Effective Leadership
i>"The leader of the people serves the people." (Prophet Muhammad (pbuh))
"Whosoever sets himself the task of leading other people right should begin by training himself first before attempting to guide others. Let your guidance and leadership be reflected in your behavior rather than your words." (Sayyedna 'Ali)
The Islamic perspective of Effective Leadership is leadership with moral authority, integrity and credibility; providing people with a sense of worth, a sense of direction and a sense of purpose through information, inspiration and motivation.
Leadership is ...
- a role of affecting and influencing others.
- not only defined by what it is but also what it does. It is both being and action.
- a means of moving people in a planned direction by motivating them non-compulsively into action and in the direction of their long-term best interest.
- a process of creating a vision, developing a strategy, enlisting cooperation, motivating action, empowering the follower-ship, uniting people with the aim of achieving higher common objectives.
Leadership is not ...
- merely a position for anyone could be elected, selected, appointed, self-appointed, promoted or succeeded.
- the developing of a personality cult because the giving of too much power to any individual is detrimental to all involved; including the leader, the followers and the cause.
- being indispensable, for an effective leader provides continuity for the cause and is never the cause himself/herself.
- about blaming others, but taking responsibility for successes and failures, building on experiences gained and lessons learnt in the process.
Ability and Responsibility of a Leader
The leader should possess mental ability and have a wide general understanding of people and issues.
The Leader must be/have ...
- a positive attitude
- excellent communication skills (the one who can phrase it could lead it)
- possess maturity in attitude and behavior
- psychologically secure
- possess drive, energy, initiative, courage, consistency and commitment
- a sensitive human being
In administrative ability, the leader must be able to ... envision, plan, organize, direct, teach, inspire, analyze, observe, improve and decide with moral acumen.
Since character is of great significance in Islam, it is necessary for the leader to have the essential traits of honesty, impartiality, proficiency, control, courage, thoughtfulness, decisiveness, helpfulness and dignity.
Leadership Process
Three factors underlie the leadership process:
- Leader Characteristics
- Follower Characteristics
- Situational Characteristics
A leader is effective to the extent that there is a coordination and harmonious interplay between his/her characteristics, the characteristics of the followers and the characteristics of the situation. If any one of these are out of sync then it could be a potential problem. The effective leader always exercises PROPRIETY, does what is best for the long term by guiding the followership in doing the right thing at the right time in the right manner. This requires excellence in thought, excellence in planning and excellence in execution. The effective leader manifests "Itqaan" (excellence) under all circumstances.
Negative Leadership Characteristics
- The KNOW-IT-ALL ... who "knows everything" and considers everyone else's opinion less than his/hers.
- The DICTATOR ... whose way is the only way to do things.
- The BACKSTABBER ... who betrays your trust and undermines the integrity of others.
- The COMPLAINER ... who finds fault with everything/everybody beside himself/herself
- The COMPETITOR ... for whom every issue is a battle which he/she must win and those who differ with him/her must lose or become the victim of abuse.
- The EGOIST ... to whom the position of leader merely serves to boost his/her ego.
- The EXPLODER ... who is constantly on a short fuse and blows up for minor matters.
- The MANIPULATOR ... who abuses powers to further personal interests.
Expression of Positive Leadership
- The true leader is compassionate, big-hearted and truly selfless in that the leader is able to surrender his / her own willfulness to serve something greater than personal ambitions and thus lead others with tremendous energy and vitality, utterly without self-interest.
- is authentic and genuine in thought, word, attitude and deed.
- listens attentively, communicates his feelings clearly and simply, and is genuine in that he/she is nothing more and nothing less than what he/she seems to be.
- is emphatic, compassionate, caring, concerned about the needs of others, deeply unselfish, humble and altruistic -- considering it a privilege to be effective in the lives of others.
- whose sense of self is based on being reasonable and conscientious at all times and the ability to clearly sort out issues because he/she realizes the consequences of whatever decisions he/she makes, whose judgment comes from a deeply felt sense of conviction.
- exhibits ability and authority, a decisiveness and a sense of honor; not afraid to take responsibility for the difficult choices and decisions he/she makes.
- stands up for what is right, appealing to the conscience, good will, fairness of others, fearlessly; articulately expressing his/her beliefs no matter whom he/she pleases or displeases, without in anyway being vulgar.
- gives people a clear and worthwhile sense of direction as well as effective means to attain common goals while inspiring them to want to work for something larger than themselves.
- becomes the symbol and embodiment of the aspirations of the community and is willing to take responsibility and is therefore worthy of loyalty, honor and support.
Leadership Roles
The two primary roles of a leader are those of servant-leader and guardian-leader.
The servant-leader wants to serve and through service acquires authority which becomes manifested due to involvement and concern for the welfare of the people. This is in keeping with the tradition of our beloved Prophet who said, "Leaders are servants of the people."
The guardian-leader aims at protecting the community against tyranny, oppression and injustice and places primary responsibility on care for the people. This too is in keeping with the Prophetic reminder, "All of you are guardians and each will be held responsible for those under your guardianship."
A great leader fulfils both dimensions of leadership roles. In the words of the greatest leader of all
times, the holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: "The best of leaders are those who love the people and people
love them".