen rose against him. The Bible tells us that at this time, “David encouraged himself in the Lord.” That’s a mark of a Champion.
A Marathi poet talks of how a tree wood that was cut as fire wood began to blossom again with green leaves, the poet goes on to say that the tree itself was surprised about it’s hidden potential. Yes, Champions find that hidden potential, that connection with the Almighty, that much needed encouragement in tough times and they get up and continue.
5. Champions carry a heart filled with gratitude: Finally, the last mark of a Champion is when they reach their goals and find their dreams realized, they do not forget to come back to the place where they started it all. They come back to give to the society with a heart of gratitude. Champions are always willing to give back with gratitude to their families, friends, their mentors, teachers, their neighborhood, their societies, their nation and their world. They pass on the baton of Championship to upcoming generation through encouragement, guidance and sense of gratitude in their heart.
This is the reason that our world is filled with examples of people like Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Abraham Lincoln, Ambedkar, Martin Luther King Jr. etc. Real Champions do not live for themselves but for others. They are like the rose flower that blossom on thorns of obstacles only to give joy to others.
We have examples of the world’s richest people like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates giving Billions of Dollars for the welfare of society. It is a great example of Champions who have risen to the peak in business world alighting down from the peak to lend a helping hand to others to climb their own peaks. That’s the mark of a Champion. That’s the heart that Champions carry around, a heart filled with gratitude.
Conclusion: Let me end by reminding you that there is a Champion in you, ready to break forth and reveal himself or herself to the world. Champions are not only those who rise to fame and fortune. Champions are hidden in every one of us single individuals. We have to realize this and work on the above mentioned qualities so that we hewn out the rough edges and sublimate and shape the Champion in us. “Nothing in this world has been ever achieved without enthusiasm and passion.” So my prayer is that this article may ignite the flame of passion and enthusiasm in you that may help you discover the Champion in you and help you to rise above, soar and touch your dreams. I salute the Champion in you. May you be a Champion!
Joy be all yours
Sohan.
Introduction: Champions! We see them everywhere. We adore them, we love them and we secretly envy them. We all desire to be like them. We all have our own idols who are champions in different capacities and areas but let me at the outset tell you something, that you are a champion! Yes, that’s true. You have it in you (though you may not have realized it) to be a champion. That’s how the Intelligent Creator of this Universe, God has designed you and that’s what he has purposed you for. The challenge for everyone of us is to realize this that we are champions, we have in us the stuff that champions are made up of, if we are willing to work on it and bring it up to fulfill our dreams and goals in life. This article will make you aware of the qualities as a champion that you need to nurture, develop and demonstrate.
1. Champions are dreamers: When we probe the lives of Champions, we see one common trait in all of them i.e. the ability to dream big. Yes, Champions are those who dare to dream big. They are not content to be where they are. So they always dream about the place, the Promised Land where they would stand one day as Champions.
They are not just wishers. We all wish for a better future, a better job, a better boss, a better income, a better savings, a better spouse, a better world, but rarely we are willing to make necessary changes in us so that things would start getting better with our world. If you fall into this category, then you are no more than a well- wisher. But Champions are dreamers not only do they wish for better life but take appropriate actions for it starting with their own lives. Yes, for a better job conditions they start to give 110% at their work place, for a better spouse they start loving their spouses selflessly, for better income they start saving their 10% of the income, for a better boss they start being a better employee, for better health they start eating healthy food and exercising everyday.
Mark Spitz the winner of 7 gold medals at swimming events in Munich Olympics in 1972 used to spend 8 hours everyday under water. This he continued to do 365 days a year without holidays, and for many years he put this as a regular practice, the result is that a champion was born. How many of us are willing to be a Mark Spitz?
How many of us are willing to be under water everyday even 1 hour. We wish to be a champion and have it in us to be one but many people remain mediocre because they aren’t willing to pay the price for their dreams. Champions not only dream big but go for their dreams, they give their all for achieving their dreams and when their dreams are fulfilled the world knows a new Champion.
2. Champions are Focused: Focus is what keeps Champions on the course of their dreams. Focus is what keeps them motivated when they feel down and the circumstances are against them. Focus is what makes Champions out of common people. The second trait that Champions have is Focus. First they dream big, formulate goals and then they focus on their goals.
Focus is important to be successful at any endeavor in life. If you want to realize the power of focus, take a magnifying glass and expose it to the sunlight. Allow the sun rays to pass through the glass and hold a paper under the glass. The sunlight that is scattered is now focused and targeted on the paper and lo, the paper burns! That shows the power of focus. When you are focused, you will be able to do great things and Champions realize this.
Focus is wonderfully explained in the bright quote by Stephen Covey as, “The main thing is to keep the main thing as the main thing” When you are focused you know what comes as the main thing in life and at all times and every circumstances your thoughts, words and actions are guided by this main thing. In other words you eat, drink and sleep on it..
