Many Have Leadership Positions, Few are Leaders

Nesreen Sukkar, an explorer on the Women Leading in Renewable Energy expedition, reflects on what makes a good leader.  

While many employees aspire to get promoted to leadership positions, many have not yet considered their leadership essence, which would lead to greater effectiveness and success. 

Leadership depends on a person’s essence. Essence, in simple words, is what makes us who we are, and specifically what makes us lead the way we do.  

On the Renewable Energy expedition I have been on, we have been reflecting on the importance of understanding one’s Essence. We each have different pieces in our Essence and they influence how we lead in different ways. 

Leading is then expressed through one’s attitude, behavior and actions, regardless of the title or position. We can see leadership at many levels and in many roles throughout an organization. 

In my experience, leaders generate a warm energy and transmit it to people around them, making them subconsciously feel happy, protected and relaxed in their presence. Leaders engage their emotional intelligence to create a physically and also a psychologically safe work environment where one can ask questions, can present proposals and suggest new ideas without fearing of being treated rudely for that. When fear is absent, employees simply become engaged, involved and motivated to give more which is essential for sustainable success. Highly motivated employees collaborate better, adapt to change faster, are more willing to go above expectations for a customer, a project, or a colleague, while maintaining a positive attitude at work, therefore boosting the overall productivity. In addition, when they feel accepted, respected and engaged they are more likely to remain in their organization, which helps organizations avoid the high costs associated with turnover.  

The best leaders I have seen lead by example; they demonstrate excellence, then they ask for it. They cooperate with their teams with a spirit of “Let’s do this together” instead of “Just do it by yourself”. Leaders are altruistic; they honestly share their experience with their team. They proactively listen to each team member, giving them the possibility of speaking up. They build trust with their teams by having open and frequent communication with them. They empower their team by getting involved with their initiatives, showing them interest and appreciation. Getting involved doesn’t imply taking over the initiative, but rather showing the team they are respected and supported. In this way the Leader becomes a source of inspiration to everyone around.  

True Leaders inspire their people to desire, to dream and to hope!  

Nesreen Sukkar is the Senior Transmission Grid Planning Engineer and Renewable Energy Master at the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO).