Great leadership is never about satisfying the ego or personal agenda of a leader or a small group of members. It is certainly never about being aloof, or putting yourself on some kind of pedestal, expecting others to treat you royally. In my more than three decades of working closely with more than a thousand leaders, I have observed that every potential leader I have observed only achieves greatness when they adopt an attitude of service to others, where they strive to make others feel important and constant. important. Great leaders realize that they can never be fully effective unless they can communicate effectively, and that effective communication requires genuine concern for others and their feelings. John Dewey wrote: “The deepest drive in human nature is the desire to feel important.”
1. How can leaders make others feel important? One of the easiest ways to express gratitude verbally is to go out of your way to thank someone for even a minor help. Leaders need to thank members for their support while maintaining their integrity so that others realize that thanks are truly genuine, rather than just empty words and platitudes.
2. Great leaders never blame others for anything. First, they realize that it is not only unproductive, but often counterproductive. Has the leader adequately trained anyone before delegating duties and responsibilities? Has the leader adequately and effectively communicated what he wants to achieve so that the individual understands what is necessary, the commitment of time and effort required? Does the leader monitor the situation on an ongoing basis? Rather than blaming or negatively criticizing, does the leader provide constructive feedback that helps progress and quality of performance, but also makes the individual feel good about themselves?
Many in leadership do not recognize that an “atta-boy” and a pat on the back often accomplishes much more in a positive way than blaming, harshly criticizing, etc. A moment of ungratefulness from a leader often demotivates volunteers and creates a situation where it becomes difficult to recruit volunteers. Every human being wants to feel loved and appreciated! People want to feel important, and so when a leader publicly thanks someone, it feeds that drive and that need. Effective leaders, by definition, are excellent and competent motivators, understanding that praise and thanks create positive reactions and motivate others to follow the leader’s vision and adopt it as their own. Unless someone is able to get the constituents to become believers and followers, who is he leading? You can’t be a leader if no one wants to follow you. Leaders must accept and understand this truism, so that they can put themselves in the right mindset to be willing to realize that it is not the leader that is important, but the organization and its members!
