One of the greatest things about leadership is that we all bring something different to the table. If you were to read articles on good leadership qualities, you would usually see factors like integrity, effective communication and influence.
These are all wonderful qualities of a leader, but I am going to share something I believe has made some stand out as better leaders which is, putting your organization, society, community and everyone ahead of myself.
Here is a simple story about me as a President of the Rotaract Club of Kampala East. I must admit, in my early days as a President, was all about me. I had a title, and I thought that was all I needed.
I thought because of my title, everyone would follow and respect me. I didn’t think leadership was something I needed to work hard at. I thought had already made it to the top and forgot I was leading volunteers.
Boy, was I wrong!
I didn’t think leadership was something I needed to work hard at
Lucky for me, I had a few close people who cared about me enough to confront me about my selfish attitude. As leaders, we need to be able to recognize people who are not performing at their greatest level, provide support and feedback to them.
I had no idea I was failing as a leader and hurting my club members because of my pompous attitude.
I do believe that some people are born leaders and learn throughout life to become better leaders. One of the best lessons I learned was that ‘it is not about me.’ When I made the transition from valuing myself to valuing my people, I was transformed as a leader and my club members.
One of my visual mentors John Maxwell, in his book “Everyone Communicates, Few Connect” writes, “When we learn to turn our focus from ourselves to others, the whole world opens up to us.” When you understand this and take the focus away from you, it will change who you are as a leader.
Providing your members with leadership opportunities helps them grow into responsible members. If we want to work, to grow our people and protect our legacy as leaders, we must give our members the opportunities to develop leadership skills that allow them to manage time, work as a team, set goals, solve problems, facilitate meetings, defend positions, and make effective presentations.
In other words, we must help them develop effective life skills but more emphasis should be put on considering other members other than themselves.
Also read: How Inspiring Others Can Be the Best Language of Leadership