Is Leadership a Skill or a Quality?

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Few weeks ago, when my Senior actually suggested me a topic to write on: Ïs Leadership a skill or a quality” I felt that it was pretty easy. But the more I went through articles and theories, the more I got confused. 

The discussion about whether leadership is quality or dependent on learnable abilities and skills has involved researchers and scientists for quite a long time, with great arguments on the two sides. Despite the proof presented by the two sides, there is no obvious champ.

But what I observed is that everyone can be a leader in their own way! Honestly, it depends on both skills and qualities required in certain fields or projects. Some of them require a strategic planner as a leader whereas some require relationship builder. It always depends.

However, I could really understand one thing, and that was a person possessing certain leadership qualities and mindset can definitely develop other skills required. And it’s not true when people say that qualities are inborn? You develop them through experiences too.

Therefore, let’s talk about the qualities that every leader should have:

1. Self Awareness:

“Great leadership starts with self awareness.”

Being aware of your own qualities, weaknesses, style, character, personality, and so on. significantly affects how leaders carry on and associate with others. By being Self- Aware, a leader can deliberately impact the circumstance and the potential atmosphere of the group.

Then again, not being self-aware could prompt undesirable or bothersome results.

If you desire to be an effective leader, consider and find out about your best leadership tool; yourself. Reflect upon the effect your connections have on others. Tune in to both positive and negative feedback others offer on your conduct and style. Request for candid feedback on your initiative. Accept every opportunity to lead evaluations of your personality and style using substantial instruments. 

Attempting to understand, analyze and create yourself will pay immense profits when you are put into any leadership role.

2. World Citizen:

Being a world citizen means that having concerns about what’s going around the entire world and not just your home place. Leaders believe that this world is a global village where there are so many varieties of people contributing towards peace and fulfillment or other humans and leaving an impact. 

Leaders are world citizens who perceive the truth of our shared humankind and common destiny. This acknowledgment is an inspiration to leave on an adventure to create something more than just a world. On this journey, leaders look to have a lasting effect which rises above fringes and inspires our worldwide town or global village.

3. Empowering Others:

Empowerment refers both to the procedure of self-empowerment and to expert help of individuals, which empowers them to beat their feeling of powerlessness and absence of impact making, and to recognize and in the end to utilize their assets and possibilities. 

So yes it is significant function of leadership. 

Gone are the days when leadership was basically the effort of control and power over others. Today the best leaders are the people who enable others to step up and lead. When you break out of the traditional mind-set of a leader and a devotee, it can enable you to make stronger bonds with your representatives and employees. 

Trust me it’s even stronger than the covalent bond we studied in chemistry 😛 Just kidding 😉

An empowering leader makes an environment where others can work freely and feel responsible enough to take an interest in the decision making. It is an environment wherein much more can be accomplished than was initially thought possible. 

While there isn’t only one formula or one ‘right way’ that you can empower others, an empowering leader would constantly take a look at new chances to all things considered to achieve an organization’s objectives.

4. Solution Oriented:

We all react to issues in various ways. A few of us quickly begin turning over that problem in our mind, perhaps searching for the reason that issue developed or searching out related issues that might not have occurred to us yet. But, others look beyond the problem to the solution—quickly searching for approaches to settle the issue and move ahead. 

There’s most likely space for the two different ways of reasoning—however in case you’re in a position of leader, your employees are going to seek you for answers. To an enormous degree, they’re going to require you to have solutions, not only theories about the issue itself.

I understand that solutions don’t come that easily but once we train our mind by focussing on the solutions to every problem, our mind-set starts becoming solution oriented. 

Think about that one chocolate problem our teachers used to give, the best students used to think and start searching for the solutions immediately, even when they never came across it. In the end, someone definitely used to come up with the answer!

Great scientists and leaders, all have them have solution oriented mindset, that’s why they could create and come up with big discoveries and things.

By putting a person in a challenging situation or an environment, one can definitely develop these leadership qualities.

When a person possesses these qualities, they can develop various skills in them, say communication skills, strategizing skills, planning skills, facing the sudden challenges etc. and become a successful leader.

We at AIESEC, provide various opportunities which will help you to develop a leadership mindset and become a leader. Find them here at aiesec.org 🙂

Till then, happy leadership journey 😉

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