What is Leadership

            What is leadership?  A simple question yet most people do not know the actual meaning of leadership.  If you type what is leadership in Google search, you will get a basic definition that only scratches the surface of the true meaning.  According to Google, leadership is the action of leading a group of people or an organization.  Prior to this leadership class, the only word I thought was most important in that definition was leading.  After this class, I now realize that “people” is the most important word in that definition.

            I’d like to start with what leadership is not.  I feel that it’s essential for people to recognize what leadership isn’t before they establish a great foundational of what leadership is.  Leadership has nothing to do with one’s position in the hierarchy of a company.  Becoming a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a fortune 500 company does not make you a leader automatically; title is irrelevant to leadership.  Also, leadership has nothing to do with personal attributes.  Personal attributes are traits that define who you are as a person, not a leader; leadership is not an adjective.  In addition, leadership is not management.  Leadership and management are two terms that have no common denominator; they are not the same.  Managers plan, solve, hire, fire, coordinate, and many other tasks; however, one task that is not under their portfolios is lead.  Managers are not leaders; only leaders lead people.

            So, now that we know what leadership isn’t, let us get down to business and answer this simple question:  what is leadership?  Before, I thought the meaning of leadership as someone who has power and total control over a task; I didn’t do the terminology justice.  Leaders are individuals who empower and influence their followers.  Leaders need followers; followers need leaders.  Both parties are equally important; they coexist.  Leaders and followers define each other; they complete the equation.  Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal.  I came across that definition a long time ago and I never bothered to fully understand what it meant; however, the day has come.  Bill Gates, an inventor and a philanthropist, once said, “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”

            Let us analyze this definition and see if it supports my understanding of leadership.  The first sentence states that leadership is a process of social influence.  As I’ve stated earlier, leaders influence their followers to get the most out of them.  The definition continues, “…which maximizes the efforts of others.”  Leadership requires others; your teammates, your followers.  This implies that the success of a team should be the top priority on any leaders’ list; leaders should always think about the good of the whole team.  Furthermore, I mentioned that leadership is not about your rank or personal attributes.  Frankly, I was right.  The definition doesn’t say a thing about what defines you or your title.

            After the pipeline activity a few weeks ago, a classmate made a comment that stuck out to me.  She said that because she did not the golden voice, she was ignored.  Frankly, she was spot on.  The pipeline activity was quite interesting.  Matthew had divided the class into two teams:  one that couldn’t talk, and one that could.  He selected all the students who often talk on the quiet team, and the ones who normally don’t talk on the talking team.  The first task was fairly easy; however, Matthew challenged the class in the second task.  At first, it felt like team b, the talking team, was really trying to overcome the challenge.  The team was getting multiple feedbacks from some members.  Some were heard; others were not.  That is due to the fact that some people do have the golden voice, and some just do not.

Another comment that stood out to me which was made by another classmate is about the importance of actually listening to your peers.  Listening is an active process by which we make sense of, assess, and respond to what we hear.  The listening process involves five stages: receiving, understanding, evaluating, remembering, and responding.  If we didn’t understand the topic, we didn’t evaluate it properly; therefore we weren’t actually listening.  We all like to say that we are good listeners, but are we?  Honestly, this is a skill that I need to improve on.  Here is what usually happens:  during interviews or talk sessions, people ask questions or make comments about a specific topic, and they expect the listeners to actually listen.  Only problem is, some of us would listen to key words, think about a response, and ignore the rest of the question or comment.  This is due to multiple reasons:  topic is not interesting, very hard to comprehend, not relatable; the list can go on.  Maya Angelou said, “When you know better you do better.”  I say, “When you listen better you know and do better.”

            Patience was also a crucial factor.    It is something that I need to work on for many reasons.  Patience is a virtue; the ability to wait on something without getting frustrated is an amazing quality.  As I’ve mentioned in the first paragraph, both parties were very interested in the success of this activity; however, after multiple failures, classmates lost patience and wanted to give up on the activity.  Robert H. Schuller once said, “Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.”  This is one of my favorite quotes; it explains how patience is essential to making the right decisions.  Another quote that I like is by Jean-Jacques Rousseau.  He said, “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”  No matter what situation you are in, the outcome will always be rewarding when you are patient.

