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Writer's pictureNirmal Kumar

LEARN FROM THE KING

Updated: Sep 20, 2019


The lion is one of the most intriguing animals in the animal kingdom. It has become a symbol of strength and leadership in many ways that are characteristic with its natural behavior like a loud menacing roar to command respect and attention and a display of immense strength and pride when it takes a walk. The lion has shown resilience against all odds that nature has thrown at it from protecting its young to looking out for its pride; the lion is a deeply committed animal that shows deep interest in the progress of its community.


FIVE ATTRIBUTES LEADERS CAN LEARN FROM THE KING OF THE JUNGLE


The lion depicts a picture of strength, pride, aggression, royalty and an intimidating appearance. These are features that can be adopted in real life to create the winning experience every leader craves. In the following segment, we will discuss five attributes of a lion that has made it stand out from the other animals, these attributes will work the same way in any setting especially in the corporate world if they are properly adopted and sued by our leaders. If you are an aspiring leader, consider these majestic features carefully and find creative ways to infuse them into your role as a leader.

 

FACT : A LION’S ROAR CAN BE HEARD FROM FIVE MILES AWAY.

LESSON : MAKE YOURSELF HEARD.

The lion's roar commands strength and fear, it is one of the distinctive attributes that has made the lion stand out from the other animals. There are many animals stronger than the lion and even deadlier, but they lack the ability to command fear with a roar similar to that of a lion. From this perspective, you can make your voice more prominent than even the bigger competition by clearly and loudly declaring your message in a way that it is easy to understand and convincing enough to win the support of the audience.


Many great men and women in the past have achieved this goal and even though they have passed on a long time ago, they are still regularly quoted by the leaders of today because of the important comments they made and the huge impact they had on the general public in many areas. Good examples of such people are Albert Einstein, Mother Theresa, and Adolf Hitler.


The lion acknowledges the impact of its roar and it never hesitates to use this power, this can be seen from videos where lions were seemingly cornered in a dicey situation. A loud fearsome roar made the attackers go into confusion which gave the lion leverage to gain the victory in those confrontations.

Relating this to everyday life, you must identify your goals and strong points then find out ways to propagate these talents for the good of your team and community.

 

FACT : LIONS ENJOY THE SECURITY OF A SOCIAL COMMUNAL LIVING KNOWN AS THEIR PRIDE.

LESSON : PURPOSEFUL INTERACTIONS WITH PEOPLE BETTER THAN YOU IMPROVES YOUR SELF-DEVELOPMENT DRIVE.

In life, we have come to realize that no man can be an Island. We need other people to survive. As a leader, you will need to dedicated commitment from your team members to succeed in your journey. This means explaining the team’s goals to every person and ensuring they properly understand the roles they have to play in order to attain the set goals. In life, we have our neighbors, family, and friends around us. These people are there to support us and encourage us as much as we can also give out strength and assistance to them in every way we can. Common societal goals can only be achieved by a collective effort.


The lesson that can be taken from the lion’s lifestyle is the team spirit shown by every member of the pride. It is remarkable how every member of the pride knows their roles and they play these roles perfectly to see the pride thrive. The leader ultimately becomes the source of strength from which every member of the team draws inspiration to carry out their duties to ensure all goals are successfully met.

 

FACT : A LION CAN SPEND UP TO 20 HOURS A DAY SLEEPING.

LESSON : THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LEADER AND A SLAVE, FIND TIME TO RELAX.

The current trends in our society make it seem normal for an individual to go on working for long hours without a break. The goal is to achieve some short-term benefits that might not be worth the effort and compromise of rest in the long run. It is important to rest after you have given your best, adequate rest can be achieved by good planning. The plan from the beginning of the day, allocate time for the scheduled tasks for each day and ensure this is met. Working nonstop for long hours will only lead to stress and reduction in productivity.


It is amazing that the lion is never without a meal even though it spends a lot of time resting. Studying this attribute, we can deduce that the lion has planned its activities properly to source for food while allocating time to regenerate the energy needed to source for food.


