By Anu Dev
Last Sunday we celebrated Republic Day – the day we recognise that we govern ourselves, we’re not under the rule of a monarch and I’ve been thinking about leaders and leadership. What Shakespeare said about “greatness”, can be paraphrased for leaders: “Some are born leaders, some achieve leadership and some have leadership thrust upon them.”
I’ve encountered a fair number of leaders from all three backgrounds, over the years and this year at Med School I’ve met even more. We have weekly PBL (Problem-Based Learning) sessions where we’re broken into small groups and everyone has to take a turn at leading the group discussions. So after a while, everyone gets a chance to be group leader and I found that most of them exemplified quite distinct leadership styles, approaches and qualities.
A good leader is assertive yet approachable. During my early years at Queen’s College, I was always impressed with the prefects chosen. I was awed by these students who were all-rounded and carried themselves with decorum. These prefects welcomed us to speak to them freely, but by mutual understanding, there was a boundary we never crossed. These were the type of prefects I tried to emulate when I became Head Prefect in Upper Six.
Another fundamental trait of leaders is that a true leader inspires others to achieve. And the best leaders do this not by telling – but by doing. The line from Portia in the Merchant of Venice has stuck with me: “I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done than be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching.” It can be hard, but to be good leader, that’s absolutely necessary. A good leader can inspire dedication and great feats from followers, through leadership by example.
Good leaders must show integrity since a leader can’t lead if he doesn’t have the trust of followers. Leaders must show honesty, well-controlled emotions (that’s right, no screaming your head off at your charges!). In our Professionalism Course, we’re constantly reminded about the importance of integrity – as doctors we’ll have to work along with other doctors, we’ll need the trust and support of the nurses and other members of our medical team to ensure that we care for our patients successfully.
Leaders must also have high self-respect and self-esteem. After all, if a leader doesn’t respect himself / herself, how could they earn the respect of others? Yes, respect is earned, not demanded. Good leaders should have the respect of their subordinates and also give due respect to their subordinates.
My tradition emphasises the need to delegate tasks and to groom new leaders for the future. In my estimation, this is a defining quality that all leaders should possess. That leader who tries to singlehandedly tackle all of the objectives and challenges of the group usually risks biting off more than they can chew and simultaneously demotivates the rest of the members.
Leaders should also always be conscious that they can’t be the leader forever – there comes a time to step down and pass on the torch. New times demand new skills and new visions.
One of the more over-looked qualities a leader should possess is a sense of humour! Humour can be an effective tool to energise persons and ease tension. More often than not, leaders choose the too-serious approach – a balance should be struck.
In conclusion don’t believe that I’m only talking about leaders of countries and corporations. In every endeavour that we embark on in groups, there is the need for leaders. We never know when leadership may be thrust upon us: be prepared.