WHO IS A GOOD LEADER?

 Concise English Oxford Dictionary eleventh edition defines a leader as a person who leads or commands a group, organisation or country.

Leadership begins with everyone leading him or herself before leading others. Recently, I engaged a lady as we discussed where does leadership start from. She disagreed with me that she is not a leader of herself until I asked who decides whether she should come to campus or not. This question made him accept that she is a leader of herself.

It can also begin a young age. In kindergartens for example, kids are appointed or elected into positions should head boy, head girl, class monitor. Most people tend to base on rich CVs to allege that they can manage responsible offices excellently.

Leaders can be elected, appointed or inherited an office. Inheriting office is associated with traditional societies such as kingdoms. In Buganda for example not everyone can become ‘Kabaka.’

There is no society, community, country, region, organisation, business firm, name them all that can stay alive without leaders. Most times we elect leaders but in the shortest time period condemn for failing to deliver even when we know that if elected to these offices we may also fail to deliver.

However these are major traits that leaders should have. These are;

Confidence; if a leader doesn’t believe in him or herself, no one will trust them. You hear leaders worrying that if they show too much confidence, others will think them arrogant. The reality is people want to know what you know for sure -- and what you don't. Having the confidence to say "I don't know" is a powerful skill.

 Integrity; they are people who are respected and worth listening to but they must all base their decision on strong moral principles generally acceptable in their communities.

Empowering; True leaders make their associates feel emboldened and powerful, not diminished and powerless.

 Collaborative; True leaders solicit input and feedback from those around them so that everyone feels part of the process.

 Genuine; they need to be clear on what they values are and must be consistent in applying them. As part of that, leaders need to have the courage to hold true to them. You must not lose sight of reality. Lost values may be one of the biggest causes of downfalls.

Leadership transitions; this is one of the major problem that most developing countries are suffering from politically. Leaders cling to power for lifetime whereas democracy that they claim to be chase clearly stipulates leaders should lead for a specified and defined period of time. 

Vision; A strong sense of where you are going as a person and where you think society, your community and your organisation should be going – and how it might get there.

Innovation; The ability to think outside the box, take risks and develop new and effective solutions to old and emerging problems. As Steve Jobs once said, innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.  

Adaptability; willingness to be flexible and to respond quickly and effectively to changing circumstances, along with a commitment to continual learning – formal and informal – and the ability to put that learning into practice.

Effective communication; willingness and ability to listen to and understand the thoughts, ideas and concerns of others and to clearly communicate your own. A vision is nothing if it can't be sold to others.

  To be continued..............