Leadership

Good Leaders

Selflessness in good leaders (or unselfishness or self-sacrifice, if you like) is the hub and heart, indeed it is the very foundation of structure. Its two other components are knowledge and character. Knowledge helps to good leaders to determine what to do in any given situation. And the strength of character helps him to get things done by appropriately handling people who have to implement what he wants done. Knowledge and character lend support to each other. Mere knowledge without character makes a man indecisive. Mere character not supported by knowledge, puts a ceiling on a good leaders potential. Thus on the strength and balance of the three components of this structure depend the effectiveness of good leaders. Good leader s self-confidence is” related to this balance; it makes a good leader pro-active which means that "we are responsible for our own lives. Our behaviour is a function of our decisions not our conditions. We can subordinate feelings to value. We have the initiative and responsibility to make things happen. It is necessary that anyone who wishes to develop good leaders leadership potential to the maximum extent should carefully study this structure and then make a determined effort to strengthen it.Selflessness is a relative virtue. Total selflessness is a rather rare phenomenon. The most significant characteristic of good leaders are that it continues to have a tremendous impact on men s minds even after many centuries. For this study we are just looking at leaders in normal organizations. Even at the working levels of small and big enterprises some executive are more selfless than the others. However in today's self-centered pursuit of careers the rat race and cut throat competition, the potential leader or good leaders are most reluctant to accept selflessness as the very core of leadership. It runs contrary to the current culture adopted from the industrialized countries that the goal of career is to rise fast and grow rich almost overnight. It consequently needs very deliberate reflection to appreciate that the potential for effective leadership in an executive is directly proportional to the degree of his selflessness.It is essential to realize that selflessness is the fountain-head of all that is noble in human character: virtues without which it-is impossible to influence other. Selfless man is neither greedy nor looking for short-cuts to get on in life; hence his integrity never wavers. He seeks no unfair advantage over others; hence honesty comes naturally to him. He is not a self­ seeker; hence his loyalty is steady and strong. When a man has these virtues then his thoughts, words and actions become pure and well integrated. He says what he thinks and does what he says. That establishes his credibility and he is trusted.

Article Published: Friday 21st December 2007