Friday, May 08, 2009
People somehow are never satisfied with what they are given or what they have. I guess this ‘unsatisfaction’ would usually bring about improvement, discoveries or breakthroughs. Therefore, if there are people who are unsatisfied with their leaders, whether it is in the workplace or their country, this may indicate that the leader has a weakness that he/she should take the opportunity to change or improve on.
However, pride usually comes with the role of a leader. One has to be confident of his/her role and present a strong image to the subordinates, which may sometimes lead to his/her head ballooning to the size of a hot-air balloon (metaphorically, of course). When a situation like this happens, the person in the role of the leader tends to forget all humility and start to ignore his/her weaknesses, the thoughts and opinions of his/her subordinates that may be crucial in decision-making as a leader.
Then, when a blunder is made, whether big or small, the subordinates will start to doubt the abilities of their leader. This is probably because a leader is supposed to be ‘perfect’, the best person for the job, which means that there is no room for a mistake, with no ‘s’ to indicate plural because the world can be so unforgiving . This problem within the hierarchy can be seen so often in the newspapers, political struggles, riots, companies collapsing and so on, all having to do (directly or indirectly) with a leader not being able to manage his role well.
For example, in a fast food restaurant, a manager (other than managerial duties) should be able to complete the tasks that a regular crew member has to do, especially if the role requires him/her to conduct training. On top of just completing the tasks, the manager has to understand the reasoning behind the tasks and be able to explain why the task has to be done. This will show that the manager has sufficient background and qualifications to be a leader, and worth respecting and listening to.
A leader has to be like an octopus. He/she no longer has the luxury of doing things one by one, he/she has to muliti-task. It is not imperative for all the jobs to be finished at the same time, but he/she should at least make sure everything is accounted for and keep up to date on the progress of each task. If I had to be in charge I would make lists or agendas of the things I need to go through for meetings and the tasks I have to complete, helping my team members make everything easier by being organised.
So, in my humblest opinion, I think leaders should live up to their status. They need to have a solid foundation in whatever job they do, and not let people below them in the hierarchy have the chance to doubt their abilities, as this will make the leader seem unreliable and not worthy of their role.
That said, I think everyone is a leader. You make decisions for yourself, you decide if you want to listen to instructions or not. You know the consequences of the options that you have (if you don’t, it means you haven’t got a brain to think). For example, if your mother asks you to see if the water in the pot is boiling, and you get scalded when you stick a finger in the water to see if it is hot enough. Why did you put a finger in the boiling water? Whose decision was it? The instruction was to check if the water was boiling. Your role was to decide how you wanted to complete the task. Do you blame your mother for asking you to check on the water? Or should you blame yourself for being plain stupid?
As such, while we might be able to blame the big mistake on a leader, think about the decision you made that landed you in this mistake as well, you should shoulder some of the blame and not be afraid to take the responsibility. After all, you learn from it and grow up, because as the cliché goes, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
However, pride usually comes with the role of a leader. One has to be confident of his/her role and present a strong image to the subordinates, which may sometimes lead to his/her head ballooning to the size of a hot-air balloon (metaphorically, of course). When a situation like this happens, the person in the role of the leader tends to forget all humility and start to ignore his/her weaknesses, the thoughts and opinions of his/her subordinates that may be crucial in decision-making as a leader.
Then, when a blunder is made, whether big or small, the subordinates will start to doubt the abilities of their leader. This is probably because a leader is supposed to be ‘perfect’, the best person for the job, which means that there is no room for a mistake, with no ‘s’ to indicate plural because the world can be so unforgiving . This problem within the hierarchy can be seen so often in the newspapers, political struggles, riots, companies collapsing and so on, all having to do (directly or indirectly) with a leader not being able to manage his role well.
For example, in a fast food restaurant, a manager (other than managerial duties) should be able to complete the tasks that a regular crew member has to do, especially if the role requires him/her to conduct training. On top of just completing the tasks, the manager has to understand the reasoning behind the tasks and be able to explain why the task has to be done. This will show that the manager has sufficient background and qualifications to be a leader, and worth respecting and listening to.
A leader has to be like an octopus. He/she no longer has the luxury of doing things one by one, he/she has to muliti-task. It is not imperative for all the jobs to be finished at the same time, but he/she should at least make sure everything is accounted for and keep up to date on the progress of each task. If I had to be in charge I would make lists or agendas of the things I need to go through for meetings and the tasks I have to complete, helping my team members make everything easier by being organised.
So, in my humblest opinion, I think leaders should live up to their status. They need to have a solid foundation in whatever job they do, and not let people below them in the hierarchy have the chance to doubt their abilities, as this will make the leader seem unreliable and not worthy of their role.
That said, I think everyone is a leader. You make decisions for yourself, you decide if you want to listen to instructions or not. You know the consequences of the options that you have (if you don’t, it means you haven’t got a brain to think). For example, if your mother asks you to see if the water in the pot is boiling, and you get scalded when you stick a finger in the water to see if it is hot enough. Why did you put a finger in the boiling water? Whose decision was it? The instruction was to check if the water was boiling. Your role was to decide how you wanted to complete the task. Do you blame your mother for asking you to check on the water? Or should you blame yourself for being plain stupid?
As such, while we might be able to blame the big mistake on a leader, think about the decision you made that landed you in this mistake as well, you should shoulder some of the blame and not be afraid to take the responsibility. After all, you learn from it and grow up, because as the cliché goes, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
what we could have been, 5/08/2009 01:30:00 PM.
