Leadership - Initial Steps

Credit: https://peopledevelopmentmagazine.com/2019/02/07/leadership-and-management/

Reaching nearly 37 years of age, have found myself in various situations working with leaders as well as working as one. Mind it, leadership is as important in personal lives as it is in profession / business. Through this article, I reflect on my experiences as a child which played a definitive role in my leadership skills.

1. Are leaders born? Well, one carries or forms leadership traits while developing as a child for sure; it makes them easier to lead. For example: some are born with the talent of communication, or say being assertive... However, as is the case with most things, only with conscious and sustained efforts can one be a great leader.
2. First Responsibility: My first taste of leadership came in school and the playground: Being Class Monitors, Leading the football / cricket teams, Leading a band of boys for any social cause / celebration. Guess, the most important aspect to be looked up to amongst peers, is leading by example. Sometimes, you do get an advantage if you are senior (age) in your group but more often than not it comes down to whether you're able to earn the respect of your friends; whether you are willing to shoulder responsibility and be fair to the group.
3. Importance of Sports: I cannot more emphasize the importance of sports for developing leadership in childhood - as we play day in and day out - we develop skills not only in the sport but also life skills e.g. not giving up till the last, being humble in winning and gracious in defeat, fighting tooth and nail in the field and being friends off it, putting your team first at all times and much more. These lessons are invaluable as a leader and are ingrained in one's character.
4. Seeing & Learning: I believe parents / guardians have a huge role in developing leadership traits in the their wards. How they conduct, especially during challenging times, are watched and more often than not imbibed by children. Till this day, I cherish the disciplinarian my grandfather was, the optimist my grandma is and it has had a profound impact on my leadership skills. Also, it's not only about the people we see day in and day out, but choosing worthy role models for life. Again, it's the responsibility of the guardians to to guide the child. For example, being introduced to the lives of the glorious Gandhi, Bose, Tilak, Singh, Teresa, Mandela, Lincoln, Vivekananda, Kalam and so many more... taught me better to idolize a person worthy enough.
5. Having a Vision: As child, I was mostly oblivious as to my future. That's one regret I have - probably I flowed with destiny rather than shaping one. There's still time of course - however, I believe to be a really great leader and make a difference to the world (why aim small?), first you have to have a vision (a worthy cause) and then be passionate about it and most importantly it has come from self. There must be nudges and exposures guided by guardians / mentors - because as young children we may not have a measure of the extent of our strength and weakness; but the choice has to be your own.

In short, if you start early you get ready early. As is evident, the guardian plays a huge role as to the exposure the child gets in leadership, but it also hugely dependent on the aspirations and the tenacity of pursuit from the individual which will catapult her/him to be a Great Leader in times to come.