When we generally ask the question of a gathering as to who thinks they are a leader, very few hands go up. This is because we see a leader as someone really successful or a politician who has made it or a very senior corporate person who is on top, etc. We tend to believe that leaders are those people who have seen it, done it all kind of people.
The flooding in South India over the last few weeks brought out leaders from real life. They were everywhere. From the person who swam in fast flowing water risking his life to save a family, to someone who cooked silently and fed few hundreds who needed food, to someone who gave his boat (read his source of livelihood) to rescue people, to someone who gave up his food package and went hungry for that night so that a younger child could eat, all of these people are leaders. They have shown leadership and it is for us to take a look and recognize them.
Yes, leadership is everywhere. It is within each of us. It is for us to recognize it, awaken it and let it flow. When you stood by your family member when s/he needed you, you were a leader. When you told the truth to your parent despite knowing that you would be chided, you were a leader. When you accepted and apologized for an error you made, you were a leader. When you kept your calm under fire, you were a leader. When you woke up to put your little brother to sleep so that your mom is not disturbed you were a leader. When you gave up your piece of bread to your little sister and waited for mom to come back with a few more pieces, you were a leader. Like this, there are thousands and thousands of examples of leadership that we see and experience in everyday life. However, we do not seem to acknowledge or appreciate them.
As John Maxwell says, "Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another." When we look at our lives, for most part what happens to us is only a small part. How we react to or deal with what happens to us is what determines who we are. Our attitude defines leadership. Let us now bring this to our homes and to our work place.
When we show that we are dealing with a situation with calm and maturity, with speed and agility, with integrity and honesty, people start seeing us as role models. Such role models (whatever be their position in the organization) are the real leaders in the organization. They end up building informal networks, they are able to influence the way the organization thinks not because of the power of their position, but because people see them as someone who they can trust and would like to emulate. They may not always have their way, but in the end they are able to influence the organization significantly. I am sure each of you reading this blogpost is smiling because you already are thinking of someone who is like this or you yourself is such a person. At home, your family is watching you. If you are a person who walks the talk, who is transparent, who is filled with love, who has the time for the family, you are the role model.
When the floods in South India caused havoc, many people decided to help out the impacted. I was one of them. I sent out an appeal for contributions and few of us worked to organize storage, transport and then distribution to many flooded areas in Chennai. This exercise brought out leaders across the society. People travelled 2 hours to get relief material in to our central location in Bangalore. Something amazing happened when one person put out my request within his group. He is someone who is a Senior Manager in a large multinational in Bangalore. He organizes pilgrimages, prayer sessions and helps people without expecting anything in return. A mail from him to his friends brought in close to 5 tons of relief material. So many people just walked in to contribute. On the day we had to send the materials, we ended up with 7.5 tons. This had to be sorted and re-packed and loaded in to the truck. 25 people helped us do this...except for 4 of them, everyone else was volunteering. Each of these people did not know who the materials were going to. They knew that they could make a difference by volunteering, by contributing, by coming forward to help when it was needed. Leadership is not about winning. It is not about power. It is about the ability in each one of us to empower ourselves and others.
As John Quincy Adams says, "When you inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."
