I take the microphone from my Scoutmaster, and look at my very eager staff, ready, after months of training to teach these scouts about becoming a leader. Then it hits me, full force through ever sense in my body. There are 125 people staring straight at me, waiting to hear me say my first words as the Senior Patrol Leader(kind of like the president of Boy Scouts) of Nagatamen National Youth Leadership Training. There are 250 eyes watching me, 250 ears listening to my words and every single one of them is waiting for something amazing. The parents want to know that their child is in good hands, my youth staff is waiting for me to crack a joke to ease the tension, and the adult staff is looking at me hoping that I will live up to their expectations. Think that’s enough stress? I embrace it, because it’s fun.
I view myself as a leader every day of my life. Sometimes it is hard to figure out who is leader material, but other times it is rather easy. When people are working in groups, you can tell the one that seems to be directing the groups activates. The leader is always willing to help out with problems which they don’t need recognition for. They will speak of what they have done, but more so if you ask them about it. A leader never lays all of their accomplishments on the table, or boasts about what they have achieved because they are very modest and humble people. They care for the people that they are leading and will make sure that they can help others in any way possible. They ask questions and get to know people on a personal level so they know how to tell when something is wrong. This way, they have in insight into everything that goes on.
Now the leader that I am talking about is the leader that does his job for other people without self-profit. There is the opposite type though, and that is a person who leads for their own personal interests. They are in it for the recognition and money that may come with the job. To the self-profiting leader, another job is just a nice little point on a resume. These people will push tasks off to other people, and then when something goes wrong, they will blame other people instead of taking the blame. When President Obama had problems with his newly elected Cabinet members, he came before the American people and said “I screwed up”. He took the blame for his blunder, instead of passing it off to someone else. That is the mark of a true leader.
According to Leadersdirect, a Leading management service, you need the following traits to become a true leader. These traits are that you must have a spirit of adventure and an ability to influence people. Do people really want a boring person to be their leader? A good leader can make people laugh when things are at their toughest. Another trait that a leader should have is that they need to have something that is worth saying and the courage to speak out and the willingness to risk group rejection. If leaders don’t speak out their ideas, then it is a waste of a brilliant mind. They need to be willing to put their thoughts on the line, no matter how silly the idea may sound, it might just work. Another trait that a leader should have is the ability to improve the world around you. And finally, the leader should be able to influence others. This doesn't require a drive to dominate people, only a desire to differentiate yourself, to make your mark on people. That is the whole point if leadership, is making someone see how they can do better in this world.
So now after all these things, you may ask how do I become a leader? It has been argued if people are born natural leaders, or if they become great leaders. Leaders aren't born and neither are great artists, but both are born with potential. If being a leader means challenging the status quo, then you need youthful rebelliousness to stand up and be counted. This is a character trait you were born with or developed very early in life - it is not a learned skill set. Sometimes attending a leadership training program can help people become better leaders, or just having that influential person in someone’s life can set them on the right path to becoming a leader.
When there is someone leading something, and they are doing it properly, you should be ready to follow orders. They know what they are doing and by standing back and dishing out tasks, they can observe the whole operation and help with the little things so they don’t get too caught up with things. After the final showing of La Boheme, there was a massive strike to remove the set from the stage. As stage manager, I needed to make sure things were going in the right places and the set was being handled properly. Now do that while about twenty people are asking you for instructions on what to do and where things go. I grouped people together and had them carry out tasks and when they were done, I had something else ready to go. In a matter of fifteen minutes the stage was completely clear of everything. It was a big job to do and people were willing to help that I had more volunteers than I needed to strike the stage. So even simple tasks like making sure there is no trash in Brown Chapel was an important task to keep people busy. If I had even more people, then I politely tell them that we are nearly finished and they are dismissed.
Being a leader isn’t something that you get from a position or title, but it springs from anyone enabled and encouraged to express himself while working with purpose and meaning. As a society, we need to shift away from the notion of chief executives as visionaries with transforming ideas. We have to shift from a dependency state to one of participation in which everyone uses his or her own power and potential to serve and fulfill a purpose. Leadership is a process in which leaders and followers engage to achieve mutual goals. We are all leaders and followers at different times. "Followership" is not a passive role but a dynamic one: Followers ensure that the leader follows the purpose. If the followers notice that something is not right with their leaders way of doing things, than they can band together and find out who is they can talk to about the issue.
Being a leader is not all fun and games because there are always people watching you for a slip up. Your achievements will be praised, but they should mean more than a placeholder on a resume. Remember: Leadership is a journey, not something that can be learned on a five-day training course. It requires time and reflection.
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