@RichardChilee: There are not many real leaders in the world today, and this is why

by Richard Chilee

When you look at leadership in today’s world, you will find an increasing sense of disconnection between the leaders and the led. In many organizations, people often get frustrated when they aren’t commended or when they don’t see a sense of community spirit in their work place. And many organizations, in their quest to boost the morale of employees, have often resorted to introducing different kinds of financial incentives as a form of reward. But they have soon realized that financial incentives in itself isn’t the magic wand – though it helps- to increase worker’s performance.

Listed below are three major reasons there are high levels of leadership gaps in organizations;

The ability to carry out the plans of yesterday today with an eye on the future; and infusing that ability to others is one way leaders can bridge the gaps in leadership.

 

  1. Top-down information and idea system

In many organizations, there is no cross-fertilization of information and ideas. Employees on the lower rung of the organizational ladder often feel disconnected from the real issues that affect their working conditions; they are simply expected to obey what they are told to do. This breeds a high level of organizational dissatisfaction and detachment.

Workers will give in their best when they are given a chance to lend a voice in the goings-on in the organization. When doors of ideas and information are open for all through chosen channels, you will be amazed at the ideas that even the office cleaners will bring forth. No one knows where the next big idea will come from. To achieve organizational balance, information should come from the top as well as from the bottom.

  1. Misunderstanding diversity

Many leaders in today’s organizational environment do not fully understand and embrace diversity. Many today’s leaders believe that if you don’t think and act like them or belong to the same academic and social circle your views will not be welcomed.

In order to bridge the increasing gaps in leadership, leaders must begin to tolerate and accommodate the opinions of people whose perspective are completely different from their own, this breeds unity in diversity.

  1. Too much futuristic thinking

A leader of one of the big corporations I follow told me his organization’s plans for the next five years. The plans were huge. But when I asked him about the big things the organization are doing in the present, he became lost. He couldn’t tell me, in the same zestful manner as he had when he talked about their future plans, what they were doing in the present. Many leaders are like that.

The ability to carry out the plans of yesterday today with an eye on the future; and infusing that ability to others is one way leaders can bridge the gaps in leadership.

Great leaders are men and women who don’t rely on the comfortable patterns of yesterday; they embrace the realities of today and are also open to the immense possibilities of tomorrow.

To cement the increasing gap in leadership in today’s world, today’s leaders must understand the environment in which we are in. Today’s environment is characterized by collaboration, connection and conversation, not control and command. Leaders must also know that understanding diversity and living in the present, with an eye on the future, are essential to showing outstanding leadership bridge

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Richard Chilee blogs at www.richardchilee.com

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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