Leadership as it might seem may be seen in several perspectives,but with the same meaning. Starting from a class captain in a primary school to a prime minister or president of a country…a leader is a leader!
Wikipedia meaning of leadership is both a research area and practical skill encompassing the ability of an individual or organisation to lead or guide other individuals, teams or entire organisations.
A leader is someone who has the authority to tell a group of people what to do. In the simplest sense,a leader is somebody whom people follow. A leader is one who gets others to take actions towards a common goal.
Being a good leader is not easy, in fact, just anybody cannot be a leader. It takes some traits,to be one. There is a old philosophy which needs correction; “Leaders are born to be”. The traits and attributes of a leader can be learnt or acquired. Here are some of them:
1.Clarity: A good leader should be clear and concise at all times.This gives others the opportunity to digest their goals and decide whether or not they will support their cause. Generally, very few people know what they want, much less how to get there, so they will gravitate towards those who appear to have a clear picture in mind–good clarity leads to great achievement.
2. Decisiveness:Once they have made up their mind, they don’t hesitate to commit to it with all hands on deck. They show great consistency with their decisions, rarely backing out or changing their minds unless it is absolutely necessary. Being decisive shows commitment, a quality very high in demand for a great leader.
3. Courage:Boldness is both something you can develop and something that is blessed as a virtue. Although some people are naturally more fearless than others, practicing how to be fearless — or at least project fearlessness — is a completely doable task, one many have achieved in order to fulfill their role as an amazing leader.
4. Humility: Confidence being a very attractive trait in leaders, there’s actually nothing like a humble character for creating a lovable persona. Great leaders admit when they are wrong and take criticism as an opportunity for growth. Show the world how grateful you are for where you are. This, in turn, will demonstrate how much you deserve the leadership role.
5. Passion:There’s nothing more inspirational than seeing someone who cares about what they do–the best leaders exhibit boundless energy and passion for what they do. Don’t be shy about your passion for whatever it is you are leading, be it a book reading or a laboratory experiment. As long as you are passionate about what you know, or care about it, it will shine through and people will follow.
A typical example of such a leader in Nigerian history is Chief ObafemI Jeremiah Oyeniyi Awolowo who was born on March 6, 1909 in Ogun state. He was a nationalist and statesman who played a key role in Nigeria’s independence movement, the First and Second Republics and the Civil War. He introduced free education in the western region in 1955. He died on May 9, 1987 and was buried on June 6, 1987. Even after his death,his most important bequests (styled Awoism) are his exemplary integrity, his welfarism, his contributions to hastening the process of decolonisation. He was really a leader.
It is not until you get to manage a large number of people that you see yourself as a leader,you are surely a leader to at least someone. Get the traits and get started, it’s in you.
Yours truly,
Tolu Adetoro