The contrast in the ant kingdom is seen from the fact that there are ant workers who are meant to work; all they are expected to do is work. From this perspective we deduce that leaders are the masterminds, they are responsible for controlling and managing the team. One of the marks of a leader is that he does not soil his hands with work meant for his followers. If you want to have an enjoyable life, learn to not let activity dominate your life. Find time to relax

 

FACT : LIONS MAKE A LARGE KILL AND EAT ONLY WHAT THEY NEED LEAVING THE REST FOR OTHER ANIMALS. LESSON : ONE OF THE REMARKABLE ATTRIBUTES OF A LEADER IS CARING FOR MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY.

A true leader thinks about others, even when they have an excess of resources, they are constantly looking for ways to share what they have for everyone around them to get a fair share. As much as leaders ensure that goals are met, they should also make sure every member of their team who has had a role in achieving the goal is duly rewarded. Rewards are in order after goals have been achieved. This means it is the responsibility of the leader to encourage the team members to carry out their duties to the best of their abilities and then give them the rewards after the goals have been achieved.


A leader who lacks empathy will soon have few followers to support them. This marks the end of their leadership because only the presence of followers establishes a leader’s true position. Take a cue from the lion; it is considerate enough to realize there are other animals that might not be in the position to catch their own food. Even though it can eat all of its prey, it leaves some leftover for other animals. This is the nature of a true leader.

 

FACT : IN THE LION’S PRIDE, EVERY LION HAS A ROLE TO PLAY. THE MALE LIONS PROTECT THE PRIDE WHILE THE FEMALE LIONS PROVIDE FOOD FOR THE PRIDE.

LESSON : TEAM GOALS ARE SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVED WHEN LEADERS KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY DELEGATE ROLES.

As humans, we have been uniquely gifted in many ways. Our gifts and talents differ from others around us. This means that we can use our strengths to complement one another. My strengths can be another team members weakness, and I can step in to assist them through that rough patch until they reach an area they are more proficient in. we have mentioned earlier that no man can survive alone, this means it will take a collective effort from everyone to achieve the common goals.


At the end of every project, it is the leader who takes all the accolades for a job well done. This is similar to the scene that plays out in the lion’s world where the female lions go out to hunt; they bring back their kill to the male lion that has his feel before others can eat.


The leader delegates responsibilities to the most talented team members who can carry out the duties; successful completion of all tasks is expected by the leader who will receive the full credit for the team’s success. Leaders can only be successful when a proper delegation of duties to capable hands is done.

It is important to note that the leader monitors and oversees the activities of the team members while they are carrying out their duties. This is important to check any excesses and reduce the possibility of mistakes. The leader should have a general knowledge of every operation the team carries out to know when they are doing the right thing and also to check any mistakes made before the consequences become worse.


It will be an act of undermining the efforts of the team members who are out there putting in all their efforts to achieve the organization's goals while the leader does nothing but waits for whatever results that can be brought to him. Leaders should be proactive in monitoring the different stages attained by the group members while they perform their duties.

 

THE LAST WORD


As a leader, the team looks up to you, as much as the positive team’s efforts will be recognized as your achievement, you will also be responsible for any failure because of your position as a leader. What matters is that you can use this position to leave a good mark in the organization and in the lives of your team members that will be remembered by other leaders that will emerge after you. Learn from the lion king, its ways seem to work very well for the pride. Those same attributes that have made the lion so successful can also be applied in your capacity as a leader.

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NIRMAL KUMAR

About the author :

As an entrepreneur and a succesful service delivery leader with a great eye for detail, Nirmal brings with him over 18 years of comprehensive experience with diverse companies, ranging from start-ups to leading multinationals. He started his career as a hands-on engineer in the information technology industry and grew through the ranks to serve in several key positions in the customer Services Industry.

His articles Focus on understanding customer centric leadership, employee empowerment, Goal setting and effective performance appraisals which will help upcoming leaders to effectively engage in their day to day job responsibility .

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