Follow or be Followed... Question is How to be the Latter?

What makes a leader? Is it their charismatic & dynamic personalities that make you want to follow them or is it their approach towards work and being overall hard working individuals?
I’m sure most people would be thinking ‘a mix of both’. But the irony is that there are thousands of individuals today who have that mix already. Like maybe the office entertainer for example, he does his work diligently, is proactive in nature and is fun to be around yet he has a target to achieve and reports to a lousy boss, the mom’s at home are looked up to by their children, keep the house organized, ensure healthy meals on time and keep the family as a family, yet!!! the dad’s are the decision makers!
It’s a little confusing when someone tells you to be more than you are. It’s an arbitrary statement that can have gazillion meanings. How can you be more? How do you not know you already are more than you can be? How does that one person know you can be more? Why don’t you think you can be more or why have you not thought of it yet?
These questions are like the ‘choice to change’ situation or as I would call it the ‘Dazeology Syndrome’. The syndrome of going into a daze while thinking of things perceived as far beyond our reach!
OK! let’s try and bifurcate simple qualities of famous leaders around the world, past and present.
Mahatma Gandhi had one philosophy and marketed it well enough to have a nation follow him, a vision.
Richard Branson, he has a vision though his style and grandeur allures most individuals who barely know how to pronounce his name, charisma.
Bill Gates, a brain behind the software I’m using right now and the man behind most software solutions around the world, innovative.
Shahrukh Khan, a marketing expert whose acting skills still need to be honed but because of his persona he stands out in a crowd, attitude.
Michael Jackson, no words just lyrics and a walk on the moon, talent.
Steve Irwin, ‘the crocodile man’ knew his work like any other wild life expert but his energy and enthusiasm captured his audience, energetic.
Summarizing these qualities as Attitude, Charismatic, Talented, Innovative, Visionary & Energetic, we get 6 main attributes to being a good leader. To make it more theoretical in nature we can turn these qualities into an acronym, ACTIVE.
Its so simple, you need to be ‘active’ to be a good leader, people need to see you, hear you, feel your thoughts and understand you until you can label yourself, or be labeled as a good leader. All the above people have been ‘active’ but have focused more on one main quality while the other qualities were also nurtured simultaneously.
So now when someone tells you to be more…
You can diversify that statement and ask him/her a question, “in which aspect of being ACTIVE should I be more?”
Do you rethink your attitude? Or maybe change your vision or goal? Do you try and further nurture a talent? Or maybe put more effort into your work and be excited about it?
Once you know exactly which area to enhance yourself, I’m sure turning into that world class leader would be much simpler.
The next part is to not only know which areas to tap but also benchmark it. Most of the time we give ourselves below average benchmarks so that reaching it would be so much simpler.
Instead of saying ‘I’m going to be physically fit by next year’ we say ‘I’m going to loose 5 kg’s by this month end!!!’
Our goals are short lived and die a natural death before we even implement the idea of executing it. We need long term goals and a logical and a sound plan that supports it.
Benchmarking is about, as a million people have already said and I quote “reach for the stars you will touch the sky” my only addition is “the sky is not the limit!!!”
If we aim for something beyond our reach we will at least come close enough to something more than above average.
So now that we know we have to hone are ‘ACTIVE’ Skills and benchmark them to a degree of high proportions, there is one more think we need to keep in mind ‘communication’.
Make no mistake many a times we concentrate so hard in educating ourselves, or harnessing a talent or even thinking of things that we forget that the pivotal role of a leader is to be able to communicate a thought, idea or revolution through words, gestures and expressions.
I’m not saying just knowing the English language is good enough, no! It’s using it that makes the difference. You can have the fastest bike in the world but if you’re scared of speed, than what’s the point??
Most people fear speaking in public, or addressing even a small audience. Most people fear speaking overall.
Please note being a people’s person does not mean you speak really well. People might love or like you for the person you are but not necessarily for the way you speak.
You don’t need to have an accent, I’m sure every one has seen the Indian scientist talking to an MIT audience. He knew how to get his point across not only by dialogue but also by a simple visual presentation… he innovated.
Why people don’t communicate, the biggest fear, is because they fear being judged.
You fear being judged by your peers, your superiors and strangers. My question is why? People should realize that they are being judged from the moment they crawl out of bed to the moment they jump right back in it. When you’re sitting in your car, others around you look at you and trust me they are thinking something about you, creating an impression by default. When you enter your office, everyday, people create new impressions about you. Hence the fear of being judged is felt by everyone, you’re not alone.
This brings into light ‘First impressions’. The impression that a person creates by default just by observing what they see, be it dressing styles, body language or expressions.
Though this is a completely separate topic all together it is a vital one and after I do my own recon on it I will elaborate further.
But just to get started, if that great leader in you wants to jump out and take its stance in the world keep the three points in mind. Be ACTIVE, Benchmark beyond a degree of high proportions and communicate. If these three things are sorted being that leader should not be that hard.

Next Blog: First Impressions and how to ensure appositive one.