A skill set called leadership

I am not shy to admit that I have always been quite a forward person. I like taking initiative, taking charge and ensuring that tasks are completed on time and with utmost efficiency. I am a firm believer of the old phrase, “If you want something to be done perfectly, do it yourself”.

I am guessing this is the trait that led to me being recently elected as the team leader for one of my varsity big projects. For the project, I and my class mates are required to plan and organise a posh Gala Dinner as a token of appreciation to a group of students representing the university on an international motorsport event.  If you ask me, this is quite a big deal!

Prior to accepting this responsibility, I have never really considered myself as a leader. To be quite honest I absolutely had no idea what a strain it would be. My idea of a good leader has always been someone who makes sure that everything is completed on time. I never thought about the tactics to use in order to make sure of that.

So as I have learnt from my experience, these are the set of skills required for good leadership:

·         An amazing ability to make convincing threats,

·         Veeeery high tolerance of nonsense,

·         Willingness to accept responsibility for other people’s faults,

·         A sharp voice to shout (you do that quite a lot),

·         A semi permanent fake smile,

·         And most importantly, willingness to do the work when someone simply refuses to do it.

*sigh*

But I am a lucky leader; I have such an amazing team! Sometimes I do not have to implement all of the above mentioned set of skillsJ.