Focus helps you not to get off the track at any time and even when you do, you are quick to realize it and come back on the track. Focus is like waking on the rope, you cannot afford to step out of the line or you are down. Why could Mark Spitz dare to remain underwater for eight hours daily for years together is that he was completely focused on his goals the Olympic gold medals.
3. Champions are risk-takers: Champions have the courage to take risk to realize their dreams. That is the other trait we find in them. Risk taking could be defined as, “the courage to come out of one’s comfort zone”.
Yes, Champions are willing to come out of their comfort zone. They are willing to stretch themselves out of their comfort zone and in the process of stretching themselves out of their comfort zone, they learn to grow. We all have our own comfort zones.
Our comfort zones could be our families that we don’t want to be far from, our city that we have lived in all our lives, our work place and the pay- check that it gives us, it could be our old habits that die hard, it could be our unwillingness to embrace new change because we dread to change our state and are unsure of our future. Champions grow themselves out of their comfort zones, they surely feel the same insecurity initially while moving out of their comfort zones, but they feel the fear and do it anyway.
Champions could be called Entrepreneurs in the modern sense of the term. Just as Entrepreneurs venture out and take risk in starting a new business project, so do Champions take risks. But Champions also calculate the possibilities that could turn out after the risk is taken. In other words Champions take calculated risks but they dare to take risks and that is what distinguishes them from the common crowd.
We do know that the Eagle is a bird that flies at a higher altitude than other birds. Do you know how a Mother Eagle trains her eaglets to fly? When they come of certain age, she just pushes them out of their nests and they start falling down. On the way down they learn to flap their wings and fly. If they do not flap their wings the mother will catch hold of them take them on her back to a certain height and again let them go off. In this process they learn to fly. Now it is certainly a risk to push the children off the edge, but the mother Eagle knows that unless that is done, they won’t learn to fly. That’s an attitude of a Champion.
When you take risks, in the process you would develop lot of potentials that hitherto were hidden in you. You will learn to flap your wings, you will learn to fly, you will know more of your potentials.
4. Champions fall down only to get up: “When times are tough, champions are made by going on for one more round.” That quote, sums up my next point very well. Champions do face tough times like any one out there but tough times only make them tougher. Champions outlast tough times, as Robert Schuller says, “Tough times do not last but, tough people do.”
There are times of despair, discouragement and downslides in a champion’s life. Champions are laughed at; face derision and cynicism from the people around them. People usually become uncomfortable with a person who goes against the tide. Champions take a different route of discipline, dedication and determination. They become completely focused on achieving their goals and dreams. This calls for criticism from many around them
When on the way Champions fall, people are quick to attack them like blood hounds. They pounce on them at every opportunity they get and try to discourage them. But Champions take all these things in their stride and continue on their path with self belief.
When Champions find that there is no one that can encourage them, they encourage themselves. In Bible, there is an incident when King David of Israel was very discouraged as King Saul sought his life, his family members were taken away by raiding soldiers and his fellowmen rose against him. The Bible tells us that at this time, “David encouraged himself in the Lord.” That’s a mark of a Champion.
A Marathi poet talks of how a tree wood that was cut as fire wood began to blossom again with green leaves, the poet goes on to say that the tree itself was surprised about it’s hidden potential. Yes, Champions find that hidden potential, that connection with the Almighty, that much needed encouragement in tough times and they get up and continue.
5. Champions carry a heart filled with gratitude: Finally, the last mark of a Champion is when they reach their goals and find their dreams realized, they do not forget to come back to the place where they started it all. They come back to give to the society with a heart of gratitude. Champions are always willing to give back with gratitude to their families, friends, their mentors, teachers, their neighborhood, their societies, their nation and their world. They pass on the baton of Championship to upcoming generation through encouragement, guidance and sense of gratitude in their heart.
This is the reason that our world is filled with examples of people like Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Abraham Lincoln, Ambedkar, Martin Luther King Jr. etc. Real Champions do not live for themselves but for others. They are like the rose flower that blossom on thorns of obstacles only to give joy to others.
We have examples of the world’s richest people like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates giving Billions of Dollars for the welfare of society. It is a great example of Champions who have risen to the peak in business world alighting down from the peak to lend a helping hand to others to climb their own peaks. That’s the mark of a Champion. That’s the heart that Champions carry around, a heart filled with gratitude.
Conclusion: Let me end by reminding you that there is a Champion in you, ready to break forth and reveal himself or herself to the world. Champions are not only those who rise to fame and fortune. Champions are hidden in every one of us single individuals. We have to realize this and work on the above mentioned qualities so that we hewn out the rough edges and sublimate and shape the Champion in us. “Nothing in this world has been ever achieved without enthusiasm and passion.” So my prayer is that this article may ignite the flame of passion and enthusiasm in you that may help you discover the Champion in you and help you to rise above, soar and touch your dreams. I salute the Champion in you. May you be a Champion!
Joy be all yours
Sohan.
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