The Leader In YOU
The Leader in You
Hi, I am Abiodun Fijabi and I welcome you to Leading Right.
Once there was when we thought leaders were rare species. They were representatives of the gods who had blessed them with extra-ordinary abilities. They were destined to have special places in history. These leaders were few in number compared to the rest of humanity. There was a clear line of demarcation between leadership and followership and a huge gulp separated the two. The leader towered far above the followers on the social and economic ladders. It was a ‘winner takes all’ situation. The best was always reserved for the leader; the rest of humanity was left to struggle for whatever remained.
By virtue of his privileged position, the leader was naturally respected and even revered. Not only revered but feared. His word was law. Men and women fell over each other to seek his favour. Followers were hardly willing followers. Disobedience to the order of the leader – lawful or otherwise – earned sanctions: from banishment to loss of rights, from incarceration to death.
Pages of history are filled with such men and women. They rose to power or were born into power and held their courts like the gods. Africa has had more that its fair share of such leaders. That is if they were leaders in the real sense of the word.
Since then, the understanding of leadership has advanced. Leaders are no longer seen as extraordinary people. They are essentially ordinary people with extraordinary vision. In each and every one of us is a leader. That leader can be developed to his full capacity or stifled through carelessness. Each of us is capable of extraordinary dream.
Even though the understanding of leadership has shifted from the know-it-all and has-it-all leader leading (or is it ruling?) a huge followership of riffraff and nonentities, old habits die hard. In our present day, rulers and not leaders, fill our political, social and economic landscapes. Political office holders are ever eager to let us know they are not only in government but in power. Community leaders tend to have an exaggerated opinion about their self-importance. It is easy to know the owner of a small shop on the street corner. He carries himself with the air of superiority, hardly acknowledging greetings from his fearful staffs and issuing orders with a stern face. He regards no member of his team. Well, he is the team. He makes the rules and he enforces them.
THE RULER is very popular. Perhaps much more popular than we are willing to accept. You find the ruler in the classroom as a teacher, whose opinion is the only one that counts. He is the father who, in the name of discipline, has killed every initiative in his daughter. He is the pastor who is never wrong and takes no advice from any mortal. He is the boss in the office, the cruel and insensitive husband at home, the autocratic leader in the community… He is everywhere demanding obedience and forcing loyalty.
Perhaps you need to stop to ask yourself this question: In all the communities that I belong; am I a leader or a ruler? Your answer may set the stage for a change that will affect both your life and the lives of those under your influence.
Who then is a leader? Let’s leave that till tomorrow when we meet again.
Hi, I am Abiodun Fijabi and I welcome you to Leading Right.
Once there was when we thought leaders were rare species. They were representatives of the gods who had blessed them with extra-ordinary abilities. They were destined to have special places in history. These leaders were few in number compared to the rest of humanity. There was a clear line of demarcation between leadership and followership and a huge gulp separated the two. The leader towered far above the followers on the social and economic ladders. It was a ‘winner takes all’ situation. The best was always reserved for the leader; the rest of humanity was left to struggle for whatever remained.
By virtue of his privileged position, the leader was naturally respected and even revered. Not only revered but feared. His word was law. Men and women fell over each other to seek his favour. Followers were hardly willing followers. Disobedience to the order of the leader – lawful or otherwise – earned sanctions: from banishment to loss of rights, from incarceration to death.
Pages of history are filled with such men and women. They rose to power or were born into power and held their courts like the gods. Africa has had more that its fair share of such leaders. That is if they were leaders in the real sense of the word.
Since then, the understanding of leadership has advanced. Leaders are no longer seen as extraordinary people. They are essentially ordinary people with extraordinary vision. In each and every one of us is a leader. That leader can be developed to his full capacity or stifled through carelessness. Each of us is capable of extraordinary dream.
Even though the understanding of leadership has shifted from the know-it-all and has-it-all leader leading (or is it ruling?) a huge followership of riffraff and nonentities, old habits die hard. In our present day, rulers and not leaders, fill our political, social and economic landscapes. Political office holders are ever eager to let us know they are not only in government but in power. Community leaders tend to have an exaggerated opinion about their self-importance. It is easy to know the owner of a small shop on the street corner. He carries himself with the air of superiority, hardly acknowledging greetings from his fearful staffs and issuing orders with a stern face. He regards no member of his team. Well, he is the team. He makes the rules and he enforces them.
THE RULER is very popular. Perhaps much more popular than we are willing to accept. You find the ruler in the classroom as a teacher, whose opinion is the only one that counts. He is the father who, in the name of discipline, has killed every initiative in his daughter. He is the pastor who is never wrong and takes no advice from any mortal. He is the boss in the office, the cruel and insensitive husband at home, the autocratic leader in the community… He is everywhere demanding obedience and forcing loyalty.
Perhaps you need to stop to ask yourself this question: In all the communities that I belong; am I a leader or a ruler? Your answer may set the stage for a change that will affect both your life and the lives of those under your influence.
Who then is a leader? Let’s leave that till tomorrow when we meet again.
posted by Abiodun Fijabi at 5:53 PM
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