Speak With a Voice of a Leader

Becoming a great leader is a long process that starts with setting up SMART goals of the type of a leader one wants to be. There is a range of plans that an upcoming leader has to do that includes with his/her own and also for the community the person is in. My leadership development goal is to improve my body language when delivering a speech to be an excellent communicator. It is a goal that I would like to achieve in two years because I believe good practice and dedication can help me succeed. To measure my progress, I will have my speech delivery sessions be recorded so that I can go through it and make a judgement on it. Better still, I will ask the opinion of people present about my delivery on the non-verbal cues to be specific. Since I might not get a chance to deliver many speeches to an audience within the time frame, I plan to practice on my own and visualize the presence of an audience. The correct use of body language is an excellent tool for becoming an excellent public speaker and also a communicator. Every great leader needs to communicate well his/her ideas to the people, and the process starts small.  My leadership goal in working with others is to be an active listener when involved in conversations with them. Active listening involves avoiding distractions and focusing on what the other person is saying rather than anticipating for your turn to talk. Active listening also entails paraphrasing what the person has said to make them aware that you were listening and even to get clarification (Rogers, Carl and Richard, 1957). Concerning the first goal, this one also requires the use of non-verbal cues according to the mood of the conversation. A great leader is one who is free of prejudice and listens keenly to understand the plight of his/her people. It is a goal that I would love to attain within a year through constant practices. There is no challenge in finding someone to practice with because every day we are always in a conversation with someone. It is a great opportunity to learn when the one you are conversing with is sad or going through a complicated issue. The target is one which I will be able to gauge the progress on my own by reflecting on how I performed at the end of the day. The feedback from the people I talk with will also be a measure.  My third goal in leadership is to inspire confidence in people within my community to reach their targets in the next five years. The goal involves motivating each person to succeed in their capacities which is a good trait for a leader. To achieve this desire, I plan to use my public speaking skills to offer motivational talks whenever I get a chance on how to beat challenges and be determined to get to your goals. Another way is by setting an excellent example in my own life so that those in my community have something to look up to and also to listen to me when I deliver a speech. The response I get from people in my region is a good measure of how far the dream has got. If you continuously get appreciation messages from people, then you know that your plan is working. The three goals concerning leadership that I have all have one mission; to create in me a transformative leader who will inspire positive change. Transformative leadership is attained when a leader and his members progress in unison to a greater magnitude of morality and motivation (Homrig, 2001). It is my mission to use my attributes to set an example for those that I lead to follow and succeed in their ways. Being a good public speaker, listening actively and finally inspiring others are all traits that produce a transformative leader. The importance of becoming a transformative leader is that the people around you will chase their dreams tirelessly. By being around this kind of leadership, they will have a spirit in them to fight challenges and go for success. As an inspiration, I will have created a fighting spirit in them. One problem to the dream is having a platform to exercise the leadership into a larger region. It is always easy to offer direction in your community but reaching out to the whole region is not an easy task. With these plans I place, I perceive myself being a great transformative leader in five or ten years. If I perfect my public speaking skill, listen actively to people and offer motivation then becoming the leader I desire will be inevitable.  An example of a characteristic of a transformative leader is seeing the potential in people and letting them know (Nayab, 2010). One person that I can see a potential in leadership is my 10-year-old niece. The young girl has the confidence of a leader. An advice I can offer to her is to use every platform she gets as an opportunity to sharpen her skills. Leaders are made and not born (Ruvolo, Catherine, Scott and Joseph, 2004). Just like in my case, I need to practice to sharpen my public speaking and listening skills. In her case, she has the confidence; she only needs to perfect in other areas to become an all-rounded leader.

References

Homrig, M. A. (2001). Transformational leadership. Retrieved December 5, 2008. Nayab, N. (2010). Characteristics of Transformational Leadership. What is Transformational Leadership? Rogers, C. R., & Farson, R. E. (1957). Active listening. Industrial Relations Center of the University of Chicago. Ruvolo, C. M., Peterson, S. A., & LeBoeuf, J. N. (2004). Leaders Are Made, Not Born The Critical Role of a Developmental Framework to Facilitate an Organizational Culture of Development. Consulting psychology journal: practice and research, 56(1), 10.