THE CICAK.com

Can you lead?

By WAN MOHD AIMRAN

Several events in the past weeks have made me think about leadership, and how leaders relate to members of their organisation. Below are some of my observations:

I believe it is crucial for any organisation to have a strong and decisive leader. But one must remember that being a strong leader does not necessarily translate into being autocratic. It just means one has to have a certain degree of authority over other members in the organisation.

He or she must mobilise the entire organisation to work toward a singular aim and convince them to work together and realise a particular goal.

All this can be achieved without resorting to dictatorial tactics – one simply has to be firm and be prepared to readily engage the other members. Indeed, one must be well versed in the art of persuasion.

I think this is especially true with the people that one works with. Colleagues and peers are not mindless automatons – each of them can think for themselves, evaluate the feasibility of your decisions and practicality of your actions.

That is the main problem with some leaders today – they underestimate the intellectual capacity of those they are leading. They think the masses are easily hoodwinked by eloquent recitations and grandiose plans.

People now have greater access to information and the increasing number of varied viewpoints. They are less easily fooled.

Therefore, a leader must be aware of the different perceptions people have toward his or her leadership – from glowing praise to damning criticisms.

As a leader, everyone’s opinion matters.

But then again, it all goes back to the question of how “in touch� a leader is to his or her colleagues and peers. Certain leaders believe they can lead from their desks.

Some may prefer to delegate all duties to their staff, allowing them to decide on every small matter that arises in the organisation.

I remember reading this quotation, “An empire can be conquered – but not governed – on horseback.�

Leaders cannot leave the entire decision-making process to the committee or staff. It will only downgrade his or her importance in the organisation.

In addition, it depends on who the leader chooses to be with.

Leaders have the power and authority to run the organisation. Good leaders often know how to utilise the powers granted to them, and map their organisations.

This is not an easy task, as leaders are always scrutinised.

—
WAN MOHD AIMRAN BIN WAN MOHD KAMIL is a staff writer for theCICAK.

He is currently a Physics and Theoretical Physics undergraduate at Imperial College London. Often accused by friends for being too politically correct, he continually seeks a fine balance between indulging himself in philosophical thoughts and leading a normal life as a Malaysian youth. Visit his site.