What Are The Things To Know Before Deciding To Be A Leader?
What are the things to know before deciding to be a leader? Quite a lot of psychologists have propounded a number of things that each and every individual should know before he or she decides to be a leader over a group of people. This should have been seen as a step in the right direction as it will help people to be well prepared before they step out into the world to lead others. However, it is very sad to learn that most of these theories and steps propounded by these psychologists do not tackle the main issues that they are supposed to be talking about and this has led to a greater number of people taking up leadership positions with no clear idea of what to expect in the role that they have chosen. The end result of such an uncalculated venture has always been catastrophic with most of them ultimately leading to the realization of negative impacts instead of the perceived positive impacts that had led them to make such a choice.
Leadership:
It is always good and essential for a leader to be broad-minded, open to other ideas from members of the group and to also have a clear vision as to what he or she wishes to achieve among many other things. However, these things should not be confused with the ability of an individual to know what the path that he or she has chosen entails. The things mentioned are only needed when an individual finally gets accepted by a group of people to lead them but until then such things cannot be used as the yardstick for deciding to become a leader.
It is for this reason that this article has been written so as to set the records straight with regards to the things that each and every individual should know before deciding to become a leader. There are in actual fact two main things that a person should first be aware of before embarking on a leadership journey. They are as follows.
People always choose their leaders: This is something that most psychologists do not talk about but it is one of the two things that a person must know before choosing to be a leader. In proper leadership terms, people are always those who make the decision as to whether they prefer you to be their leader or not. This is something that can never ever be changed no matter what a person does. In reality, the body of a person can be subjected to various external conditions that will get them to do your bidding but their mindset and heart will never regard you as their leader. This, therefore, means that you may do all that you can but until the people decide to allow you to lead them you will not have any leadership influence on their lives. It is these same people who will also choose if they want to be your followers or not and with this one too their decisions always trumps at the end of the day. This is, therefore, one main thing which you should know so that you do not end up feeling dejected when such a situation presents itself in the course of your decision to become a leader.
People will always decide what they want to do and what they do not want to do: This is the second of the things that you need to know before trying to lead a group of people. The mere fact that you have a group of people following you does not mean that you can get them to do whatever you demand of them. That decision to carry out certain tasks also solely lies with your followers as they will have to freely opt to do it or there is nothing you can do to them. Due to the fact that leadership has been seen as allowing people to make their own decisions without being forced, the moment a little bit of force is applied makes the whole leadership thing to become a different proposition. You will either be seen as a dictator or a tyrant and these do not qualify as true leadership roles.
The knowledge of these two things will help to put a person in a better state of mind with regard to opting to become a leader. What you should use to comfort yourself in such situations is the fact that true leaders like Jesus, Mohammed, and Indira Ghandi never asked for people to follow their lead, these people chose to and so even without followers never ever lose hope in what you wish to achieve and you will make a difference.
About the Author
Dr. Jeff Evans
Comments are closed.