Monday 25 July 2011
Simply put, a leader is somebody others want to follow. Although we know there is a lot to being a great leader, it is very difficult for most people to say exactly what it is that makes a person a good leader. Of course universities have done many studies on what makes successful leaders and what are the leadership qualities that good leaders have. The theory is very simple, though, and can be summarised in the following:
1. Good leaders have a vision they share with others about where they are going and how they are going to get there.
2. Good leaders actually do something about their vision by making it become a reality, and
3. Good leaders have an intangible way about them, an energy that sets them apart from from those who are not good leaders.
Before we go into looking at these 3 qualities that good leaders have, it is very important to understand that a leadership role, and in particular the role of the highest level leader in a Martial Arts academy or branch of a Martial arts academy, involves operating at a level that is quite different from other people in the organisation. It is possible to quickly identify a good leader by, amongst other things, the fact that they don’t do everything in their organisation. They have a sense of trust to enable others get on with their job. They empower others to work “in” the Martial Arts centre, while they work “on” the Martial Arts centre.
The key difference here is that, although everyone in a Martial Arts centre has a key role to play in business development, the leader of the organisation has the overall responsibility for this function. Sure, they may develop and mentor others into leadership positions within the organisation, but they carry the main torch, they are the guiding light when it comes to leadership in the Martial Arts academy or club.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm5V1sqTq_g
As stated clearly at the outset of this discussion on leadership, “a leader is somebody others want to follow”. One of the key words here is “want”. It’s because of the vision, the actions and the spirit of the leader that motivates or drives people to want to follow. In our next blogg on leadership we’ll talk about these 3 key areas – Vision, Actions and Spirit.
Master Damien O’Flaherty
