“You Gave Me Wings, Now Let Me Fly”
Posted on 30. Oct, 2009 by I Have Hope in Helena
What makes a leader, a leader?
A leader is a commander.
A leader is always the life of the discussion and is always in control.
A leader’s ideas are always the best.
A leader is perfect.
WRONG.
The image of a leader is often reflected by misconception. With that, the purpose of leadership is often lost in translation.
Sadly, there isn’t a formula for being the perfect leader or the best leader. Leadership isn’t just a position or a state of power but rather an action. There is always a delicate balance in the blend. As I learned, simply being deemed the leader doesn’t always mean you are one. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a leader inside every one of us that is eager to lead, to motivate, and to innovate.
I’ve always known a leader is someone who pulls their team members to achieve, and a leader makes things happen with the greatness of his or her abilities. With that in mind, “being a leader is not about making yourself more powerful. It’s about making people around you more powerful.” (Linton)
I want to share a few excerpts from the “8 Lessons of Leadership” from my favourite article in Times Magazine, concluded by my most admired leader – Nelson Mandela with everyone. I also want to share some of my experiences and view points along the way with the hope of lighting a spark or feeding inspirations.
Nelson Mandela is a very influential leader. He was the first democratically elected leader of South Africa and most credited for his activism in anti-apartheid. In addition, he was recognized with the honour of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Now, at age 91, he shares many lessons that can aspire his future hopefuls like us.
One of Mandela’s leadership lessons is that “Courage is not the absence of fear — it’s inspiring others to move beyond it.” Leaders are not necessarily fearless but they are definitely audacious when facing the uncertainties that are out there while comforting others.
Sometimes, the most effective thing that a leader can do is to stand their ground. Setting the atmosphere and positive attitudes can dramatically enhance the performance in group dynamics. It doesn’t even have to be a recognized leader to take leadership. Rather, I have found that leadership take on many forms. I related to this fact when we were blindfolded in the forest, only to find our directions holding onto each other and a piece of rope. Perhaps we were not “fearful” of the situation, but there were certainly a lot of uncertainties and doubts. It calmed me down when my peers next to me squeezed my hand and gave me a confirmation of our position because I felt I wasn’t alone. It didn’t mean that they were confident that we were on the right trail, but the subtle little communication made me feel more intact with the group and our goal with confidence.
Another great lesson I want to share is “Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport”. Now the term “enemy” doesn’t necessarily have to be a person, in most cases, it doesn’t. The “enemy” this case can be seen as as a conflict, a problem, or a disturbance that causes us to change plans. By learning their “favourite sport”, it can be referred to a further understanding or analysis of that very conflict. For example, the change in plan we’ve had in our event planning threw us off track, however through this we can improvise and come up with more effective ideas. In other words, it encourages us to take further leadership during discussions. Additionally, the improvisational skills we develop are advantageous in conflict resolution as well.
Furthermore, “Appearances matter — and remember to smile”. An aspect of being a leader has to do with the confidence they display for their group. Appearances are the images that we keep in front of our team members. I personally consider it to be the actions that we display, the language we choose to use when speaking to our peers, to making responsible choices. And… a smile… A smile is an affirmation. Each one of us want to be confirmed and approved. A smile overrides a thousand words and make us warm, fuzzy, and appreciated inside.
Moreover, “Quitting is leading too”, giving faith, trust, and putting leadership and responsibilities in the hands of our peers makes them feel like more valued members of the team. Because they are trusted, they try harder and perform better. “Strange as it sounds, the best leaders gain authority by giving it away.” (Stockdale)
I think of leaders as mentors, they give us wings that help us fly. Optimum leaders help to extract the potential out of every single one of us because it’s the commitment that gives the results as opposed to authority.
“People don’t want to be managed. They want to be led. Whoever heard of a world of managers? World leader, yes. Educational leader. Political leader. Religious leader. Community leader. Labour leader. Business leader. They lead; they don’t manage. Ask your horse. You can lead your horse to water, but you can’t manage him to drink [...] stop managing… start leading.” (United Technologies)
Leaders recognize the weaknesses of team members,but at the same time, they suggest and plan ways which we can make up for them using our strengths.
Within our diverse group of contemplators, producers, responders, shapers, influencers, movers, and doers, there is so much potential in store for all of us. We can be leaders in our special ways because “Everyone leads. Leadership is an action, not a position.” (McGannon)
In Model UN, I felt that every one of our proposals or points were meaningful, it turned the table and lead us to a new perspective when one of us throws out a new point. We have no idea how and where each and one of leadership lead us. I am grateful for all of the wonderful leaders, mentors that have guided me – many of whom are within the Reach Lesotho group, I thank you.
“You gave me wings, now let me fly…” – Don Ward
