Opinion
The Power of your Example
Jimmy Wang and Girish Ganapathy
17/09/2022
A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus,
But a molder of consensus.
Power is not leadership,
Leadership is an elucidation of mateship.
Affection of leadership
A complex pedestal of society, economics, politics, and friendships is leadership. Yet, we fall into a paradox, a never-ending cycle that yearns about a hierarchy or shall I say, “a position of power.” It’s comical that the modern mind has shifted to such ideation. And even with this, the world is afflicted with balancing leadership, but for what?
So an invitation is extending out to you to dissect what leadership is. First the two fundamental stakeholders - leaders and followers. Don’t be mistaken, a follower is not a disciple; but rather a volunteer that decides to go in a leader's direction. This introspection stems from the ability to alter human behaviour. The fidelity of this is left in either manipulation or inspiration. We can argue that manipulation is the wrong word for this dissimilation so consider - marketing, innovation, differentiability. They all fall under manipulation as the stipulation of the human psyche and is occurring in the form of aspiration but the derivative of loyalty or trust is nowhere in sight. Inspiration on the other hand creates trust and loyalty - so simply leadership is a way of acting and communicating to positively influence people and the silver lining is to inspire.
Evolution of Leadership Styles
There are many different leadership styles inherent within the world throughout time, such as dictatorial, strategic, democratic, service and autocratic leaders. If we examine the most common types of leaders in the world, politicians, we definitely have seen the shift in leadership styles from dictatorial to more democratic leaders evident as the number of countries under dictatorships has shrunk by nearly 80%. However, by only examining politicians, we cannot gain a grasp of what makes an outstanding leader, forcing us to further delve into real-life examples, where we realise that an individual’s leadership style inherently blends multiple styles to create their own unique one.
Leaders in Sports
It is inevitable and extremely necessary for there to be a captain in any team sport environment. What defines the characteristics of an amazing captain is intangible to say, however many sporting legends like Cameron Smith and Cristiano Ronaldo emphasise that an outstanding captain must pertain to the 3 C’s (Consistent. Caring and Courage).
Captains must lead by example, by giving 100% effort in every practice and game. Their consistency in both their form and focused mindset earns them respect from the coaches and teammates, enabling them to communicate their viewpoints. Secondly, Captains must be able to “walk the talk”, being courageous to speak out when both the coaches and teammates are not holding themselves up to the level the team and captain has set. The captain must embody the core value present in the team, especially during times of adversity where they must courageously lead their team. A captain will always possess an elated passion for the game, but this passion must also transcend to the team. They must be able to recognise and show respect when certain contributions are made but also be able to communicate issues with members in a reposeful way. Through possessing the 3 C’s, a captain gains the 4th C of credibility, earning the respect of not just the team but of everyone around.
These standards are just a set of guidelines, but every leader has their own ways of operating their team, their own mannerisms and methods. However, to be a leader in a team you do not just have to be the captain, within every great team there consists of other members who rise to the occasion and lead when the captain cannot.
Leader in Social Environment
Within your own friend circle, you may be shocked that there's a possibility of there being a leader. However, if we take a bird’s eye view, we see that the leadership style presented is characterised by someone who is a service leader. Service leadership is a philosophy built on the belief that the most effective leaders strive to serve others, rather than accrue power or take control. They receive happiness by organising social gatherings and initialising conversations between everyone, servicing their friends by providing a sense of belonging and connectedness. Yet in return, the leader also benefits from their actions as they gain a sense of contentment by partaking in these activities.
In no way, is the leader trying to exercise power, attempting to control the group and act as a ring leader like Regina George from Mean Girls. Within the social environment, the service leader ignites individuals as their own leaders through their example - an initiative to travel down their own path in life. They will not always conform to societal expectations, but instead, seek self-contentment which will ultimately gain the respect of those around them.
A leader’s ship
As you live your life, you are leading your own example, writing your own story with your bare feet. As you step, a new page goes overleaf. Despite you thinking one is not observing your actions, it is those moments that define you as a human, your time spent in isolation is the time where people see you for your true self. That is leadership. So we leave you with this:
How do you want the power of your example to be remembered?