LEADERSHIP PURPOSE
Sohail Rizvi
Leadership Trainer & Coach; Certified HR Professional; Certified Professional Trainer;
Accredited Instructional Designer
Leadership Series
by Sohail Rizvi
May 14, 2020
Let me admit at the onset that I may not be the most read person on leadership or a
researcher on this topic. But during my 35 years of my professional journey from a
customer services officer at a Chain of Department Stores in Los Angeles to a CEO of
Regional Learning Group in Dubai, I have first-hand experience of many types of leaders,
who were very different but highly effective. In my early years as a leader, I believed (I
think many still do) that personality has strong impact on leadership effectiveness. I had
been an unaware introvert and thought that I can never become a good leader because I am
not talkative or social. But when I was led by different personalities, I learned that both
introvert or extrovert; a high risk-taker or a low risk-taker; an analytical planner or an onthe-spot decision maker; they all can be extremely inspiring leaders of their teams and
result producer for their organizations.
As I moved up into the field of learning and development, I was extremely intrigued by the
concept of “Start with Why – The Purpose” from Simon Sinek. So as a leadership
development trainer and Coach, I asked myself; what should be the “Why or Purpose for
leaders. If I could decipher this, I can develop leaders around that. I didn’t realize that this
search would be so tedious and illusory. Initially, I worked on the notion that leaders
develop leaders. It seemed like a reasonable purpose in the beginning but when I put this in
practice, I was unable to identify what should a leader inculcate in the people to become
leaders. Besides, I could not digest the concept that a leader can make everyone into a
leader. If that was the case, then every member in our teams or every child in our family
could become an equally effective leader and a potential successor. In real life that does not
happen.
My search for ‘Purpose of Leadership’ took a new turn when I went back to investigate on
the mission and purpose of great leaders in our history. This new line of thinking led me to
a treasure of knowledge and finally I found that the real purpose of leaders is to build
character in the people in his/her circle of influence. That led to another question. What
constitutes character? I summarized few elements that consider integral to character, I am
presenting few elements below, but these are not exhaustive and I encourage readers to
add to it:
1.
Truthful and honest
2.
Trust worthy
3.
Lives by values
4.
Professional integrity
5.
Value contributor
6.
Investigates for veracity
7.
Respectful to all
8.
Thinks and decides for greater good
9.
Transparent and radically candid
10. Empathetic listener
You will definitely say, well this is so common sense and simple. Well it is! We have made
leadership complicated by creating so many fancy theories and complex programs.
What I am proposing is that it is not the purpose of the leader to have these characteristics,
that is given. But rather their single most important job is to inculcate these in the people in
their circle of influence. Therefore, the purpose of leadership in one statement could be
described as the “Character Building”. If leader has these characteristics, he will have
respect of its team and will achieve outstanding results but it will not transform the
organization or society. The transformation is the real measure of leadership success,
which requires that people or society as whole change the way it thinks and operates. Take
for example; Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan was a leader of high standards of
character and he achieved remarkable result by creating an independent Islamic state but
he could not transform the society or nation, for one reason or another. Whereas, Prophet
Muhammad was himself a man of highest ethical and moral standards but was also able to
transform the people and the social set up through focusing on character building. Similar
examples can be cited from many other nations and societies. This does not mean that a
leader can transform everyone and all the times. But still that is the mission and main job of
a leader. His/her success will be measured by the change in the ways people think and
behave in an organization, society or family.
Therefore, whether you are a manager in your organization or parent in your home, your
main purpose as a leader of a team or family should only be towards building the elements
of character building of your members and the results beyond your expectations will be a
by-product of this effort. So, start by asking a question every day; Whom have I enabled to
become a better person today.