Leadership is managing egos. Everyone wants to do what’s best for themselves. It is a leader’s job to make them believe and understand that what’s best for them is best for the organization also. A leader makes everyone feel valued, motivated and appreciated no matter how small their contribution.
If the boss is displaying True Leadership then I would assume the people would not want to make any changes and stay with a well led company. If the management was subpar and a simple employee was displaying excellent leadership skills he may realize that he is better than his situation and seek better employment. He may even be motivated by the incompetence of his superiors to try and make his own business. What would you do?
This blog article is a branch out to life-optimizing readers like yourself that were kind enough to do a little question and answer interview survey with me. I’m still working on my interview skills (and some of these were done via email/not-in-person!), but I do promise good, raw, and honest answers from normal people like you and me. I do my best to NOT filter these answers, except for the bad words and hateful speech (which doesn’t happen often).
Topic of Interest: True Leadership at Work
‘R’ = Richard N. Stephenson (me!) ‘I’ = Interviewee (anonymous by request unless otherwise noted)
R: Give an example of true leadership at work that has inspired you (from either internet/mainstream media examples or personal examples).
I: My boss when I worked as a legal assistant was an excellent leader. He always treated me with respect, and as I learned how to do my job more efficiently and accurately he would give me increasingly challenging tasks to work on. I remember him specifically telling me when I first started working for him that if I made a mistake I shouldn’t try to cover it up or fix it myself, I should go to him and we would solve the problem together.
I did make mistakes when I worked for him, and I was able to go to him and he kept his promise to me – instead of getting angry or frustrated at me about the mistake, he would say, “Thank you for telling me, now what should we do to fix this?” He exemplifies true leadership for me.
R: How do you think a better understanding of true leadership at work would help other people in their personal or professional life?
I: Yes, I do think a better understanding of true leadership at work would help other people in their personal or professional life. Understanding leadership at work helps one to grasp the concept of hierarchy in the work place.
I feel that this would help at home as well to show people how to become successful leaders in personal life situations as well as in their own professional life. Being able to see the leadership in the work environment allows for workers to take the lesson with them and apply it to their life.
R: Give an example of how true leadership at work has helped you professionally or personally.
I: Working a retail job exposes you to all types of customers from young to old and from nice to mean. As you continue to work, you will learn from these experiences how to deal with all types of people and you can bring these experiences as you move up from retail. Retail offers you many leadership capabilities that can only get through human interaction.
R: Describe at least one way you think true leadership at work could cause trouble or hurt someone in their personal or professional life.
I: Sometimes a leader must be harsh. If someone is failing at their duty it is necessary for the leader to inform them and let them know how to fix the problem. Often people do not like being told they are failing and this can hurt their feelings, even though it is necessary.
R: Give an example of how true leadership at work has hurt you or caused you trouble in the past.
I: True leadership can hurt sometimes in the work field. One time I went to one of my colleagues whose be at my job for quite some time. She explained to me that I had to turn in report one way and it happened to be incorrect. She almost got me fired and denied that I went to her for help.
R: How do you think true leadership at work could help you in a professional setting? Why is that?
I: It would show other employees how a true professional performs. This would have everyone working at a better capacity, therefore making everyone else’s job easier. It would also make the other employees more motivated.
R: Give an example of how true leadership could be useful at work. Why do you think this?
I: True leadership is best exemplified by someone who supervises subordinates with whom s/he has contact on a daily basis. Good leadership by a supervisor can motivate the employees to get work done faster and do a better job.
For example, if a supervisor is given a large task such as preparing 100 copies of a user manual, the supervisor should divide the work among his/her subordinates in a way that best utilizes their strengths and will get the task done in a timely manner.
In this case, the supervisor could give employee1 the job of arranging to get color copies of the front page of the user manual, employee2 could be assigned the job of copying the inside pages of the manual, and employee3 could be in charge of binding each manual when it was ready to be assembled.
R: How do you think true leadership could help you at home? Why is that?
I: It would depends who is leading and what example they are leaving in their wake. If it was positive leadership than it would build character and allow us to want lead others who may have no been as privileged. If its negative leadership we may be insecure and use fear to get people to follow us and through manipulation. Both form of leadership do exists and it all depends who is leading.
R: Give an example of how true leadership could be useful at home or in family life. Why do you think this?
I: True leadership can be used to establish structure and order within a household. This would set an example for children and provide a leader in the house. Good leadership leads to a functioning household.
R: How do you think true leadership could help you in a personal relationship? Why is that?
I: True leadership could help you in a personal relationship because your partner would learn to listen and trust your instinct on things. In times when your intuition is needed, they will be glad you are there for them and hear you out. Sometimes you may be wrong but you will have the confidence to speak up on the matter and they will have the confidence to trust you.
R: Give an example of how true leadership could be useful in a personal relationship. Why do you think this?
I: True leadership is useful in personal relationships because of the two people in the union working together to make it thrive. Leadership is about making choices. If both partners in the relationship agree to compromise on problems and discuss issues then true leadership would have been the foundation for reconciliations.
R: Describe at least one thing you would like to learn more about true leadership at work.
I: I would love to learn how to deal with conflict between staff members. I am the director of a child care center and my staff is made up of all female employees. There are a couple who just do not get along well which causes many issues. I do not like conflict and try to avoid it at all costs but it happens frequently in my line of work. I’d love to be able to deal with it calmly and professionally.
R: Give your number one piece of advice for someone looking to learn more about true leadership at work.
I: Try to volunteer at any event that comes up in the workplace. Always show interest and dedication while performing tasks that relate to your position and always ask questions. Lastly, show whoever is above you that you are now afraid of trying new things so that they can see that you are reliable and a risk taker.
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How was that for a nice little journey into this topic? I hope you enjoyed this interview and found at least one useful bit of information you can immediately begin to apply in your life. Yes, homework is never seen as a nice word, but it’s useful – give yourself an action to use at least 1 thing from this article to help change your life.
Please share your thoughts, experiences, or your own interview answers and let’s share some real life wisdom, okay?