“What are the qualities of a good leader?”
“He should be visionary”.
“He should lead by example”.
“He should be an inspiration to all”
“He is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way”
These were few of the answers flying in during the first class of this term on Leadership. The topic of leadership always sparks a debate about whether one is born a leader or one learns to be. I believe both kinds exist but in most cases, leaders are made through carefully nurturing people. It also depends on an individual on how far he or she wants to go.
Anyway, our class revolved around the characteristics of a leader. Our Professor was moderating the class and one of the guys from the last benches was ‘chosen’ to come up to the blackboard and make a list of these characteristics. And this, was the entire class’s efforts.
If you are having difficulty in reading the points for a Leader on the right hand side, I’ll help you with what my classmates had to say. “He should be persuasive”. “He should be a risk taker”. “He should be charismatic”. “A leader should be innovative”. “He should be motivating”.
“He should be……….”
“He should be……….”
“He should be………”
After a point, I stopped hearing beyond the ‘he’. If that’s not enough to tick you off, people used ‘he’ in the mention of a leader even after being pointed out.
It was a thoroughly uninspiring and discouraging class for me. Not only because I believe gender is no bar for leadership, managerial skills or anything else for that matter. But, because few of my female friends said — “He should be…”
This saying is more relevant now than ever.
Be the change that you wish to see in the world — Mahatma Gandhi
That’s all.
