The most common misconceptions about leadership
When you start the grasp the power of leadership, in what it represents and what it can facilitate in your life, your business, your organisation or community, I would be surprised if it wouldn’t awaken a desire to explore your boundaries and develop your potential to increase your effectiveness as a leader.
Leadership is often misunderstood. The five most common leadership myths are:
Management Myth: leading people is not the same as managing people. The main difference is that leading is about influencing people to follow, while management focusses on maintaining systems and processes. A manager can maintain direction but often cannot change it.
Entrepreneur Myth: we often assume that all entrepreneurs are leaders. Entrepreneurs are skilled at seeing opportunities and going after them; they see needs and understand how to meet them in a way that produces a profit. But not all of them are good with people.
Knowledge Myth: if you believe knowledge to be the essence of leadership, you might naturally assume that those who possess power and intelligence are therefore leaders. That isn’t necessarily true. Neither IQ nor education necessarily equates to leadership.
Pioneer Myth: Being first is not always the same as leading. To be a leader, a person has not only be out in front, but also have people intentionally coming behind him, following his/her lead and acting on his/her vision.
Position Myth: The greatest misconception about leadership is that it is based on position. On the contrary, “it is not the position that makes the leader; the leader makes the position.”
So what is leadership then, if it is not management, position, knowledge, being an entrepreneur or a pioneer?
Leadership expert and bestselling author, John C. Maxwell says “the true measure of leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less”. Which of the myths above have you bought into in the past? What do you usually rely upon the most to persuade people to follow you?
We invite you to put your leadership to the test and join us at the Leadership Game for an interactive, insightful and fun experience!
Source: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell.