The dark side of any individual when allowed to go unchecked can create a rigid and dysfunctional personality that stifles creativity, and taints or ruins relationships. When such characteristics are given reign in a leader, a self-righteous and bombastic person can result, who alienates the very people they are meant to inspire.
Leadership has been variously described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task”; “creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen”; “the ability to successfully integrate and maximise available resources within the internal and external environment for the attainment of organisational or societal goals”; and “the capacity of leaders to listen and observe, to use their expertise as a starting point to encourage dialogue between all levels of decision-making, to establish processes and transparency in decision-making, to articulate their own values and visions clearly but not impose them. Leadership is about setting and not just reacting to agendas, identifying problems, and initiating change that makes for substantive improvement rather than managing change”.
LEAD AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE
Leading people has nothing to do with managing them. Too many managers are trying to micro-manage their staff, all the while forgetting to lead them effectively. If you want to become a strong leader you need to lead by example. This means you have to show your team that you are perfectly capable to set examples. By doing so you will earn their respect and create lifelong devotees who would move mountains to please you. Conversely, a manager who hides behind his office door while commanding staff isn't going to gain much respect in the work place. Ultimately the success of any business venture lies in the hands of its employees and NOT the managers. A manager's responsibility is to organise and manage business systems, systems that will see to the successful finalisation of projects. If your staff are unhappy it will soon show in their lack of productivity. This will influence your bottom line. Chances are customer complaints will start to amass and office gossip will run hot. This is counterproductive to running a well oiled machine – your business.
that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say “I”. They don’t
think “I”. They think “team”. They understand their job to be to make the
team function. . . . There is an identification (very often quite unconsciously)
with the task and with the group.
(Drucker, 1992, )