Leaders
To get my initial definition of a leader for this musing, I went to an unusual source. That unusual source was a fishing tackle website that describes a leader as such,
“Fishing leaders add an additional layer of strength to your fishing line”.
It is such an apt description when changed to represent a business or a team.
“Team leaders add an additional layer of strength to your team”.
The full text from the fishing site reads,
“Fishing leaders provide an additional layer of strength to your fishing line, preventing it from breaking when a large fish takes the bait. Thus, increasing your chances of catching a fish. No matter what fishing style you use or the species you want to target, choose only high-quality fishing leaders and fishing lines available at Tackle World”.
I feel it would be a terrific exercise for you to take the above description and adjust it to suit your situation. Consider using it as part of a training exercise for your current and future leaders.
Are leaders born as leaders or does your upbringing contribute to whether you will be a leader or a follower? Is leadership thrust upon some when others just assume a leadership role? Does everyone have the ability to become a leader?
In my life, I thought that I was just a natural leader, however as I matured and looked back on my upbringing, I realised more and more that my upbringing played a major role in my development as a leader. I had great role models in my parents. They were leaders themselves and as we look up to our parents when growing up, their leaderships abilities where something I just naturally followed. I was a nurtured leader.
My father Ron was coaching footballs teams and as a family going to the footy are a huge part of my earliest memories. Watching “big” people hang on to Dads every word when he addressed them fascinated me as a kid. Becoming the team mascot, as I suppose a five year old, for the first time in my life made me part of a team and that was a terrific feeling for me. Being part of a real team is still terrific all these years later. Every team needs a leader and you cannot put your leadership skills to the test without a team.
To be a successful leader you need to gain respect and respect is gained through actions and achievements. You will not be a successful leader if you think that it is your position that should get respect.
Sure, when you are in primary school you will become the captain of school sporting teams because you are the best player. You are the big fish in the small pond. If you show real leadership skills in those early days, the people responsible for your development, parents and teachers, will naturally push you towards leadership roles in other pursuits, academically and socially. From early in you life you are taking responsibility for others. The question is, how do we become better leaders?
All Work & No Play
I am the firm belief that every person should be part of a team early in life. I would recommend a sporting team but I know that this is not for everyone. Whatever the type of team it must have some aspect of competition plus cooperation with others. My Asian friends will say this is foolishness as there is no spare time when growing up, these kids should be doing additional study or extra homework. Fine if you wish to develop adults that are socially awkward adults with little or no idea how to interact with other people through their teenage years to adulthood. You are not giving them the chance to become leaders. They do not have to be the best player, they need to learn how to work with all types of people. The world needs all the leaders they can get, give your kids the chance to become a truly great leader. And one final thing, don’t try to relive your life through your children, be a leader to them.
Heroes
You can probably arrive at the fact from reading above that my first Hero was Ron and you are correct. You will also answer correctly if you conclude that sport played a huge part of my early life. My heroes then were all sportsmen.
Ian Chappell
Unsurprising to many who know me and those who have a need to get to know me a lot of my characteristics were copied from Chappelli. Chappell was known for being blunt and forthright in his views didn’t tolerate those he considered fools but had determination and a sense of fair play for all.
Leading cricketing broadcaster John Arlott called him "a cricketer of effect rather than the graces".
Chappell’s actions led me to respect him from afar and he become an influence on my growth.
Who are your heroes?
Who are your heroes and how have they affected your life/ I suppose it depends on when and where you were raised and in what type of social and education system.
The following list is sure to have a lot of people who call them heroes.
Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Ronald Reagan, Wayne Gretsky, Oprah Winfrey, Bono, Winston Churchill, Marie Curie, Shaka Zulu, Sun Tzu, Sitting Bull.
I think it as a great idea to revisit with your heroes thoughout your life and see how they shaped you and are you still being faithful to the ideas they helped you develop. It is also a great idea to see if you still see these people in the same light. History has a habit of highlighting the bad rather than the good, many times with good reason. Does it change your views of these people and does it have an effect on how you live and lead? Think Lance Armstrong, O J Simpson and Bill Cosby for some. A bit of a self assessment is almost never a bad thing. Does the fall from grace mean you wipe the lessons you learned forever?
Apart from Chappell, some of the people I admire and learnt lessons from include, Galileo, Emmeline Pankhurst, Peter Lalor, Peekay, Leigh Matthews and Michelle Payne. And from a non human point of view? Vo Rogue, another great leader.
The thing with all great leaders, either leaders of teams or leaders in their chosen field is that they challenge the status quo, they push (and cross boundaries) and they do not accept being told that something cannot be done. The remarkable story of Roger Bannister is something everyone should study. Briefly, he decided he would be the first man to break a 4 minute mile in athletics, a feat “they” said couldn’t be done. Banniister eventually broke the four minutes mile but that is not what appeals the most. He lead the way by crossing the boundary of the 4 minute mile, leading the way for others to realise the possibility. Within 12 months, 5 other athletes had also broken the 4 minute mile, previously thought impossible.