OPINION
S.M. Talib Rizvi
Leadership in business
is able to attract people and align them towards a common goal. Leaders are defined by several commendable qualities. First and foremost, they are powerful communicators that are able to get their message across effectively. This is an important trait to have because it allows them to provide a clear vision and a sense of direction to people around them of how to go about the task at hand. On an individual level, this allows leaders to elicit the necessary response from people whether it is in the form of “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you motivating the employee to raise their performance or working become a leader, success is all about growing others.” —Jack Welch on their shortcomings. A successful leader is able to use his voice to draw the necessary response from people and inspires them to eadership is one of the most fundamental compoachieve greater success. nents of a successful organization. An organization A good leader is able to empower their followers and delwith strong leadership is not only able to achieve egate responsibility to others. People get more confidence when its goals but also ensures that their success will be they are trusted with important decisions and leaders ensure that sustainable for a long period of time. The concept they create an environment where people are able to succeed in of leadership is not straightforward and people their tasks by providing the necessary support. A good leader reare often confused regarding what it means to be a leader. It alizes that they cannot achieve things alone and therefore they inis a common misconception, for example, that leadership can vest heavily in empowering people around them which ultimately only succeed when a person has significant power or authority. leads to not only a productive work environment but also makes Moreover, people fall for the fallacy that ‘bosses’ and ‘leaders’ an organization capable of achieving their targets. On a personal are synonymous with one another when in reality they are very level, great leaders display a high level of empathy with people. different. Therefore, it is very important to understand what a This trait allows them to develop strong connections with leader actually is and the impact they can create on people. people and people feel more comfortable in sharing their probLeadership can be defined in many ways and depending on lems when they know that they will be provided the necessary the context, various definitions can capture the essence of leadhelp to overcome those issues. Perhaps most importantly, leaders ership. From my perspective, a leader is someone who is able to have a strong sense of integrity and they never compromise on influence and motivate others to maximize their efforts towards their values. People become inclined to follow someone when the achievement of a goal. It needs to be understood that social they realize that a person is honest with them and has strong influence is a crucial component of leadership. A leader must ethical values that they uphold in the most challenging of circumbe someone who inspires others and is able to influence others. stances. These are only some of the qualities that define what a Having authority or power does not mean that you are influenctrue leader is and it is imperative that leaders consistently work ing others but rather you are in a position to control others by on these traits to ensure that they are able to successfully lead force. In contrast, a leader is someone who through their actions people for an extended period of time. Now that we have understood some of the qualities that a leader must possess, it is imperative to understand the difference between a ‘leader’ and a ‘boss’. A boss typically is someone who uses their authority or The writer is a senior power to control people to act in a particular way, whereas a leader seeks to influence professional banker with others through their actions. Bosses are usually authoritative in nature and they often varied experience spanning strike fear in the minds of their subordinates, whereas leaders are approachable and over 25 years. He presently inspirational to others. They also have a tendency to point out mistakes of individuals and serves as the executive scold them which is not conducive to addressing the problems that are being encoundirector for TAG tered. Leaders on the other hand work actively to take measures to ensure that roadblocks are overcome and people do not feel singled out for any hiccup along the way. Whilst
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COMMENT
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