I recently accompanied my mother to a leadership workshop by John Maxwell from her work. I remember everyone telling me: “This is a great opportunity”; “I wish I took this when I was your age” or “Pay attention, you will remember this”. However, I was just thinking of what I was going to eat after, I wasn’t in the business after all, so I thought this was pointless and besides we all ‘know’ what a leader is. Someone nice, who gives others orders and has positions and “stuff” like that. Little did I know, that those 3 hours were going to change my perspective in so many things, inspire this article and even help shape myself personally, academically and professionally, as I took it as a reference for my daily life. We are all in different stages in life, which requires us different demands and different priorities, but information like this we can mold into our lifestyles.
A leader is not just someone who gives orders or that is in a high or privileged position like so many of us had thought in some point. If not, then how do we identify this leader? A leader is someone passionate that can lead a group of either two people or 200 people. All throughout history, we’ve seen how a leader always developed themselves and ended up being “the hero”. Well, a leader is someone with initiative, who just has in mind the well-being of the people who look up to them and for some, he can certainly become a “hero” in time of crisis. A leader understands someone else’s needs and puts themselves in their shoes, just so they can be a mentor, be a guide and help them do better. A leader doesn’t know it all, he/she should continue learning, studying , developing themselves in whatever place in life they are at, so they know how to deal with others when in need. A true leader has followers, that way you know they are doing it right, because they are “moving masses”. Don’t see these people as someone who is bigger than you, better than you or higher than you. They are facilitators and they are there to help and share their knowledge with you. They stand up for what they believe in with courage because let me tell you, in the world we live in to think outside the box and present it to others is hard enough, courage is highly needed. Politicians, professors or CEO’s are not the only leaders out there. You can be a leader too, any of us can. I believe that we all have the potential to be one. With enough discipline, passion and courage, you can do great things and be a guide for others to do great things too. Once you get there, don’t forget to stay humble, don’t get blinded by the perks, don’t abuse your power because that’s the reason why people don’t trust the leaders in our community anymore. Don’t forget who you are, your mission and remember that a true leader needs their people – team work. So go on and stand up for yourself and for others. Don’t wait for someone else to do it, what if they are waiting for someone like you?
“Be the leader people will want to follow” -John Maxwell