How do you define Leadership?

Whenever you read any job description, it always requires the applicants to have Leadership and Management skills in the Qualification and Skills section. It is not very often you get to see the kind of heroes in movies who risk it all to save the planet in our everyday lives, but then again, it would be unfair to say we lack influential leaders in our world today. So surely leadership is an important trait to have, but what exactly does it mean? That is the theme of the first ever Toronto Leadership Forum (TLF) – to shed some light in this almost overused term by inviting seasoned professionals from various industries to share some of their practices and stories in their careers.

Six speakers with different job titles brought in their ideas that are crucial to leadership in this conference , from comparing management styles, discussing how to adapt to change in work environment, identifying positive/negative traits in admired leaders, to planning your role as a leader etc. Through their presentations and discussions, the idea of what qualities a leader should possess started to mold, and it was learned that many characteristics are two-fold, as any quality pushed to the extreme would yield a negative effect, to which knowing when to draw the line becomes the challenge. However it was evident that although everybody had a different definition of the term leadership, the need of passion and perseverance for their cause are undeniable. Because there are no clear-cut formula to become a successful leader, not all the opinions expressed by the speakers were agreed. There were moments in the conference when delegates challenged the speakers’ viewpoints, or questioned the validity of their opinions – to which were welcomed by the speakers because it showed interest and thought on the topics, and non-conformity to anything thrown to the delegates.

Despite the various backgrounds of these speakers, they all shared a common history of changing their career paths in pursuit of a field they enjoyed and played to their strengths. The transition to their new found career paths were often difficult, and it was unfortunate that it was the chatting during the breaks between presentations that you learned of their struggles and decisions they made that led to their success. These to me, were greater lessons than knowing the difference between “breaking” and “whispering” because sharing the experiences created an engagement in the conversation, and it was in the hardships you understood the lessons learned.

This was the first TLF ever conducted, and the team behind this conference was five engineering students who juggled between school studies, interviewing for jobs, participating other clubs, and coordinating this event. From arranging the venue to inviting speakers, these students truly exemplified their leadership skills by taking on the responsibility of organizing this forum, in hopes of making the concept of leadership an easier term to grasp. Oftentimes in the engineering studies, the technical knowledge has become such a focus that other skills are overlooked. The TLF provided an excellent opportunity to bridge these gaps and remind students that a wholesome development is one of the keys to success.

~ by Timbits on Sunday, November 18, 2007.