This article by Ben Bander Abudawood
Out in the sea, a ship that has a crew headed by a skilled and experienced captain is what makes the ship sail smoothly despite the strong waves. It is the same thing with any organization. All of the big, successful, and well-established companies that you see today are in the position they are in now because they are piloted by a strong and skilled leader.
Effective leaders are vital for any company to succeed as they are the ones guiding their organization to stick and putting emphasis on the company’s vision, motivating the employees to do their best, and making use of every employee’s skills to achieve a common goal. With all these, the company will achieve its goals with flying colors.
Being an effective leader is not just telling your team to do what you want them to do but it encompasses other areas as well. Leaders have to be able to manage a multi-skilled team and ensure that they all have a unified goal. As a leader, you also have to create a strategic plan to deliver the best results. A leader also needs to be innovative and be ready to come up with a plan when foreseeing challenges within their team. Great communication skills are also needed to be a good leader and they should be able to relay messages to your team effectively.
However, we also have to point out that there are differences between being a leader and a manager. A leader is a risk-taker and is willing to try new things for a more effective and efficient workplace for their team. They understand that failures are just lessons for them to be closer to the path of success. Managers try to manage risks and often try to avoid them as possible.
A leader can also be a coach or a mentor. They understand that their team can find the answers and see the potential in them to grow personally. Leaders can guide their team on how they can find the answer to any problem instead of telling them what needs to be done and how to do it.
Leaders also inspire their team or a few people who are awed by the way they work, their influence, and the way they connect with their team to achieve their goals. These fans will also sometimes go out of their way to help the leader reach their target. Managers, on the other hand, have their employees who just follow what they say and just do it to please them.
Another thing that distinguishes a leader and a manager is their desire to grow personally. A leader understands that learning is a continuous journey and they will take every opportunity to learn new skills. However, a manager sticks to the skills that they already what and that has already been proven.
These are what make an effective and efficient leader. A team headed by a skilled leader can achieve their common goals and in turn, also help the organization be more successful.
Mr. Ben Bander Abudawood.