A king was so impressed by the antics of a pet monkey that he decided to make him his personal attendant and bodyguard. The monkey was allowed access to his inner chambers and other areas which even his most trusted staff were not allowed. All his follies, though apparent to others, were ignored by the king. One day, the king was taking his afternoon nap with the monkey standing in attendance. Suddenly, the monkey noticed a fly sitting on the king’s nose. The monkey tried to shoo it away but as flies do, it kept returning. Finally, the monkey got frustrated and irritated and decided to take a bold step. It grabbed the king’s sword and…… (what happens eventually is depicted differently in different versions, but you can imagine the best and the worst case scenarios).
A great leader never sets himself above his followers except in carrying responsibilities. - Jules Ormont
Leadership encompasses a lot of things and some of the basics do get ignored today in the quest for achieving results or self-preservation and self-promotion. Some of these lost traits are listed below, and not in any particular order.
Anticipating and mitigating issues
Admitting to mistakes (accountability) and taking responsibility
Communication (with followers).
Encouraging people and encouraging feedback
Putting others before self
Performance and bottom line do matter in all business activities, However, it's not always about getting there, but how they got there. It's about winning trust, faith and relatioship of others in the process.
