If we go back and take a look at human history and all the different civilizations that ever existed on the face of the earth one entity that is quite evident and constant amongst all of them is a ‘leader.’ Regardless of how rebellious or civil humans have been, they have always been led by excellent leaders. They have been influenced by people who have shown them the way and the real purpose of their existence.
In the simplest of definitions, leadership is the art of motivating a specific group of individuals to act toward achieving a common, unanimous organizational goal. It is one of the most valuable assets on this earth. If a group, society, organization, institution, country, or even religion is without a true leader, they will go astray sooner or later. A visionary leader will help a group of people to move from one point to another.
To shed more light on this vast topic of leadership and the various elements associated with it, we will include a recently conducted interview of two promising leaders Mr. Furqan Shamsi, Principal Consultant at Guggu Consulting; and Mr.Nasir Ayub, Founder at Spectra Engineering. Some important questions related to the art of leadership were asked, let us analyze what they had to say:
What is Leadership?
According to Mr.Furqan, leadership is a continual process of ‘social influence’ where you put in a lot of energy and self-belief to fulfill your commitment towards the ones around you. If there is a short-term or a long-term goal that you wish to achieve, you accomplish that via listening, connecting, collaborating, and matching with the rest of your group or team members. According to him, leadership is a two-way process where you understand and interpret your team members\’ beliefs, expectations, and motivation points.
As per Mr. Nasir, leadership, in a nutshell, is the art of influencing and inspiring people around you through your character and charisma. It is the art of imparting your ideas and vision to others in a way that they are on the same wavelength as yours, which eventually helps to achieve collective goals.
What are the personal traits of a leader?
Mr.Furqan summarized this as the “3 P’s”, which are:
Planning: The ability to foresee specific outcomes through self-assessment and situational analysis and be able to plan accordingly.
Provide: The ability to provide, not just the tangible or monetary resources, but more importantly the right direction and way forward to achieve collective goals.
Protect: The ability to protect the interests, goals, beliefs, and expectations of their team members this is what inspires them to follow your lead.
Leadership and entrepreneurship both share the same traits, what is the fundamental difference between the two?
According to Mr. Nasir, leadership is a ‘subset’ of entrepreneurship. If someone wants to be a successful entrepreneur, then he or she has to be a good leader in the first place. He further added that a leader should possess the following skills:
Visionary: A true leader needs to be far-sighted so that he or she can foresee certain situations and come up with action plans accordingly.
Lead from the front: A leader needs to set an example by leading from the front to inspire his or her team members.
A 24/7 Leader: a true leader will show leadership qualities round-the-clock and not just during business hours or weekdays.
Show Emotional Intelligence
A leader needs to know his or her own emotions, as well as the emotions of the entire team.
Are leaders born or made?
Mr.Furqan mentioned that although genetic and innate characteristics are always present in a human being, however, there is a particular set of skills that a human can learn depending upon a few factors such as the environment, personality development, pressure scenarios someone has been in, etc.
Is there a process to becoming a leader?
According to Mr. Nasir, yes, there sure is, and it certainly can be learned over the years. He did mention that seldom is the case where we see a born leader. He was of the view that leaders learn the art of true leadership ‘after they go through a certain process that includes experiences, situations, failures, and successes. Mr.Furqan suggested that the process of becoming a successful leader starts with self-assessment. In addition to that, a combination of emotional and intellectual intelligence plays a vital role during the whole journey.
What is the best leadership model?
Mr.Furqan\’s vote was with the ‘servant leadership model’ in which the primary goal is to serve. He emphasized the fact that it is not only about serving the people that is just one part of it. He believes that a true leader has to serve the purpose as well as his people to achieve goals. Moreover, the demonstration of leadership qualities is heavily based on a certain situation. So at the end of the day, a leader needs to adjust and portray the skills of situational leadership.
What is the difference strength and new thoughts.\” between a manager and a leader?
Eleanor Roosevelt A leader will say ‘We do it,’ whereas a manager says ‘You do it’ Mr.Furqan quoted this famous example that we all know of and went on to say that not everyone might have the qualities of a good leader. For instance, some people are good at supervising, while others are great managers. A leader, on the other hand, has to know when to lead and when to manage. That is the primary difference between a manager and a leader.
Art of Leadership In a Nutshell
In the modern corporate world, leaders have a unique, dynamic, and demanding role. They are expected to inspire, integrate, devise strategies and formulate both short-term and long-term plans that are in line with the organization\’s purpose. It can be a real challenge in the modern context, yes, however, not at all impossible to achieve.
IF YOUR ACTIONS INSPIRE OTHERS TO DREAM MORE, LEARN MORE, DO MORE AND BECOME MORE, YOU ARE A LEADER.
– John Quincy Adams
