What does it mean to be a leader? Have you ever thought about that question in depth? For me, I have never considered myself a true leader, but I guess that is in the eye of the beholder. I do think back on my life and think of a certain time when I showed leadership or I was in a group that did. I don't think anyone sets out to be a leader. I truly believe that people who are leaders are people who just want to do good, make a difference or just make their business successful. It has nothing to do with being able to say, "Yes! I am a leader." In my experience it's the people that don't realize they are leaders that turn out to make the biggest difference. For example, I think parents are leaders. Why you ask? Parents are leading their children; shaping them into the adults that they will become. My parents made me the person I am today. They had a vision to bring me up a certain way and that is what they did.
I can talk about being a leader from a personal side as well. My father is self-employed in two different businesses. First, he owns a hunting lodge that I will say is a family run operation. My dad doesn't do it all by himself, but he is the one that built it. He started his business in the early 1980's. My dad is an entrepenuer; plain and simple. He does not have a college degree, but he had an idea, a vision if you will, and it worked. Yes, he can be considered a manager, but he is a leader because the people that work for him look up to him. His attitude of always putting his customers first has always been the most important thing. His attitude is what makes him a leader and the business successful. Also, he is what many people call a crop consultant in the summer months. He works for different farmers throughout Central Alabama and he is, basically, there go to guy for information about their crops. He informs them of what type of chemical and how much of it they need to put on their crops to keep the weeds away while continuously being on the lookout for other things that could possibly go wrong in the growing months. My dad's farmers depend on him to make their crop season successful. I know that my dad never set out to be a leader, but he is one in both areas of employment.
Having a vision or an idea gives anyone the ability to become a leader. Take for example Benjamin Zander telling his audience that he was going to get them to love classical music. He had this vision that he would do that and he had a plan on how he was going to get it done. He knew the steps to take, he reeled them and hooked them. By the end of the 20 minute demonstration he had the entire audience in the palm of his hand. It was absolutely brilliant watching him take the audience along for this wonderful ride. I will say, he had me in the palm of his hand as well. Does he have you in the palm of his hand??
I truly believe that true leaders never set out to become one. Martin Luther King set out to try and make a difference because he believed in his cause, not because he wanted recognition. He was made a leader because of what he was doing and the impact it had on people. All people start out doing something because they believe in it. Do they know if what they are doing will catch on? No, but that doesn't stop them from trying. All leaders seem to be unafraid of failing, which in most cases is what it takes to get things done. Thomas Edison had a vision of creating an incandescent lamp, otherwise known as the electric light bulb. He had three thousand different theories in hopes that one would create his light bulb. (http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/lightbulb.htm) Does anyone focus on how many failures he had trying to create an electric lightbulb? No. We only focus on one, the one theory that produced what we now know as the light bulb. He was a visionary, a leader. We all know that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. He just wanted to make a difference, which is what most leaders want to do, and made a difference he did.
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