Leadership is mistakenly thought to be something limited to certain people - people in positions of authority typically, but otherwise people with certain rights and responsibilities over and above those around them. Okay, such people could be called leaders, but it certainly doesn't mean that each one of them shows leadership. Nor does it mean every person who shows leadership is labelled a leader. Let's get that straight to begin with.
Leadership is a quality in us that helps us take an initiative toward change. It is the quality that allows us to look at possibilities with potential that are beyond the predictable, and take risks to choose them and then make them work. It could be something as simple as setting up a party along a completely different theme, or something as big as challenging something dysfunctional in the work space and working to make it more effective.
A leader is a person who leads. It may be designated, or voluntary. The role requires leadership to be effective, yet it is a role, not a quality.
Leadership is about taking responsibility, foresight, risks and committing to seeing it through. It can be anywhere. In today's world, leadership is needed everywhere. There are more choices than ever before and utilizing the opportunities they present bring forth the challenge of being able to move away from the known and the comfortable and exploring potential. It needs a person to be able to sense the people around, situations and adapt quickly to act in a manner that leads to a situation that works.
This in itself is leadership. Once you start seeing it like this, you open yourself to possibilities of freeing your own creativity and acknowledging your initiative. It leads to a whole new way of being.
From the constricting and powerless situation of someone else being the leader, you become your own leader and in the process empower yourself to BE and realize your potential.
This is how our
leadership development programmes are not just limited to leaders too.
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