Leadership and Islamic Organisations

..one of the most important aspects of leadership is the leader's ability to produce other leaders.

One of the secrets I discovered about leadership is this: Do not judge your leadership skills by how the organisation performs when you are leading it, but rather how the organisation performs when you leave it.

This statement is so important because it highlights one of the most important aspects of leadership and that is the leader's ability to produce other leaders. In the corporate world, it is normally referred to as 'succession planning'. In the not for profit world, it is about the leaders ability to extract the best out of people around him or her. It is the leaders ability to empower others. It is the leaders ability to loose control and feel comfortable doing so. It is the leaders ability to share a vision so well that others own and champion it and, in the process, become leaders themselves. It is the leaders ability to focus, not on him or herself, but on the vision and the people around him / her.

A leader should be asking: How much did I facilitate others to excel, lead and be empowered. How much higher and better did I help others to be. How many people did I share the vision with?

This point is so forgotten in many Islamic organisations in Australia and this is so sad. Many people in authority are self focused on their image and their own private achievements. Forgetting that the best thing they could do is to empower others to lead. One sad example of this is ISOMER.