There is a lack of leadership in our world. Chat with anyone, at the grocery store or while you wait for your coffee at your local cafe. We all know it. I believe one of the reasons why is that leaders don’t know what leadership is. My nephew recently asked me what the biggest thing was I had learned while working towards my Masters of Leadership. I told him it was the importance of understanding that leadership is a process of taking people on a journey from one place to another while utilizing a range of skills to achieve this successfully. Skills which anyone can learn.
The next day, while continuing my horsemanship journey, I realized that many leaders are reactive just like some horses and their riders. A reactive leader waits to see what will happen before taking any action and then they tend to be very quick, almost volatile, in their decision making. This can often be due to a lack of foresight and planning. This type of leader often feels inadequate instead of feeling prepared, which creates frustration and confusion in their followers. A prepared, proactive leader will create purpose and curiosity in their followers. Unfortunately, many leaders sense that they are reactive but may not realize they are reacting from challenging emotions such as fear. A reactive leader will create reactive followers. Our world is increasingly volatile, as leaders we simply cannot afford to waste time and energy being reactive. When we can stop being reactive, we can begin having conversations. Conversations that help us on our journey, towards our goals.
To be reactive is to act in response to a situation instead of creating and controlling situations through specific techniques and approaches.
If you would like to explore developing proactive leadership traits, please look out for my next blog article and contact me to arrange a leadership consultation session on 0456728961 or elizabethdenniss@bigpond.com