Leaders are to be followed and Managers.... lets think!!!

"People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives." - Theodore Roosevelt

Have just recently finished my MBA. No, I am offcourse not writing this post to brag about it. This post is regarding a thing that I have been thinking since I have enrolled for this course.

In every semester, there have been atleast one subject which spoke about "Leaders and managers". There is so much being said and taught about them, glorifying the leaders and criticizing managers. But then, honestly how many leaders, I mean "real" leaders do we find around? Very rare... Right? Why? Even after teaching so much about the importance of being a leader and not just task masters aka managers, why do we still have dearth of leaders? Sitting in the classroom, we all aspire to become leaders. Infact many of us, being compelled by enthusiasm, even promise yourselves to become a leader. And the moment we become slaves of corporate, we forget all that, all those promises, all those teachings, all those lessons, we forget everything and just shove ourselves into the grind and become like everyone else: an insensitive machine of
torturing managing people. Guess, its this highly spreading desperation of rising high without much efforts, without waiting! Guess, the extinction of leaders is to be blamed on the dirty competition and politics thats spreading across like a giant, in every organization. Guess, its is our cravings for higher living standards. Guess, its our swelling materialistic desires. Guess, it is our dying conscience.

Anyways, let me put down the most common qualities of a leader here. A leader is honest, confident, motivating, calm and composed in every situation and most important one, a leader believes in sharing the credit with their team and also, have the guts of taking the blame of their failure on themselves. Now, just mull over your brain to think about people around you who imbibe these qualities?

But the best part is corporate world is not all that bad. It is not just surviving, it is growing with leaps and bounds. Thanks to few leaders that we have and thanks to them for not giving up their principles and learnings, by getting influenced with cheap desires. In my 8 years of career, I have been really fortunate to meet few of such leaders. You know what is that one thing that is common in all of them. They all just carry an aura around them: of intelligence, of positivity, of comfort, of this amazing attitude. The best part about leaders is that they take their people along with them, they don't leave them behind. They mentor them, guide them and just feel proud of seeing them growing in their respective careers. Yes, these are the signs of true leaders. And BTW, such people are just not found in books. They are there in real and I am so glad, I know few of them.

Do you know one? If not, search for one... if Yes, then stick to them , shadow them and learn as much as possible from them

"It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership." - Nelson Mandela

P.S. Leaders are to be followed and managers are to be ignored!

P.S.S. These are completely my views and are not meant to hurt anyone