Being a Leader
Posted by Cottontimer on 29 Nov 2005 | Tagged as: Me
Several years ago, while deciding who should take charge of a group project for school, I was surprised to find that not everyone was interested in being the leader. All my life, I was the one who would jump at any opportunity to be the head of the line, class president, or whatever other position that would put me at the top. I wasn’t always successful at my bid, but it was always my goal to be the one in authority.
As I think about it now, I’m not even sure I was ever very good at being a leader. I am usually the one who is most easily excited by a project, who puts in a great deal of effort, and who gets things done. But that doesn’t mean that I am good at delegating tasks or inspiring others. I get along with most everyone with a minimal amount of friction but I don’t know if people look to me to show them the way to success.
That’s why I found the results of this quiz interesting.
Leadership is a hard skill to quantify. There are many aspects of leadership success – from asserting oneself to inspiring others to do their best. Each person has different strengths as a leader and different weaknesses. Knowing your skills allows you to improve upon your weaknesses and take advantage of your strengths.
Your weakness as a leader is what limits your overall leadership capability. Knowing your greatest weakness allows you to notice and actively improve your skill in that area – therefore increasing your overall leadership ability.
Your Weakest Leadership Skill is:
Ambition Utilizing your strongest leadership skill allows you to best achieve your goals as a leader. Emphasizing your strengths enables you to appear as a strong and confident leader, and allows others to overlook any potential flaws.
Your Strongest Leadership Skill is:
Public Speaking
This 60-question quiz is surprisingly accurate. I may need to read Jone’s blog, Leadership Turn, more frequently to gain an understanding of what it takes to be an effective leader.
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You know, the whole leadership thing was great till I was cornered into laying off a bunch of people who did not deserve it. Only because they were setting the company up for a buy-out and needed the books to look more attractive. Sooo, I got the distinction of removing staff from a highly functional group till I was the only one left and then terminated because my position was no longer required. Now, my leadership comes in the daddy/husband flavors only.
I registered the same results you did. But in this case, my lack of ambition has resulted from burnout after three decades of work and civic participation. Looking back over the questions, though, I never really had ambition other than the similar desires you expressed to participate and influence the direction of activities through attempted leadership. Thanks for bringing this topic up.
I do not like being the leader. If someone else is available to to lead, let them have it. I prefer to be behind the scenes making it happen than in the spotlight to take the fall when things go awry.
mdmhvonpa: What a horrible situation! When I see the kind of people-managing work Marv has to do on a daily basis, I’m glad it’s not me.
layered: Thanks for the comment! I haven’t had the chance to burn out yet since I left full-time work many years ago. Sometimes I wonder if it would be fun to try it.
jenmcd: No pain, no gain, right? *ouch* I think I just fell in the spotlight.
Hmmm…. I’m quite surprised to find myself weak in the ambition department. I don’t think I agree with that.
river2sea72: I think that could be interpreted in different ways. When my sister saw it, she thought it meant settling for complacency. Whereas I though it was negative in a Machiavellian sort of way. Guess we’ll never know unless we pony up the money for a full analysis.
I got the same results as you – weak in ambition, strong in public speaking. Does that mean you also like to shoot your mouth off about everything but do nothing? :p heheh
Rosie: You should know by now that I like to shoot my mouth off. But I do like to do something about it much to people’s chagrin. hehee
My weakness is street smarts & strength versatility… guess that explains my still short stint in the working world, but the diversity of the work experience!
smitha: Leadership isn’t just limited to the working world, Smitha! Versatility must have served you well on your many moves around the world.