Are you the ideal leader?

Do you sometimes wonder if you are the right kind of person to be a leader? You may be a young leader and worry about whether you have the right qualities for the job, or you may be an experienced leader who has led for years but still harbours some self-doubt that you don’t have what it takes.

If you ask people to describe their picture of an ideal leader, it’s not uncommon to hear words such as “charismatic”, “visionary”, “driven”, “energetic”, “inspiring communicator”. Those words may be true of many good leaders but it’s certainly not the whole picture as there are many great leaders who display some very different characteristics. Perhaps the question we should be asking is not so much “Am I the right kind of person to be a leader?” but “What kind of leader am I the right person to be?”

Here at Moringa, one of our core messages is that we lead out of who we are. Our personality, cultural background, life experiences, gender, values, beliefs and abilities all play an important part in who we are as people and what we bring to our leadership. For example, just looking at the personality component alone, a strong extrovert may thrive on building relationships both inside and outside of the organisation, embrace variety and action and be strong on persuasiveness and quick decision-making. A strong introvert may be able to maintain incredible focus, take time to make a good decision, rather than a quick decision, be more reflective, listen well and build strong, trusting relationships over time.

So, is there an ideal leader? Whilst all leaders need to be able to do certain things (for example, inspire, influence, communicate, make decisions, delegate, think strategically, manage people), the personal qualities a leader brings to the role and how they lead will vary enormously. It is not that one style is necessarily better than another but that one style may suit an organisation, or a context, or a group of people, or a need better than another. The key is to lead authentically, leading out of who you are.