As a full-time Coach and Trainer having over 81,131 executives in 14 countries since 1996, I believe that everyone is a leader and everyone can rise to the top leadership position of any organization. There is no requirement of background, wealth, education or connections. However, many people still don't want to be a leader because they think that being a leader is difficult and requires too many sacrifices. The top 7 misunderstandings of being a leader include:
1. A Leader Must Be Tough. Softness doesn't mean not effective, and sometimes being tough will alienate followers instead.
2. You Must Be The Best. The best may not lead because they prefer to be led. That doesn't mean that the leader is mediocre and incompetent.
3. A Leader Must Behave Like a Leader at All Times. This is called fake leadership because ultimately a leader is just a normal human being like anyone. A leader is not God or a representative of God. In fact if you behave weak at times you will touch more peoples' hearts and get more loyal followers
4. You Must Have A Strong Team In Order to Lead Well. This is the most daunting and untrue requirement that frightens most people. In fact a leader builds his own team. Even if he already has a strong team, he still must turn the strong team into strong followers or he is just an ineffective leader.
5. A Leader Cannot Fail. Even The Buddha fails, so why can't a leader fail? In fact failure often makes the leader stronger. You just look at the many failed war attempts by Sir Winston Churchill of Britain and China
6. You Must Be Ready to Lead. No one is ever ready for anything in life, what is more important than readiness to lead is the will and commitment to lead.
7. A Leader is a Good Talker. What is more important than talking is listening. True leaders don't talk much and give credit to his team. But he practices deep listening, as what Thict Niat Hanh, the famous Vietnamese monk, does all the time.
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