The Art of Leadership

“Leaders go first. They set an example and build commitment through simple, daily acts that create progress and momentum .Leaders model the way through personal example and dedicated execution”

JAMES KOUZES & BARRY POSNER

Five Defining Qualities of A Good Leader

The leadership of any organization is the arrow head of the organization. The Human head consist of the five senses that define a good leader. These five senses are:

1.        The Eye  for visual sense ( Sense of Sight)           VISION

2.        The Ear (Auditory sense) sense of hearing          LISTENING

3.        The Nose for smelling (Olfactory sense)              INTUITION

4.        Skin for feeling (Sense of Touch)                           SYMPATHY/EMPATHY

5.        Tongue  (Sense of  taste)                                        COMMUNICATION

Vision

A leader must have vision for him to lead others; Jonathan swift defines vision as the art of seeing thing invisible. A good leader must be able to see possibilities in the mist of difficult situation. A visionary leader sees light in the dark.   George Bernard Shaw said: “You see things, and you say, ‘why’. But I dream things that never were and I say ‘why not? A leader must be able to see things differently from the followers. It is not everybody that looks, sees, out of mind they say is out of sight. A leader must be able to engage his mind to see beyond the mundane. Everybody sees apple falling from apple tree, but it was only Isaac Newton that saw the law of gravity at work. Everybody sees birds flying in the sky, but it was only the wright brothers (Orville wright and Wilbur wright) that saw aeroplane in the sky. Helen Keller said “A blind person is not someone without sight but a man without vision”. Vision is the number one defining characteristic of a good leader. King Solomon said: “where there is no vision the people perish”, vision gives sense of direction.

Listening Ear  

A good leader must be able to listen more than he talks. I guess that why God gave us two ears and one mouth. Meaning there is more wisdom in listening than talking. A fool is considered wise in the midst of wise men if only he keeps his mouth shut and listens. You cannot lead the people you don’t listen to. It takes listening to gather wisdom from both the young and old.

Intuition

A good leader must be able to perceive information intuitively.  They must be able to smell trouble and proffer solution way before the trouble emerge. This ability is what we refer to as hunch or the sixth sense, that inner knowing that we cannot just explain. Human beings are not just a mass of body but we are intelligent beings or spirit that is able to draw inspiration from the celestial. Even animals could perceive when there is trouble how much human being.

Sympathy/Empathy

A good leader must be able to feel what his follower are going through, in other words, a leader must be sensitive to the plight of the led. No one will listen to you until them know you really care about them. Ability to sympathize and empathize draws the followers to the leader.  Martin Luther King Jr could felt the plight of the black in America and he was able to lead them out of segregation and discrimination. He said: “Segregation is a cancer in the body politic, which must be removed before our democratic health can be realized. Segregation is wrong because it is a system of adultery perpetuated by an illicit intercourse between injustice and immorality”.  Segun Olaniyan said: “If your do not have the heart for the people you cannot be their head, you may be their ruler but not their leader”. It takes the heart of a lion to be the king of the animal in the jungle.

Communication

A good leader must be able to communicate with the led. Communication is the heart of any relationship and the bridge between the leader and the follower. If the bridge (communication) is broken down then there is no movement and consequently no progress. Communication is a two way bridge which is: talking and listening, it is a dialogue not a monologue.  A good leader must be able to communicate effectively with his people.

Note: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader”. John Quicy Adams. You don’t have to be a governor or a senator to be a leader, if you command a following and you influence people positively then you are a leader.

Segun Olaniyan (+2348062152405)