Concept of Leadership as it applies to me

Leadership has been described as “a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task"

As a concept I would break it down into three. 
1. Social Influence 
2. Enlist aid and support 
3. Accomplishing a task. 

As a leader Social Influence is the most important aspect of leadership according to me. People often say you are either a born leader or not. But I beg to differ, we all learn from experience, it is just that we all are different in our style of leadership. Some are outspoken, proactive, while others rise up to the occasion, some enjoy the factor of leading during a crisis. All these are accomplished by means of our social influence. 

Social Influence is not something which you are born, it is developed through our everyday experiences. Each individual gains this influence everyday, some learn it quicker while others take their time and it is this very own influence which describes an individuals leadership potential. 

A person connects to another person or a group through different emotions, opinions and behaviours. He uses this connection to build an influence which in turn is used to drive action. More often than not we don't realize the different ways in which we are influenced, and it is this influencing power of the highest order. Some of the greatest leaders had the ability to influence people without them knowing that they are getting influenced. It is an art that is developed over time. 

Lets look at the second part, enlisting aid and support. In this phase the leader needs to clearly communicate what are the expectations and the outcome. So long as he is able to communicate properly the needs the set of people would respond accordingly. This has to be portrayed in such a manner that the target audience are also able to connect with the subject goals, it is the responsibility of the leader to ensure that he communicates it properly that the end goals are in line with their needs and wants. Once this communication is done then the second part is more or less done. It is important to note that this stage is extremely dependent on the previous stage of social influence for the communication to work. 

And last but not the least accomplishing the task. It is important not only to initiate action, but to sustain and see it through till the end and the leader needs to be on his toes and always on the look out for the betterment of the team. His ability to think  through in critical conditions and ambiguity will decide the outcome. Hence the leader plays a crucial role during the execution phase as well. And finally after task completion the leader has to ensure that the achievements are duly recognized and rewarded to keep the team going. 

My style of leadership  is characterized by being able to think with clarity during crisis situation and leading from the front during times when I think my leadership skill would benefit the maximum  to the team and the required task. The ability to understand your team mates and their strength as well as weakness as well as yours is something which I feel I am good at and to motivate the team and encourage everyone to be at their best and perform together is something I feel is my core competency.

Leadership according to me is not in born but developed and I feel all of my leadership skills have been gained through experience and by observing other leaders, their accomplishments as well as mistakes. A leader is one who learns from his mistakes and never repeats them, a great leader is one who learns from the mistakes of others and uses that knowledge to his best of abilities.