One morning when I was working with an NGO, the head came in and said ‘Aaj kuch toofani karte hain’. Suddenly people were inspired – the fundraising team, the campaign team, the communications – all started rocking. I myself felt a bit motivated. It was just a part of an ad campaign by a cola drink and we heard it all the time, but then when our leader said that, it had a different effect altogether.
That’s the effect of a leader.
“ Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence” – Sheryl Sandberg
The NGO Head made the same point. Her presence motivated us and the effect continued even when she was not around. So what makes a good leader? Here is something I found and I feel that somewhere all leaders would be thinking the same:
"I want to inspire people. I want someone to look at me and say 'because of you, I didn't give up.”
Many spend much of their life striving to be a successful leader, learning about leadership and developing their leadership style. But what they forget is they don’t need to be a leader. Being a leader starts with leading yourself in the right direction. Leader is a voice, not an echo. Live your own life the way you want it to be and stop copying others!! Once you do that, you create your own path, a path others would follow.
Warren Bennis puts it aptly - "Your task is not to become a leader. Your task is to become yourself, and to use yourself completely - all your gifts and skills and energies - to make your vision manifest. You must withhold nothing. You must, in sum, become the person you started out to be, and enjoy the process of becoming."