To be a good leader is not an easy thing, it is necessary to meet all the necessary requirements within the chosen sphere, to be able to communicate with workers, listen to them, help, and control them. This is why it is impossible to become a really sophisticated leader within a short period of time.
A person should develop his/her best qualities in order to have the most significant traits of an effective leader, and time is one of the most helpful means in this situation. Lots of good leaders may be found in the sphere of politics, management, finance, and even education.
I got a wonderful chance to work with the leader from a business sphere; it was a regional bank chief, let it be Mr. Thomson. Mr.
Thomson has a wonderful skill to demonstrate how an effective leader should behave and what professional traits have to be developed first of all; this person gives me a couple of lessons to help me concentrate on the necessary abilities, which are inherent to a real leader.
Andrew DuBrin (2009) underlines one simple fact concerning proper leadership: it should be considered as both partnership and relationship, and compared to another close concept, management. If management is all about orders, control, and planning, leadership is more about inspiration, motivation, and help.
A great leader should be able to create certain partnership and relationship between him/herself and the group of workers. Honesty, cooperation, equal attitude to each worker, social awareness, and self-management – this is what may help an ordinary leader to become a great leader.
Mr. Thomson leads the bank for a couple of years. He does not want to agree that great leaders are born, not made. He underlines all the time that it is much more effective if people hone the skills to become a great leader through their practice within some period of time.
Each person should have a chance to develop, enlarge own skills, and achieve higher and high results in the chosen sphere. Mr. Thomson’s first advice is to be always ready for commitment and huge responsibility. Effective leadership deals with providing certain directions and help, this is why people should not be afraid of numerous questions and should be ready to give some helpful answers.
An effective leader, according to Mr. Thomson, should concentrate on personal strong and weak points in order to develop the former and correct the latter.
He also admits that good leaders should be able to analyze the ways other people perceive them. When a person pays attention to the ways employees reacts on his/her orders and suggestions, he/she gets more chances to find out the best way to lead and help.
One of the best pieces of advice, Mr. Thomson offers, is not to forget to take into consideration personal interests and desires. Lots of leaders try to think more and more about their workers in order to satisfy them and promote good work. It is one of the biggest mistakes: a great leader is always able to think about personal benefits and to support the employees.
If a person is not born to be a leader, it is not a problem. Some time, desire to study and develop personal skills – these are the first steps to success in leadership. Each person in our world has equal rights; sometimes, people do not have enough opportunities, but still, the chance exists.
This is why it is necessary to train the best qualities and make use of the examples, offered by the already sophisticated leaders, because the real life examples are considered to be good teachers, and the success of Mr. Thomson may serve as a worthwhile example.
Reference List
DuBrin, A. J. (2009). Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills. United States: Cengage Learning.