What tomorrow's Leaders should know today

If you have thought about being a leader tomorrow, then you probably have a picture in your mind of who a leader is. Maybe you even have a few people in mind whom you believe are leaders. Well, let's try to dig into the subject of Leadership.

In every learning endeavor, such as life itself, there are three things you need to pay attention to.

Knowledge- Know what

Skill – Know how

Attitude – Know why

I'll use this framework for my guided tour on leadership.

Know what - So what is leadership?

Simply put, Leadership is the ability to mobilize people to accomplish a common goal.

It is an ‘ability’. A leader is that person who has this ability. If you have ever mobilized yourself to accomplish a certain goal, then you have been able to lead yourself. Therefore, it is likely that most of you have exhibited that trait on one occasion or the other. What is important is that it becomes a way of life, which puts you in good stead to make greater impact.

If you think about the many abilities you have, you would realize that there are some that come to you so easily, either as a result of your environment, or constant practice, or that you just happen to be gifted and therefore do it without as much effort. The fact remains that leadership is an ability. If you want it, you must learn it. Then you must refine it and perfect it.

Ever heard the question “Are leaders born or made?” Well, my answer is that leaders are born to be made. Some may have innate attributes that makes them more likely to become good leaders. But in my opinion, those are the raw materials which if nurtured properly, could make one stand out as a leader. Those without these innate qualities can always learn how to project those attributes in a way that enables them to influence their followers toward the common goal.

Mobilizing others

No one is a leader unless someone is following. Mobilizing others is an art. One of social influence, which seeks to maximize the efforts of other people toward that common goal. In essence, being effective is an attribute of a good leader.

Common goal

A good leader must have a vision and stay focused on that vision. He must have the passion of purpose, which is needed to drive him. The clearer and more specific the purpose is, the bolder the leader can move forward. He must be able to get the buy-in of his followers. That means s/he needs to master the art of influencing.

The passion of purpose will help you see obstacles and brace up against them, toward the goal. While focused on the goal, you must keep moving strategically. Nothing happens for those who just sit and dream.

There are three kinds of people in this world.

-Those who make things happen

-Those who watch things happen

-And those who wonder what is happening

Focus

You need to be focused on the vision. Be so resilient that you are not distracted or derailed by what others may call obstacles.

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Know how - How do you optimize your leadership?

You can optimize your leadership skills by:

Being: Decide what kind of leader you would like to become. How do you see yourself leading?

Knowing: This has to do with your intellect; what you know and how you think about leading

Doing: This involves practicing being a leader worth following.

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If you ask about qualities of a good leader, I could talk about:

Confidence, Commitment and Passion, Effective Communication, Decision Making Capabilities, Accountability, Delegation and Empowerment, Creativity and Innovation, Empathy, Resilience, Emotional Intelligence, Humility, Transparency, Vision and Purpose

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Leadership is not a position or role. It is a way of life.

You don’t become a leader by just being good at the job you do.

If Mark Z had decided to remain a programmer there wouldn’t be Facebook as it is today. At some point he had to step out and step into leading others. So you need to be good at what you do. However, to become a leader, you need to take it a notch higher, learn and develop the skills of leadership.

You can develop some of these skills by taking up volunteering assignments that develop the particular skills you require at a certain point in your leadership path.

You will need to have mentors and mentees. Mentors build you, Mentees help you practice the art of leadership. Steve Jobs has Bill Campbell, Bill Gates had Warren Buffet. In the bible, Jethro mentored Moses. Moses mentored Joshua and the elders of Israel. And Joshua mentored the other remaining leaders of his army. Eli mentored Samuel. Mentors will push you out of your comfort zone either by cheering you to help build your confidence to brace through your boundaries; coach you to enable you innovate or brave a storm they have passed through before; or challenging why your comfort zone is the way it is.

Look out for trends in the requirements.

Perform a gap analysis of where you are currently in terms of skill and what you need to get to that point.

Make a plan on how to achieve these.

There are many ways to learn the skills of leadership. You can enroll in leadership courses, get a coach/mentor eg. If you need to improve on your communication, you may want to join a toastmasters group, mentor other people.

Know Why? Why do you want to become a leader?

There is the tendency that, when people are asked this question, they would come up with all sorts of cliché answers. You need to have a purpose for wanting to be a leader. Is it money? Well, most high paid jobs require a leadership role. However, if money is your motivation you may end up being frustrated being responsible for what other people do. So those with money as their target in leadership may rather want to focus on getting into some technocratic career which pays well without having to worry about any followers. If your motivation is power, I’m afraid to say, that is not on either. As a leader, you get to make tough decisions, upset people on a regular basis. So power cannot motivate you. Neither can prestige do. Sure thing, you get a lot of prestige, perks and greetings. But those are nowhere near the edge to accomplish your goals, helping people and being responsible.

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In summary, these are five of the things tomorrow's leaders need to do today:

1. Define your goal, - what kind of leader do you want to be.
2. Stay focused on your goal -be strategic about your every move.
3. Gather the resources and training needed to accomplish the goal – benchmark a number of leaders in that line of leadership and study them; learn some of the qualities such as delegation, lateral thinking, emotional intelligence, etc.
4. Surround yourself with solution-oriented people?? - join the right networks, get mentors, mentor others.
5. Refuse to let obstacles stop or divert you from your course. – be resilient.

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