Success or Failure Leader is a Leader

What does a leader actually mean? A person who leads the team, a person who guides his/her team to strive better, and overall a person on which the entire team can rely. Being a leader comes with no extra benefits, but with a lot of added responsibilities. But when one takes on a leadership, he/she is very well-aware about it. How do success and failure affect the leader and his/her leadership qualities?

Let’s take an example of a sport. Sport is one of the best fields to compare as it showcases team-work and leadership in its purest form. Whenever we win a match, the credit is shared by all the members of the team, the bowlers, the batsmen, wicket-keeper and of course the captain. But when the team suffers or faces a lot of criticism, it is always the captain who comes forward and takes the responsibility on his shoulders. Why is it so? Is captain the only one to blame? Is he the only one who is responsible for the team’s loss? No, but this is something that leaders do. Giving credit and facing all the harsh comments and handling them, and finally striving better is one of the greatest qualities of a leader and also a quality that leaders should possess.

Trust, hard-work, dedication and leadership are some of the greatest pillars of any team, without which the team isn’t as strong. Having complete faith in your leader that he/she will handle everything even if something goes wrong makes a lot of difference. It is a team at the end of the day, everyone needs each other and each other’s support. A leader is like a shield protecting all his/her warriors, and if the shield fails to protect them, the war is lost.

If a team succeeds, a leader is appreciated for his/her efforts and also leadership qualities, so if a team fails, he/she has to be prepared for the criticism as well. Everyone makes mistakes, but having the teams’ back and owning up to them creates a deep sense of respect and admiration in the member’s heart. This not only will create a strong bond among the members of the team but they will also work harder to make sure that their leader is proud. A lot of things work on psyche and this is one of them.

A lot of times, leaders tend to shy away from taking the responsibility whole-heartedly but this is something that tags along with it. If a team fails to deliver, it is the leader’s responsibility to guide them and correct them, and if they fail to do so, the leader must own up to it. It is easy to say “My team member goofed up” but it takes immense about of courage and guts to say “Maybe my leadership could’ve been better”. 

As already mentioned, being a leader is a tough task and handling the members is tougher. But when the leader puts in his/her complete effort and is able to take out the best from the others then there is no stopping. Owning up when the team fails is without a doubt a leader’s responsibility and converting that failure into success is something that the leader should strive to achieve.