Can you lead us?

Dear Toastmaster of the day, Fellow toastmasters and distinguished guests.

Good Evening.
Are you consider yourself as a leader?
Can you lead a country?
If you can’t lead a country, can you lead a company?
A community?
A club or a social group or your family?
Or at least can you lead yourself to achieve the desired goals in your life?
Now you might have realized that we have various opportunities in different scales to practice
leadership.
Therefore, it is better to understand your leadership style and improve the qualities of leadership.
That is the aim of my speech. As this Level 2 project suggested my aim is to Delivers a speech about my
leadership style and give the impact of that style on you.
As per Professor Warren Bennis a well-known American Scholar;
Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.
Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.
When you heard this statement, who came first to your mind. Who are the leaders that translate their
vision into reality?
May I know who came first in to your mind?
-----
Interesting leaders; aren’t they?
Myself as a leader of our team and as an employee it is my responsibility to provide leadership to
transfer my company vision to the reality.
I will explain this in an example of my personal experience.
In my recent project I was the senior Quantity Surveyor who managed a team handled claims and
variations of the project.
I had immense pressure from my project director to complete the task within challenging deadline.
I knew myself and our team capacity that we can complete that task.
I express with the team that the way we have to complete it. I support them and build trust among our
team. With correct and effective actions, we completed tasks in successful way and I believe that I have
lead the team in a best way I can.

When I lead my team I effectively communicate with them. Communicates expectations, goals, and
plans with others in a direct, concise, and thoughtful manner. I Express leadership through words and
actions. I am optimist. I always see the beneficial side of situations and expect positive outcomes. See
the matter in open mind and always try to Demonstrates personal integrity by acknowledging and giving
credit to others.
Do you have idea about different leadership styles?
There are Bureaucratic leaders, Authoritative leaders, Innovative Leaders, Pacesetting leaders,

Affiliative, Coaching Altruistic and leaders.

If we critically consider the characteristics of each style, you may understand that all the leaders
including myself, as well as yourself are having mix of these leadership styles. Not any leadership
styles are right or wrong. Each styles have pross and cons which can apply in different situations.
In my case, I
In that circumstances I believe that I was a successful leader.
Professor Warren further described about leadership that,
"Leadership is a function of knowing yourself,
having a vision that is well communicated,
building trust among colleagues,
and taking effective action to realize your own leadership potential."

I will repeat it:

"Leadership is a function of knowing yourself, - you should know who you are before lead
having a vision that is well communicated, You should have vision as well it has to be communicated
building trust among colleagues, your subordinates shall trust you. Otherwise to whom you will lead?
and taking effective action to realize your own leadership potential." You have to take action, otherwise
your vision is useless.
I would suggest you to keep those 4 words in your mind;
Know, Vision, Trust & Action
The correct application of those will allow you to be a good leader in any circumstances.

As I told you earlier, you may not lead a country, but you are definitely leading something in your life.
But leaders may be fail in different scenarios. That is why you should continuously improve your
leadership skills.

How you can improve your leadership skills?

• You shall identifying your real skills. If I lead in a cricket team rather than Quantity Surveying
team, I would definitely fail, as I not developed those skills.
• You further need to improve the effective communication, led by example, be optimistic and
open minded as well always demonstrate integrity.
 • You have to empower others to accomplish personal goals and contribute to the successful
completion of group objectives
• Ask for feedback about your leadership from work colleagues, line managers, and your
‘followers’
• Practise, Take on responsibility may be at work, volunteering, clubs & Societies like here in
Toastmasters Club.
• Find a mentor – learn from positive leadership role-models
• And more importantly--
Attend further leadership and management training
Dear Toastmasters
We all sri lankans eagerly want and welcome a true leader who have vision, who can build trust among
us and who shall take actions to realize his vision. If you are a leader with those qualities, I am making a
simple request.
Can you lead us? please
Over to you toastmaster of the day!!!

I have less bureaucratic leadership characteristics I never believe as my decisions are absolute. But I
express sometimes that ■ This leader motivates by discipline and demands immediate compliance. ■
This leader engages in top-down interactions. ■ This style is not effective when trying to lead highly
skilled individuals, as they often become resentful of micromanagement. ■ This style is most effective
when a decision has to be made in a short amount of time. Authoritative ■ This leader provides long-
term direction and focuses on end-goals. ■ This leader often has more experience and knowledge than
those she leads. ■ This leader motivates by inspiring enthusiasm for the mission. ■ This leader gives
clear direction and sets standards. ■ This style is less effective when explicit guidance is required. ■ This
style is most effective when a change of direction or vision is required. Innovative ■ This leader shares a
vision of the future and pursues excellence. ■ This leader encourages innovative ideas. ■ This leader
motivates by promoting respect for team members’ creativity. ■ This leader invites collaborative
conversation. ■ This style can be less effective when risks taken make team members apprehensive. ■
This style is most effective when solving complex problems. Pacesetting ■ This leader expects those he
leads to embrace new projects and move with speed. ■ This leader focuses on productivity. ■ This
leader motivates by setting high standards of performance, and then leads by example. ■ This leader
does not feel it necessary to communicate a lot of detailed instructions. ■ This style can be ineffective if
used over a long period of time. ■ This style is effective when team members are self-motivated and
highly skilled

Democratic ■ This style relies on consensus decision-making. ■ This leader is comfortable allowing
others to occasionally take the lead. ■ This leader motivates by providing opportunity for participation.
■ This leader uses collaboration and communication to receive input from team members. ■ This style is
ineffective when time is limited or if team members do not have the knowledge or expertise to make
quality contributions. ■ This approach is most effective when the knowledge of the entire team is
needed to solve a problem or find direction. Affiliative ■ This leader’s objective is to create a cohesive
unit by emphasizing teamwork and harmony. ■ This leader is collaborative and focuses on emotional
needs. The affiliative style is often used effectively alongside visionary leadership. ■ This leader
motivates by creating positive personal relationships and avoids conflict. ■ This style is less effective
when the leader has difficulty giving negative feedback and performance is not emphasized. ■ This style
is effective in increasing morale, repairing broken trust, and working through stressful circumstances.
Coaching ■ This leader concentrates on preparing individuals for the future by building skills. ■ This
leader excels with individuals or groups that have not yet realized their full potential. ■ This leader
motivates by challenging the individual. ■ This leader communicates with positive statements to foster a
high level of personal gratification. ■ This style is less effective when those being coached are adverse to
change. ■ This style is most effective in a one-on-one setting when the person being coached is
receptive to the close working relationship of this leadership style. Altruistic ■ This leader personalizes
approaches to meet the individualized needs of the team. ■ This leader leads in order to better serve
others. ■ This leader motivates by her empowering, ethical approach. ■ This leader focuses on active
listening, empathy, and commitment to building community. ■ This style can be ineffective if not given
sufficient time to apply a long-term perspective. ■ This style is effective in creating a positive culture and
promoting high morale