Hello Grasshoppa,
What Makes A Great Leader? This was a topic that was given to me for my presentation to my company management recently. To be honest, I was pretty excited when this topic was given to me because I already have this basic idea that I have prepared many years ago. In fact, this idea came to me randomly many years back when I was thinking about “How Can I Be A Great Leader?”
My idea of What Makes A Great Leader are based on 6L of Leadership. What are the 6L of Leadership? 6L of Leadership in my opinion should be the Basic Values of each Leader Characteristics in order for them to be a Great Leader.
1. Lead
As a Leader, Integrity should be above everything but being Flexible plays a crucial role as well. A Great Leader will also play an important role to lead the Team to be in line with the company values, direction & goals. And most important of all, the Leader must respect, appreciate & recognize the Team effort.
2. Learn
A Leader is not the one that knows everything. Learning from each other is important as part of the Team. Learning how the Team handle their task may help you as a Leader to learn something new.
3. Listen
Listening is as important as talking. Too much talking & not listening may not be good thing for a Leader. Listening can be from listening to the Team Challenges & Concern on their task. As a Leader, listening will also help to support the Team better.
4. Leaders
What are the difference between Lead & Leaders? In my definition, Lead is part of the Leader’s job to Lead the Team. But Leaders in my definition is all about Developing New Leaders from Within. Its all about Empowering the Team to ensure they are able to be a Leaders in their own right or their future role.
5. Leverage
How do we Leverage? If you are working in a corporate company, it is part of our job to work with other department or functions. It is all about Leveraging the Strength from all department & functions. Leverage will also help Leaders to build a strong network with all.
6. Loyalty
Great Leader comes with Loyalty to the Company & the Team. They will always be Loyal towards their Company & their Team no matter what are the circumstances or challenges they are facing. Loyalty may also come in form of showing genuine interest & care towards the Company & the Team.
Conclusion :
I remembered a quote coming from my mentor stating that “Leaders are Readers & Readers are Leaders” during my first meeting with him at my company team building event. You can checkout his blog at WorldOfHabits.com. I truly believe that Leadership skills can be develop if you choose your path as a Leader. Each human are unique & we are all a natural leader in our own right. Some leaders are aggressive & some can be very thoughtful. It is important to know your strength as a leader & work on it.
PS : When I presented my 6L of Leadership to my company management, the Senior Manager actually asked me if I got this from the internet. LOL. Just to answer his question again, I got this all from my Reading Material & Research that I have done for the past few years. 🙂
You can also checkout my previous post on Leadership on link as below :
10 Qualities of a Great Leader at Your Work Place
OSS!
