#My2centson: The world needs followers
Reference Article: Not Leadership Material? Good. The world needs followers
Leadership - When one hears this word, the mind automatically conjures up an image - a predefined stereotype influenced by all that we have seen and experienced so far. But it's not news that leadership is a very personal journey - its success or failure depends on the leader him/herself. Not everyone can be a leader, and that is a fact that cannot be denied.
It takes a lot of introspection and objectivity to realize that you are not really leadership material, so Kudos if any of us have ever been able to do that! Everywhere you look, there's a need for 'standing out of the crowd' or 'leading towards success' or the promise to 'bring out the leader' within you. But what is it, that a leader can do alone? Nothing. Unless they have a team, a set of highly skilled, focused individual who do what is needed & are the best at it, a bunch of folks who think about the practicalities of execution, the leader can achieve very little - Every Leader needs a strong set of Doers & Thinkers. It appears very logical and simple, then why, one may ask, have the Doers & the Thinkers been relegated to the sidelines all this while? Why is the leader always in the spotlight? Because that's part of their job, to wield the megaphone and step up to face high pressure situations. Because we are so used to witnessing a vocal, articulate, impressive, passionate leader at every step, that we have assumed it to be an easy task, it's a given that every leader must be like this. We have forgotten about the silent ones - the ones who are not quite as vocal, believe in working hard and are not comfortable in the spotlight. It does not make them less leader's than their counterparts, it's just their style of leadership that is different from what we are used to. The Doer's and Thinker's of the world are similar to such leaders, - they are quiet, they do their job and they work like a well oiled cog in a big machine that delivers an output.
It's about time that the world wakes up to realize that Doer's & Thinker's are crucial to success, coz hey, it's not rocket science! For businesses of small scale, its very easy to spot the slip up's and the mistakes. But with larger organizations each error is like that small pebble that starts at the top of the mountain and rolls into a landslide by the time it reaches the ground - the scale & magnitude being larger & more devastating that any one could possibly imagine. It becomes critical in such an environment for each individual to take ownership and be accountable for the quality of their output.
But as is human nature, we get distracted & drawn in by the twinkly lights and all the little glamorous intricacies that the leader's role get's. But what we fail to understand, time & again, is that this spotlight is temporary. What goes on behind the scenes involves many brains working towards a common goal, the publicity being an add on! I do not say it is wrong to aspire to be a leader - it is important that we realize our ability first. Have what it takes to be one? Go all out - Have realistic expectations from the role & equip yourself to be the best leader there can be! Don't have a flair for the theatrics? (pun intended!) Then find your niche, be the Doer & the Thinker behind those revolutions that change history, roll up your sleeves and get to work building your vision. More importantly, whether a leader or a doer or a thinker - be the one that gets the job done - be the one the world needs!