Values are critical to leadership.  They behave as a spine; it’s a crucial component that is hard to live without.  We use our values to make important decisions about priorities in our personal and professional life.  Values define who we are.  Values mean success; they are a subconscious mind thought process.  Values are one of the most important hidden factors which control our ambitions, dreams, and drive in our daily life.  They help focus and align our life choices.  Our goals and life purpose are grounded in our personal and professional values.  When we honor those values that we have set, life is delightful.

As leaders, we are exposed to so many challenges.  Some of these challenges are making the right decisions and confronting members if they are drifting away from a specific task.  As a leader, people expect a lot from you; they look up to you, come to you for guidance, and share personal and work related matters with you.  I believe this is because you are like a role model to them.  That is why, as leaders, we are pressured to set such high standards when it comes to values.  When leaders adopt such essential values, it becomes easier for them to handle complex situations.

In almost all cases, leaders often like to develop a connection with their teammates to make a task more enjoyable.  They become friends; and in those cases, it would be very difficult for leaders to confront their teams’ about something that is not right.  That is why values are so important.  A leader with high moral standards would confront the issue while showing respect at the same time.  He or she would be honest about how they felt while showing their sense of humor to make the situation less stressful.  That way, a leader will grow in the eyes of his or her team.  They will be more approachable.

Honesty is one of the most important values someone could have.  It is something that I abide by every single day.  Honesty reflects who you are; as a person, leader, father, mother; the list can go on.  If you are not honest, life has no meaning to you.  Commitment is another one that I highly value.  A leader expect his or her team to work hard; he or she must lead by example and work just as hard.  A member of a team would look at a leader for motivation; if a leader is not contributing, why should a member show effort?  Positive attitude is also an important value.  A leader should develop personal connections with his or her team to keep the energy level up.  Anything from providing personal advice to grabbing coffee with someone and talking about random things will balance the mood between work and fun.

I registered for this class for multiple reasons.  Leadership is a very important skill to acquire; it is a tool that I have desired for many years to excel in my personal life and professional career.  Although it is not an easy skill to develop, I believe that with hard work, dedication, and practice, I can master any skill I put my mind into.

I registered for this class mainly because of my major.  I’m currently pursuing a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering.  To give you an idea of what engineering is all about, let me briefly explain what engineering is and how it has to be infused with leadership to accomplish greatness.

Engineering, in general, is about solving problems.  I have always been fascinated by the art of mathematics and science, and how I can apply these demanding subjects to the real world to solve complex problems.  Engineering is not just about applied math and science; it also requires great communication skills and lead-taking roles.  So what if you can solve every problem life throws at you; so what if you can implement great ideas and pioneering innovation to the world; the question is:  Would you be able to explain your thoughts and ideas clearly to a mass of people?  Would you be able to stand up in front of a large crowd to present something that you are very passionate about?

“People ask the difference between a leader and a boss.  The leader leads, and the boss drives.”  This quote, by Theodore Roosevelt, has inspired me to become the person I am today; a person that is willing to put his fears aside and lead a team of brilliant individuals.  In addition, Steve Jobs once said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”  This exponential quote had made me realize that the desired profession and leadership are key to succeed.

Leadership is an abstract word that can be applied into so many things.  According to dictionary.com, leadership is a person who can guide or direct a group.  This means that this person must put his differences aside, respect every member of the team, and most importantly, be open-minded to ideas that are absurd and different.  This is how I view leadership; and it has proven to work.  Every major cellphone company thought the idea of building a phone without a QWERTY keyboard was ludicrous; not until Apple came out with their first generation iPhone that had no QWERTY keyboard.  You have to be willing to think outside the box once in a while.

Prior to this leadership course, I expect myself to become a better leader.  I want to have control over my fears, and be able to express my thoughts and ideas effectively to colleagues, and possibly, professional individuals.  I want to improve on how to handle certain situations, or maybe even people, the right way without insulting or disrespecting anyone’s beliefs and values.  I want to become a better role model for my teammates and family so they can have someone to be inspired by.