UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP PART 2

UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP PART 2

We must understand that there is a difference between Leadership and a Leader but both are obviously inter-related. A Leader is a distinctive title/position and the individual who assumes the title/position, accepting the accountability it entails, while Leadership is a designated position and the responsibilities involved in that position. Leadership is permanent while Leader is temporary.  An individual can expire in his post as a leader but the constant Leadership remains.

Therefore, let us look at the concept Leadership and Leader as a relationship between a car and a driver, wherein the car is Leadership and the driver is the Leader. What makes a car to stand is the four legs which are the tyres, so also what makes leadership to stand is the two legs of capacity and character. A driver needs some skills to be able to drive a car so also a leader needs purpose, vision, conviction, passion, inspiration and influence to function in leadership.Late Myles Munroe defined leadership as the capacity and character to influence others through inspiration, generated by a passion, motivated by a vision, birthed from a conviction and produced by a purpose.

A leader is an individual who takes the role of leadership or an individual assigned by a group of people to serve a given purpose. A leader is an individual that discovers a purpose and influences others to join him in fulfilling that purpose/vision. We can define a leader as ordinary people who accept or are placed in extraordinary circumstances that bring forth their latent potential, producing character that inspires the confidence and trust of others, for example people like Gideon, Moses, David, Peter etc. These were all men placed in certain situations as governors, rulers, kings, prophets, all assuming Leadership but according to the Holy Book, the Bible, they were all appointed for specific times.This emphasizes that the post of Leadership will always be permanent unlike leaders. If we understand this, then it will help influence a right approach in our dealings as leaders. Knowing full well, we will not continue in that post for a very long time, we should however be conscious of always doing the right things at the right time. It is in a bid to remain in the post of leadership as leaders for a very long time, that the right things no longer matter, all we want to do is to just remain in power and amass wealth forgetting that it derails from the reason why the concept Leadership exists. 

As Myles Munroe has rightly defined, it is a means to influence others, to build capacities in these people, helping them achieve individual goals while achieving collective goals. If as a leader, the reason you are in that position is none of the above, then you have to check yourself. So many are in certain situations of their lives with wrong mindset, a wrong mindset will always produce wrong results so you wonder why you are failing at it or those you are leading are failing, then you need to check yourself. If a group or an organization is prospering, check the Leader and if on the other hand, it is failing, also check the leader. As a leader, our impacts are in our followers. They are the monitor to our processing unit.

To be continued

The Men That Lead

Building Manhood