Dear readers,
I had an exam while doing my minor wherein i encountered the question;” Who is a leader?”.
Several reseachers have come up wth loads of logical information as to ways to identify of point out probable leaders out of a crowd of people. It starts with trait theories talking about how leaders have specific traits in them which have been identified within other leaders of the past implying that it is a quality thrust upoon someone from birth, behavioural theories which claims there are certain ways in which leaders should act, as such leaders can be trained just as behaviours can be trained, contingeny theories which claim that the environment breeds the leader based on stabilities and uncertanties. Just to name a few.
After reading all of this, I got some insight which i will love to share with the general public as to who I think a leader is. Note should be taken about the fact that I am not dismissing any of these theoris as they have been scientifically proven to be valid, but suggesting a more efficient answer to the question ” who is a leader?”.
Looking at the leaders of the past days who were able to make a worldwide impact, notice will be taken about the fact that they have a believe, or in other words a vision. Yes they had a vision! But so what? Everybody has a vision, but not everybody is a leader, in other words having a vision alone is not a criterion for being able to lead.There’s much more to it than that.
The vision: A vision is simply an inspirational expirience. It is the “raison d’etre” (reason to be). A visionary is therefore broadly seen as someone who can envision the future. Secondly, The visionary state is achieved via meditation, drugs, lucid dreams, daydreams, or art. **source, wiki**. These therefore leads us to know that everybody despite what u do in life as long as u are in one of these states, can be visionary.
At this point most people would ask, what visions lead to the emergence of leaders in a society. First of all, it may be important to point out that “Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task.” Note should also be taken on the fact that the definition is first of all not the only one in existence, but it is in my opinion very efficient and simple as such easy for everybody to get the idea.
Looking at the definition of leadership we can pullout the fact that a leader needs social influence and is meant to support others, just as a king is meant to serve his kingdom and not to be served by his country. A leader therefore has as his responsibility to serve his followers, in the sense that he is the first volunteer to take one for the sake of his followers and NOT use his/her followers as a shield.
After knowing this much it is easy to pick out a good leader from his/her vision. The vision needs to comply with the definition of leadership. Modesty, care for others, friendliness, loving, ability to empathize, socially active and reliable, you can name the rest. But again all theses are just part of a character and can be acted out. but as you get to the end of this blog, you will be able to tell who is or who isnt a leader.
In the above paragraph stated the expectations of a leader from the point of view of a follower and tried to relate to the visions which depict a leaders emergence. Looking at all the leaders of the past you will notice this trend in their vision. The ability of a leader to identify and empathize with his followers and strives to do something about it. Not only because he/she is in a similar situation or has been in a similar situation, but because he/she has values which help him empathize with the followers to the extend that he feels like one of them as such his vision is about bringing them out of their crisis rather than saving his ass sor his family or close friends.
That being said, you probably already knnow a lot of people who are able to do have visions for others. Perhaps you have these qualities yourself. But theres more.
Relaying the Vision: Like I said above there is more than just dreaming. First of all to be a leader needs you to be active, to be ready to stand up for what you believe in despite the circumstances you are in. It means boldness, but also means openness. It means listening very carefully, but also means learning and adapting fast. It means taking decision that affect a group of people positively. In addition to this, the leader needs to know how to clearly relate his vision to all his/her followers. He has to be able to led them know that his interest is in taking them out of the crisis instead of self interest. Believe me, saying this merely by word of mouth is not enough anymore with all the previous outbursts of deceptive, selfish and dictating leaders. It is necessary to show the followers that u stand 100% behind what u are saying and you will be honoured, respected or listened to, not because u asked for it, but because they all are in the situation and u are the only one who stood up to take the shots for them, or that you are one of the few people who is able to have a vision of relief in an environment with high levels of uncertainty. Perhaps sometimes not the only one, but the one with the clearest most apt vision. The vision which when u potray to them boldly, honestly and transparently, the see as very achievable and are willing to do what is necessary to get to the common goal.
In conclusion, It does not matter the social or financial status of a leader to be, nor the environment in which he/she was brought up it. What matters in a leader is how quich he learns from being in each environment, his ability to realise or relate the differences in all external variabless based on his values, his/her openness to expirience, his listening abilities, hisher willingness to change and stabaility during the process and most importantly, what he/she values, and his/her attachment to those values.
To the followers:
Hopefully after reading this, you will be able to identify, the leader who will solve your problems during his emergence. You will be able to identify how genuine his/her words are by how much he believes in it, how transparent he is, how dedicated and determined he is. (This will be noticed be his actions and very little by his words.). And most importantly you will be able to identify with his or her vision and pick out which is best rather than following popular demands or charisma which is also aa good quality but very misleading.
To the future leaders:
It is my hope and wish that after reading this u are able to identify that u have what it takes, come out of your shells and articulate your visions. Put it in writing, speeches and most importantly start acting NOW!
To present leaders:
It is my wish that after reading this you are able idetify yourself as a true leader or correct wherever you might have gone out of path at which point with all boldness, admit ur faults make a new plan and follow it. Note: ” You have a big resposiblity and as such very little room for errors thus you should be able to learn fast and correct your mistakes. Don’t think abaout the shame it’ll bring u, but rather the joy you’ll give to your followers.”
To Dictators, Deptive leaders, selfish leader:
I hope that after reading this you realise that you are way out of line and most importantly do something about it for the sake of your followers and not you or your family. You do this and your followers will realise that anybody is vulnerable and can get carried away. Remember, “It is a responsibility thrust upon you by your followers, hence they followers choose their leader and NOT the other way around.
Feel free to comment, Theres a lot more to say but it depends on feedback. Feel free to comment and ask any questions.
thanks for your time,
Best regards, Akwa
