Leadership is and will always remain to be one of the topmost determinants of direction for an organization, company, church, institution not forgetting country or rather a nation. Leaders are always expected by those they lead to give direction as the term leadership itself suggests. Without that happening you realize that those being led will be left in a dilemma not knowing what to do, which direction to follow and where to start from.
I vividly remember those days when I was in my first year of study at campus when riots were like daily bread to most campus students. This was mainly brought about by campus politics. One common thing that I noticed during those days is the chain of command from the topmost leaders to a common campus student. Most students would stay cool until they’re given directions by their leaders on what to do. However negative this may seem to be but the same prescript applies also to other forms of leadership in our capacities.
It is important at this moment to note that it is very possible to have both the echt and bogus leaders. Today I am going to build more on my previous article titled Leadership the social media way by giving some character traits that differentiate an echt leader from a bogus leader. I will use a “fake leader” to refer to a bogus leader and a “great leader” to refer to an echt leader.
1. A great leader will always be accountable for everything that s/he does to both God and the people s/he leads whereas a fake leader will never care about being accountable for his or her works. This character trait keeps a leader on track ensuring that s/he does the right thing as required of him/her. There will be no room for manipulation. This is most evident when one’s term of service comes to an end and is required to give a report. An organization may differ from one another since some give weekly, monthly or even yearly reports.
2. A great leader focuses on serving God who gave him the authority and people while a fake leader focuses on the leadership position and power. Regardless of their title, great leaders will be more concerned with the kind of services they offer and the satisfaction of their givers and clients. On the other hand, a fake leader will be more concerned about his position and goes ahead to even make other people feel that they are minor while themselves are superior and of more power, than others, A perfect example of a great leader is Jesus Christ the Savior. He washed his disciples’ feet, something most leaders won’t dare to do. Leadership is never about the position that you hold but the service that you offer. People will not remember you for the position you held but for what you did to them.
3. A great leader understands himself better and knows his capabilities whereas a fake leader is exactly the opposite of this. They have little or no idea of who they truly are. This character trait helps one know how to handle people at different times and moments of both your life and their life. In other words, great leaders embrace a high level of emotional intelligence. Effective and successful leaders have a good understanding of how their emotions and actions affect the people around them and therefore will be in a position to have control over and not taking advantage of them. People will always remember how you made them feel.
4. Great leaders add value to people daily and ensure that there is notable growth in them. On the other hand, fake leaders do not care if they add value to people. Before a leader leads he has to find people as John Maxwell would say. After finding these people you ought not to just leave them but add value to who you found them to be.
There are five things that John Maxwell does to add value to people every day. Why don’t you try them out?
- Valuing people.
- Thinking of ways to add value to people.
- Looking for ways to add value to people.
- Adding value to people.
- Encourage others to add value to people.
Leadership as it is can be very overwhelming at times based on the pressures one gets from people. Staying focused as a leader is a very important aspect. As a great leader, you should not only focus on the outer life but also on the inner life. If you have to last long and be an effective leader then your inner life is so crucial. To have a stronger inner life calls for your personal effort and walk with God. You need to fix your heart next to Christ for strengthening and replenishment.
Feel free to share your comments, recommendations and more insights on the topic leadership.
