MY LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE: INDIVIDUALITY by SkyQuin

      Individuality is geared at encouraging a person to have a distinct and unique identity, one that is peculiar to him/her alone. It's defined as certain characteristics which contribute to the differentiation and distinction of something from a group of similar or comparable identity. Simply put, it is the quality that makes an individual stand out even in the midst of people with whom who he shares similar beliefs or values.

    Individuality is the essence or flavour that a particular person has to offer. It might be a certain mannerisms or a unique method of working; it is just a signature which a person possesses. This is important because as an individual who is part of a group, it can be very easy to lose oneself to the identity of the group, therefore it is important to create an avenue for improving personal identity and establishing it whilst still bringing the best one has to offer to the table.

   A successful leader of course is one who produces other leaders from his group; this is the main reason why he as a leader ought to promote individuality in his group. It's normal to find different people with distinct mannerisms in any given group, there are the go-getters, and people who think up ideas and present to the group for execution. These are people who get things done. This set of people make things happen, therefore they have well developed self-confidence and they are never afraid to strike out and think out of the box. They are never unwilling to try out new things. They are trend setters and therefore are not constrained by the fear of being different because they have a positive, can-do mind set.

  The second set of people is the conformers. These ones spend their lives trying to fit into the group, therefore they tend to not think for themselves and end up following the herd and by so doing, lose their unique identity. These set of people lack the self- confidence and courage to execute their own ideas for fear of criticism. Such people may never be able to lead seeing as they do not have confidence in themselves and hence will end up second guessing himself and this is not a trait that should be seen in a leader. He ought to command the respect of the people who he is to lead.

   Any leader ought to be watchful to ensure that such people receive special attention and are helped to develop a positive self-image and build up their confidence by putting them in a position to lead a project.  By so doing, more leaders are built up and where there are an increased number of achievers, work will be more effectively done.