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Becoming A Leader
Author: by Brett M. Miles
Leaders have one thing in common: a passion for the promises of life and the ability to express themselves fully and freely. Full, self-expression is the essence of leadership. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The man is only half himself, the other half is his expression." Being able to express yourself fully means that you know who you are, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and how to fully deploy your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses. You also know what you want, why you want it, and how to communicate what you want to others, in order to gain their cooperation and support. Finally, you know how to achieve your goals. The key to full self-expression is understanding one's self and the world, and the key to understanding is learning—from one's own life and experience.
Becoming a leader isn't easy, just as becoming a doctor or a poet isn't easy, and anyone who claims otherwise is fooling himself. But learning to lead is a lot easier than most of us think it is, because each of us contains the capacity for leadership. In fact, almost everyone of us can point to some leadership experience. Leadership takes place at home, in sports, community, churches, meetings, neighborhoods, and at work.
In fact, the process of becoming a leader is much the same as the process of becoming an integrated human being. For the leader, as for any integrated person, life itself is the career. Discussing the process in terms of "leaders" is merely a way of making it concrete.
Studies show that leaders are in accord on two basic points. First, they all agree that leaders are made, not born, and made more by themselves than by any external means. Second, they agree that no leader sets out to be a leader per se, but rather to express himself freely and fully. That is, leaders have no interest in proving themselves, but an abiding interest in expressing themselves. The difference is crucial, for it's the difference between being driven, as too many people are today, and leading, as too few people do.
Something else they have in common is that each leader has continued to grow and develop throughout life. This is in the best tradition of leadership--people such as George Bernard Shaw, Charles Darwin, Katherine Hepburn, Martin Luther, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jean Piaget are a few examples.
Adults learn best when they take charge of their own learning. Taking charge of your own learning is a part of taking charge of your life, which is sine qua non in becoming an integrated person.
Copyright © 1995 by Brett M. Miles, Milestones, Inc.
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Brett M. Miles is a professional speaker and leadership development consultant for MilestonesInc.com, a firm that helps senior management develop leaders, solve team issues, and change and integrate cultures. Milestones provides state of the art selection and retention strategies, executive coaching, training programs and processes for senior and mid-level managers. With over a decade-long track record in 100+ companies on three continents, Milestones partners with top leaders to improve performance and enhance the quality of relationships in the workplace.
Brett Miles can be reached at brett@milestonesinc.com, 800-31-MILES or by visiting www.LeadershipDevelopment.bz
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