Leadership Skill

Who is a leader?

The one who leads.

In that sense, the concept of leadership can be employed in all spheres of life in addition to the corporate sector.

Leadership is a managerial skill. If you are leading a community program you are also a leader. If you are playing a leading role in charity, you are no less than a leader.

A leader is known by certain abilities. He or she should have the capability to deliver the goods even in unfavorable circumstances. For that he/ she has to inspire and influence the group he/she is leading to achieve the set goals. He/she should also stand by his/her subordinates through thick and thin.

There are many types of leaders and many types of leadership skills – aggressive, passive, collaborative and dictatorial.

The most important skill of a leader is to motivate his/her subordinates to work. Different leaders employ different managerial techniques to get work done. The negative ways of getting work done are pressurising, creating an atmosphere of oppression, fear of punishment, being an exacting task master.

The positive way of getting work done is to create willingness in the subordinates to do the work for the leader. This is not easy though it may seem so. All workers do not have the same capabilities. The leader, therefore, has to gauge the individual potentials of the group. Analyse who is lacking where and why. Constantly buck up the person who is lagging behind. Incentivise the achievements. Incentives do not always mean monetary reward. Recognition, appreciation, delegation of responsibilities to the worthy and ensuring a conducive environment wherein smooth and seamless execution of job is made possible and satisfaction from accomplishing the job is heightened.

When I was transferred to my present place of posting, I was assigned a subordinate who was much older to me and represented the Union of Workers. He was critical of officers, outspoken and branded as a non performer. I was told not to expect any output from him. His association with me was just a paper formality.

He being more experienced in terms of age refused to acknowledge me as his boss. Moreover, taking instructions from a lady officer hurt his male ego.

I was intrigued by his personality. His sarcasm and scepticism towards all and sundry. Gradually, I tried to break the ice by having informal chitchats with him outside work. Soon I learnt of his bad experience with another lady officer in the past. It was now upon me to instill faith in him that I was not like his previous boss. It took time and a lot of efforts but at last I succeeded not only to get optimal work out of him but also make him willing to shoulder greater responsibilities. However, to give the devil his due, he was very keen on learning and showing his peers that he could compete with them. Otherwise it would have been more difficult to channelise him towards work.

He was with me for twelve years and able to handle my jobs in my absence efficiently. The only constraint was he refused to work under anyone else. As a result, my work profile got restricted and stagnant. Every situation has its pluses and minuses. We still have cordial relation and he makes it a point to stay in touch..

I feel very happy that I was able to pull him out of a state of self deprecation and low spirit and help him scale a level where he graduated from a trouble maker into a trouble shooter.

In that sense, I consider myself a leader who is able to help others realize their full potential and deliver jobs they are considered unfit for. It is like giving a new direction and perspective to people. Up their self esteem and make them proud of themselves.

As a leader I feel fulfilled, happy and proud in the well being of my subordinate. If I have to assess myself on leadership scale I will say I am not a credit seeking leader. I am a credit giving leader because it is on account of the outstanding performance of my subordinate that I stand tall as an achiever and milestone maker.