Almost everyone who has ever existed on the surface of this earth has had a reason to complain about bad leadership at one point or the other of their lives and that has prompted me to write this article. An age long adage goes thus ‘he who wears the shoe knows where it pinches’ and believe me this has become a lasting truth. You would agree with me that just as every spectator makes a very good footballer only from the stands and every audience always puts up a stellar performance only from their seats, so also is every individual a good leader from the crowd. Take it or leave it, leadership is never an easy task especially when you are considering variations in backgrounds and beliefs of followers.
Unarguably, leadership is a thing of pride. Now, because of the glory, power and fame that goes with leadership positions, so many leaders have taken to hostile life styles and these acts has left their followers asking for a replacement. Among this hostile breed of leaders are those power mongers who would never mind lifetime in power, or people’s heads rolling as ransom for their misdeeds, or those who would even go to war just for a baseless quest for superiority. I often tell my audience whenever I deliver talks that these leaders adopt these pushy attitudes just to hide their inferiority complexes and fears. They all try to fake guts because they have weak biceps!
An ideal leader is someone who sees every leadership position as an opportunity to serve and not to be served. No doubt he is the head of the body however, he never downplays on the importance of other body parts. A real leader is someone who breeds other leaders just like it’s only natural for a lion to give birth to a lion and you know what, a leader is never a good leader by leading only good people. The world is full of people with different personality traits and so, we can liken people whose personality and vision differs from ours to be round pegs in square holes and you just have to make them all fit-in perfectly to your vision which is your greatest test of leadership. Unfortunately, these round-peg followers pose great problems to their leaders because its either they have refused to catch the winning bug or they just feel their leader is the odd one out and so they would rather prefer to outshine him than work with him; an act Robert Greene the master strategist strongly rebukes. The truth is, every follower who always wants to be heard can never be led and you can never make a good leader when you were never a good follower.
The paradox here is the fact that, everybody is a leader no matter where you find yourself however, we should be willing to put ourselves under other people’s control atimes without feeling any less important. Every leader is perceived as someone with a sense of fulfillment and responsibility so, if you are not taking up leadership roles as a person, I strongly question your level of responsibility and thus would rarely want to associate with you.
This world is looking for true leaders who are selfless and dedicated to service. It is in need of people who lead with their conscience and think with their head. Is this a description of you?
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