Dear friends,
Here is the sample chapter of my award-winning
book ‘21 Success Sutras for Leaders’ ranked as one of the Top 10 Leadership Books of the Year for 2013
(San Diego University) Here is the link to purchase this book: Amazon URL: http://www.amazon.com/21-Success-Sutras-Leaders-ebook/dp/B00AK98ELI
I appreciate your kind review on Amazon. Also, I appreciate your comment and share with your connections.
Leadership is a Responsibility, not a Badge of Honour
Leadership is action, not position.
Donald H. McGannon
Leadership is neither a rank nor a title.
Leadership is a position with responsibility. It is not a position to be
appointed by others. It is the people who give such position to deserving
leaders. Thom (1996), in developing his 14 guides for successful leadership,
includes concepts like ‘charismatic’, ‘visionary’, ‘driven’, ‘inspirational’, ‘coach’
and ‘cheerleader’ in an effort to describe a leader. He goes on to note, ‘Leadership
is not a brass ring you can grab. It is a gift presented to you by your
employees after you have proven yourself worthy of having it’ (ibid.: 14–16). Hence,
leaders cannot claim that position, but people will give that position to the
deserving ones.
Leadership is not by chance, but a
choice. Leaders undertake their responsibilities voluntarily; leadership is not
thrust upon them in this civilized world unlike in ancient times, when heirs
were thrust upon. Whenever there is a crisis, the real leaders emerge to smoothen
the situation, and whenever a ship sails into a storm, the real captains emerge
to steer the ship successfully to shore. Therefore, leadership is less about
position and more about disposition. Leadership is all about making things
happen, walking the talk, achieving the objectives and, above all, making a
difference in the lives of others.
Leadership is not a badge of honour. It
is not a popularity contest. It is about taking the blame in case of failure
and achieving fame in case of success. Leadership is about your actions. Your
actions speak louder than your words. When people see your actions and are
convinced by your convictions, they will honour you as a leader.
Leadership is Responsibility
It is the responsibility of leadership to provide opportunity, and the
responsibility of individuals to contribute.
William Pollard
Many people think that leadership is
a badge of honour. In fact, it is a responsibility, where leaders undertake actions
and keep pushing things forward. True leaders do not pass the buck, but take
responsibility and move forward. They influence people, build teams, motivate
them, and ultimately achieve the desired objectives. People often think that
everybody can become a leader easily. However, the path is riddled with many
challenges. Even if a minor mistake is made, people will not forgive their
leaders. Warren Buffett once remarked, ‘It takes 20 years to build a reputation
and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things
differently.’ While taking responsibility, leaders are very aware of the
consequences of decision-making, and know that every decision will not go well.
They have to accept moral responsibility for decisions that go wrong, and have
to spread fame when group members do things well. Hence, there are several
challenges involved in taking responsibility.
Some leaders are overly conscious of
their leadership titles, such as Dean, CEO, Senior Manager, Managing Director,
and so on. Leadership is a behavior that anyone can demonstrate at any time,
without recourse to any organizational or hierarchical position or title. In
fact, we are all leaders in some journey of our lives, where we rise to the
occasion and demonstrate our hidden talents and potential. Leadership does not
go by rank, position or title. Leadership is not the privilege of a few
individuals, as many people think.
People do not work under leaders who
display their leadership positions. They like to work under leaders who remain
servants rather than bosses, who mentor rather than dictate, who guide rather
than force others into doing the work, who are people-oriented rather than
task-oriented, and finally, who adopt soft leadership rather than hard
leadership.
Although M. K. Gandhi was referred to
as Mahatma (super soul), he disliked being called Mahatma Gandhi. For Mahatma
Gandhi, the title was not important; freedom for India was more important. He moved
with the masses, associated with them, and served them like an ordinary man. Hence,
top leaders do not believe in titles or positions, but they emphatically believe
in undertaking responsibilities and doing their jobs successfully.
Stephen R. Covey, in his book The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to
Greatness, emphasizes that leadership is not a position but a ‘proactive
intention to affirm the work and potential of those around us ...’. It is clear
that leadership involves affirming faith in the work of your group members and
enhancing their potential. Robin Sharma, in his book The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business
and in Life, substantiates the same. Several leadership gurus have clearly asserted
that leadership is not a title or a position, but is all about taking
responsibility. Robin Sharma also says, ‘In this materialistic world, we chase
titles, fast cars, and big bank accounts in a search for greatness when, in
truth, all that we really want we already have. The excellence and the
happiness we crave are inside of us.’
Titles are Temporary
Men don’t follow titles, they follow courage.
William Wallace (‘Braveheart’)
Robin Sharma says, ‘You are a leader,
no matter what you do in your life either with title or without a title, you
are still a leader.’ He further adds,
You need to have passion to do any
job. It is not the title that gives you respect but the amount of contribution
you make to your work. Title gives you only authority. But the real leadership
involves walking the talk and leading from front regardless of the area of
activity to pursue.
One thing that people must remember
is that nothing is permanent. No titles are permanent, and we have to depart
this world leaving everything behind, and with either a good or a bad
reputation. Hence, people must learn to live life happily by helping others,
and making a difference in the lives of others without craving for so-called
titles, positions or badges.
Life is great!
Professor M.S.Rao, India
Founder of MSR
Leadership Consultants India
Listed
in Marquis Who's Who in the World in 2013
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21
Success Sutras for Leaders:
Top 10 Leadership Books of the Year (San Diego University) Amazon URL: http://www.amazon.com/21-Success-Sutras-Leaders-ebook/dp/B00AK98ELI
