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At an awards ceremony I attended tonight it got me thinking: what is a leader? The ceremony was for
people nominated by other people that stood out as leaders in their community. Now, what a leader is, sometimes is hard to describe or put a finger on.
Some people may say it is a skill or a talent or even a learned
ability. No matter how you look at it
leaders make a difference in other people’s lives, which can be either positive
or negative. Sometimes the “best”
leaders have caused people the worse pain and dramatically changed someone’s
life course like Hitler. Whether you see
agree with some leaders or not they are still leaders, but how does someone
become a leader?
I believe this answer comes in the way of followers. Leaders or groups of leaders have one thing
in common followers. Whether the person
is a small group leader for a class project or a leader in a management team people
like to or choose to follow them. It can
be easy sometimes to follow a person who takes charge in a group or has the
power over the group like a boss, but that does not always mean they are a
leader unless people agree and choose to follow them. This big connection between leader and follower
makes me greatly puzzled sometimes, because there is so much control given to
both parties yet still there never seems to be a power struggle.
Though I am no scholar in the area of leadership I find it interesting and beneficial for organizations and individuals to spend time
looking into the idea and ability leadership can have for them. It is like your employees in an organization
are followers of your mission and vision statements. They want to act in a way that fits those
ideals and strive to fulfill their position to the highest when given
motivation and strong leadership on all levels of the organization. As I continue to ponder this leadership
concept I question if leadership is not a skill, talent, or ability, but a
passion and excitement that one individual has that can impact the world.
-Kimmarie