Am I really a leader?

            A leader is a person who has the abilities to influence a group of people or peoples by his character and ideas. Leadership is a complex process of influencing people and sometimes directing them towards the achievement of a common goal. There is multitude of ways by which leadership has been and can be defined. The definition of leadership has been different in different decades. It is defined quite differently by people of unique ideology. However, there is not a single common way to define this complex process. Similarly there is not a single way to judge anybody that whether he is a good leader or is he not. There is one common thing in all these definitions of leadership which is “influence”.

        There is no concept of leadership without the power to influence people. Similarly, other common character of leadership, by all the definitions, is that it involves a group of people .These groups should have a common purpose no matter what the size of group is, it can be a whole community or a small group like a class of students. People included in leadership have a common goal and all their struggles are directed towards the achievement of a common goal. Leader and the followers direct their efforts to make their goal achieved. (L.Gardne, et al. 2011)

        Some people are “born leaders” and others are “process leaders”. A person can only be labeled a leader after running him through the process or cycle of making process leader. Similarly another parameter of assessment and labeling someone leader is “emergent versus assigned leadership”. A person may not be an emergent leadership, but he can become a great leader if he is assigned some post and a group of people to direct.

        Self awareness is the basically the basis of the authentic leadership. The importance of self awareness is reflected in the personality of person by making him an authentic leader. Deep understanding of one’s own self is very important in becoming the authentic leader. Self awareness connects a person to his external environment. (Klenke 2007)

        Self awareness teaches a person about his needs, emotions, requirements, capabilities and strengths. Confidence is also linked to the self awareness. Because confidence sets the basis of knowing oneself which in turn results in generation of authentic leader. Learning about one’s self gives people understanding of their goal based on values. Self confident and self aware people very sure about their values in long terms as well as short terms.

        Authenticity is an important component of the authentic leadership style. Authenticity means how much the actions of a person meet his words. Authenticity means the worth of words of a leader. And authenticity means how much a person is trustworthy, reliable and dependable. In authentic leadership, authenticity is even a broader term, which not only means that a person should be authentic to be a leader but also that a leader can learn to be authentic with time. Authentic leader style is quite flexible and gives leader a chance to learn as well.

        In this scenario, however, Sally Helegsen was not “authentic” if we talk in casual terms because authenticity demands that actions meet words. She was a writer and used to write on leadership, she did not know herself how to lead people. She neither was a business women nor was a leader of business women. She was an influencer for business women though she was writer herself. But she also knew where she needs to improve herself and she knew her shortcomings. Sally Helegsen was read to learn and mold herself. These things are the essence of authentic leadership. (Leroy, E. and Simons 2012)

        Taking on the mantle of leadership is very important in the authentic leadership. It is a proof of integrity of the leader. The positive attitude of leader is reflected in the role he plays. Leader has to be positive in all his dealings and should be able to influence people. It is only possible if leader embraces his qualities whole-heartedly and have integrity. Leader should be self aware of his own qualities, so that he can use those qualities in a good way and constructive manner. In this case, Sally Helegsen was an authentic leader but she also needs to embrace her qualities and achievements herself. It is very important to take on the mantle of leadership so that you can use your role in a constructive way to influence people.

        To conclude, a leader is someone who is capable of directing a large numbers of people just by using his qualities and making a set goal possible. A leader has to possess certain qualities to prove him a good leader. There are many ways and styles of leadership which can be opted to lead followers. Various theories are present on leadership, one of which is authentic leadership which is presented here in case study of Sally Helegsen. She was an authentic leader as she was aware of her likes and dislikes; she knew what she wanted to do. She also had a high morale and a sense of integrity. In addition, she wanted to learn more and was flexible with her learning process. She, however, was not certain of her qualities and achievements. She was strong but doubtful of herself. This may be due to the fact that she had a lifelong struggle and a long way to come to this point. To take leadership mantle in crucial in the life of leader so that he develops positive attributes and can be a role model for people. All these qualities are what make a leader authentic.

References of Am I really a leader?

Klenke, Karin. 2007. "Authentic Leadership: A Self, Leader, and Spiritual Identity Perspective." International Journal of leadership studies 68-97.

L.Gardne, William, rClaudia C.Cogliser, Kelly M.Davis, and Matthew P.Dickens. 2011. "Authentic leadership: A review of the literature and research agenda." The leadership Quaterly 1120-1147.

Leroy, Hannes, Michael E., and PalanskiTony Simons. 2012. "Authentic Leadership and Behavioral Integrity as Drivers of Follower Commitment and Performance." journal of business ethics 255-264.