KOTA KINABALU: Understanding the people that you deal with is key to successful leadership, said Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sabah (English) associate professor Roslan Mokhtar.
He pointed out that many of today’s leaders are solely operating as “managers”, using the position’s power with a poor grasp of responsibility.
“They carry with them the glamour of the position. It can be seen across the board anywhere in the country. There are a lot of people who sit in positions of influence and yet they somehow or rather put in the backseat responsibility,” said Roslan, who is also UiTM Student Leadership Unit head.
“That is the sad part because this is where the finger pointing culture takes root, blaming other people. A lot of people want to be leaders but not many people are willing to (take) the blame in the heat when something goes wrong.
“That is the true test of a leader. There is a difference between the word leader and manager,” he emphasized at a leadership motivational talk here yesterday.
Roslan said true leaders throughout the span of time had portrayed virtuous traits that would inspire people to follow them.
Leaders also take time to listen and understand the people, not only taking time to ask questions but to also consider the consequences of their actions on the morale of the people.
“All these people follow them because of the virtues exemplified by these people, they are willing to die for these leaders,” said Roslan.
“One of the things I found out about good leaders is that they know how to handle people. That is one thing I noticed. Leaders are very good at identifying assets, traits of certain people and work with those people to motivate their staff and get them going.
“You have got to understand others before you can understand yourself. That is key as a leader, that is what enriches you in your way to lead the people,” he added.