Leadership Development

[F.I.N.I.S.H.E.R 2,397]

“And the tribe leader number fifteen is", roared all the sixteen delegations that were standing around the pool. There I was, hoping to feel a push on my back, standing in a line along with all my fellow candidates. The entire scene looked like the one from "The Goblet of Fire" where the champions were announced. I felt a sudden thrust and I was in the pool for the next two seconds. While I was swimming my way back to the surface, I could hear everyone screaming and cheering for me. I smiled and swam my way to the other end of the pool where the fourteen other tribe leaders were waiting.

 

Though the entire process of elections was fictitious, the feelings were surreal. I felt as if I had conquered the universe. I felt as if I was the most important person out there. The word "Congratulations" kept flowing in. Let me tell you something, humans have a tendency for extracting happiness from things that usually do not matter. While they are busy in the search of long lasting happiness, they often forget about these little things. For the past two years, I doubted myself. Every day when I woke up and saw myself in the mirror, I asked myself a question: Are you really that good? I am not lying. This question eats me up. Just like that, I was the tribe leader of a bunch of talented blokes and girls. I have always had a passion for being a leader, but I never really got the opportunity to be one. This was the chance. The chance to explore my leadership skills that I was so confident about.

 

"Stop victimizing yourself. Stop being a victim of your past. Start being an architect of your future."

 

This post is not a story about my victory. It is not even about how I led my team. It is just about this commonplace term called leadership. What is leadership? Who is a leader? This word is used almost a million times everyday around the world, but how many of us really get the essence of this gorgeous term. Not me, I can vouch for that. Leadership is not a concept about telling someone what to do. It is not about winning the title. It is a concept which is far greater than all of this. Trust me, no one can understand it completely. When I was standing and watching the candidates of other tribes facing defeat, I noticed something about us. We feel bad about defeat. It is absolutely human. I would feel that too, maybe, but after so many consecutive defeats in the past couple of years, I cultivated a habit. A habit of learning while losing. Why were the heads hanging down in despair? People think that it is necessary for someone to have a title to lead. No. Leadership is about taking an initiative. Leadership is about taking a single step everyday. Leadership is about facing defeat and coming back. When you do all of this, you are nurturing your personal leadership skills.

 

"Any organization in this world is like a ladder. The ladder defines the hierarchy. Most people fail to realize that the lowest rung is as important as any other rung. There is no reason to be disappointed. Feel important."

 

Before leading a team, there is a journey to complete. The journey of personal leadership development is far more important than the journey of leading a group of people. Just imagine the latter as the tip of an iceberg. I have this belief. No one can be a leader without leading themselves in the first place. The entire concept of personal leadership revolves around one word: Discipline. Mahatma Gandhi would not be called as Father of the Nation (India) if he was not disciplined. Usain Bolt would not be the fastest man on this planet if he was not disciplined enough to run kilometers every single day. When I went back to my room, my tribe members got up and hugged me. How do you feel when fifteen strangers believe that you can lead them? Most beautiful feeling ever. I knew I had to give my best. I had to be disciplined. There are three essentials of being a leader:

 

1. Patience: No one likes an impatient person who keeps nagging you for the pettiest reasons. There are always going to be people who are busy in pulling you down. Be patient with them. Love them. Nurture them. Teach them a lesson. When you are a leader, losing your temper is the worst thing that you can ever do. Patience is virtue.

 

2. Empathy: Understand your people - hear them out. Think about things from their point of view. What do you do when all your people are standing in these huge queues for one hour. I kept running from here and there, motivating each and every one of them. The most basic thing I could do was give them a bottle of water. It was a small thing, but they appreciated it like anything. So I learned that empathizing with people is very important.

 

3. Character: What kind of a person do you want your members to look up to? No one likes a man/woman who has no character. When I say the word character, I do not imply loose women and men. I talk about the principles and perspectives one has. It is very important to have an amazing character. Note that.

 

Lead yourself, my friends. Love what you do. Cultivate these three things if you want to become a leader. I am still in the process. Are you? I spotted this picture in one of my WhatsApp groups. I hope it explains what I was talking about.

 

 

- Thank you for taking your time to read this article.

Best regards and Happy New Year,

fini

Edited February 14, 2018 by F.I.N.I.S.H.E.R

[Hex 11,520]

Approved!

 

Quite a quality piece, really enjoyed reading it and I'm sure many will be inspired from your success! Good luck for the future!

[fury987 604]

Good luck and happy new year

[Jaaames 1,622]

This is great Fini, Happy New Year :)

[F.I.N.I.S.H.E.R 2,397]

Good luck and happy new year

 

 

Approved!

 

Quite a quality piece, really enjoyed reading it and I'm sure many will be inspired from your success! Good luck for the future!

 

 

Lovely!

 

 

This is great Fini, Happy New Year :)

Thank you :)

[shafter9 156]

That "motivational" poster is crappy mathematically. If you wanted to see the difference in a day over a year, you would use multiplication, not putting 365 as an exponent. 

0.99 x 365 = 361.35

1.01 x 365 = 368.65

 

Using exponents greatly exaggerates the difference. And people who manipulate numbers control the weak. :ph34r: 

[F.I.N.I.S.H.E.R 2,397]

That "motivational" poster is crappy mathematically. If you wanted to see the difference in a day over a year, you would use multiplication, not putting 365 as an exponent. 

0.99 x 365 = 361.35

1.01 x 365 = 368.65

 

Using exponents greatly exaggerates the difference. And people who manipulate numbers control the weak. :ph34r:

:'D

Edited June 28, 2018 by F.I.N.I.S.H.E.R