REAL LEADERSHIP

Many Leaders are often under a lot of immense pressure to be correct and to appear to be certain of everything that is happening. Even if they make a mistake, they hang on to their ways and refuse to admit that yes, they were wrong on this one. Some even speak with certainty of things to come even when they are not sure of it.

 I remember certain religious Leaders who in the past have ‘prophesied” that so and so will become the next President with such certainty that when it did not happen they lost a lot of credibility with their followers.  And even after realizing that their “prophecy” was wrong, they have refused to admit it but have rather looked for an excuse to try and explain why it didn’t happen the way they had predicted it would.

Someone has said that good leaders feel secure enough to repent when wrong. They don’t have to project their self-worth, defend their every move, or make excuses for their failures. What they don’t realize is that by admitting that, “yes, I did make a mistake”, will restore great confidence in them from their followers and thus regain trust with them. In fact contrary to our beliefs, people love and identify quickly with Leaders who are real, authentic people who can also make mistakes.

The other thing leaders often fail to understand is that people do not need a leader to have every answer. That is shocking for most Leaders who think that the Leader must know it all. What these Leaders don’t realize is that people are looking for genuine people to lead them. 

According to Leadership guru John C. Maxwell, “if you are not sure of something, of the future, don’t speak with certainty on an issue of which you are unsure.  Yet when you do speak, speak with clarity, even if your words paint only a small part of the whole picture”. Your people do not need certainty on every issue, but they do need clarity on every issue. It is clarity that helps organizations to progress he adds.