A strong leader is not the same as someone who wants to control every aspect of a project of event. Sometimes, I think we have a tendency to assume that the person who talks the loudest, is the bossiest and who takes over every aspect of a project or event is the “leader” when in fact, that person may be overly controlling.
Good leaders let others shine, and they know how to share the glory and delegate both the “good” tasks and the “bad” ones. A person who wants to control every aspect and micro-managed what he or she does give off to other people is not demonstrating good leadership skills. Think of the truly great and inspirational leaders that you have known whether they were teachers, coaches or bosses—chances are, they inspired you because they encouraged you and allowed you to participate without intervention and interference. A good leader is encouraging and gives others what they need to be successful, not critical and judgmental.
Many people have the opinion that in order to get anything done or organized, there needs to be one person who oversees and directs the operation. While leadership IS important, and it is good to have someone who will step up and spearhead a project or cause, no one person can do everything on their own—they need others to help and a good leader understands this. A good leader WANTS to have others step in and put their own touches on things. Someone who is a control freak will do whatever he or she can to keep others from getting involved and changing anything.
Not all of us are comfortable with leadership roles but many of us are called upon periodically to step in. In our businesses, people will see us as the “leader” at least of our own business operation. To truly be a good leader, we have to watch out for being overly controlling and pushing others away with our need to control every little detail.