LEADERSHIP‬ TONIC 03: BASIC THINGS TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT LEADERSHIP (2)

“Be you diligent to know the state of your flocks, and look well to your herds.” Prov. 27:23 (AKJV)

Leadership is responsibility. Leadership has nothing to do with the position you occupy or the title vested on you. The positions and the titles are good, but responsibility is what makes you a leader. Whatever you are responsible for, you are answerable for its success or failure. It makes no sense parading yourself as a leader when you cannot give proper account of the people you are leading. You may be occupying the position of the Managing Director of an organization, but the leader there might be the Clerical Staff.

Responsibility is a vital measure of leadership. Your success as a leader is a function of the amount of responsibility you are willing to take. Great leaders in history were men who took responsibility. In the same vein, leaders who failed in history were those who shied away from responsibility.

I have come to discover two things (there could be more) that portray irresponsibility. The first one is EXCUSES. An irresponsible man is always looking for an excuse to give for not doing what he ought to do. The second thing is BLAMES. When you always blame other people for your misfortunes, you are exhibiting signs of irresponsibility.

Finally, you have to be sure to have taken responsibility for yourself, that way you would be able to take responsibility for others. Do not give excuses or push blames on other people when something goes wrong, take RESPONSIBILITY for it!

“Success on any major scale requires you to accept responsibility In the final analysis, the one quality that all successful people have is the ability to take on responsibility.” – Michael Korda (Editor-in-Chief, Simon & Schuster)

“Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses.” – George Washington Carver

“The price of greatness is responsibility” – Winston Churchill

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LEADERSHIP‬ TONIC 02: BASIC THINGS TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT LEADERSHHIP (1)

“So there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I don’t need you, or the head to the feet, I don’t need you. On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are in fact indispensable, and the parts of the body we think are less honourable are treated with special honour, and we make our less attractive parts more attractive.” 1 Cor. 12:20-23 (ISV)

One of the things you have to understand in leadership is that EVERYONE and EVERYTHING is important. If you must excel as a leader, you must understand this fact. If you do not take this issue seriously, you may end up practicing what I choose to call discriminatory leadership. This is why Jesus in Matt. 18:12-14 drew an analogy of the importance of everyone in leadership using the lost sheep.

It is sad that discriminatory leadership is now common among Christians. We see some people as deserving of more attention and care than others. The Bible seriously frowns at discriminatory leadership as recorded in James 2:1-4. Treat everyone as important; rich or poor, older or younger, male or female. The same dedication you give in caring for one, employ it on another.

The summary of all that I am saying is this: IN LEADERSHIP, EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world” – Margaret Mead.

“The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership” – Harvey Firestone.

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LEADERSHIP‬ TONIC 01: THE ROLE OF UNDERSTANDING IN LEADERSHIP

“Discretion shall preserve you, UNDERSTANDING shall keep you” Prov. 2:11 (AKJV).
“Wisdom is of utmost importance, therefore get wisdom, and with all your effort work to acquire UNDERSTANDING” Prov. 4:7 (ISV)

Understanding makes a whole lot of difference in the life of a man. A lot has been said about leadership, but there are questions that are begging for answers; what is the cause of all this societal menace? Has there not been enough enlightenment on the issue of leadership? Well, a lot of emphasis is laid on leadership and much more will be laid.

In my little voyage through issues that has bedevilled the existence of mankind, I have discovered that people lack understanding of the concept of leadership. We see people parading themselves as leaders in different spheres of life who lack the understanding of some basic things in leadership.

The importance of understanding cannot be over emphasized. Lack of understanding can make you turn something that is meant for good to the worst of things.

Someone may be asking me now; how can one get understanding? Well, one way I can quickly say is to ASK! We live in a generation where people do not ask questions before doing things. If you must be a successful leader, you must ask questions. You will get clarity on issues and with that comes better understanding. Getting understanding is not that easy, it is something you acquire with some effort. The next time you want to conclude on a matter, be sure to have gotten a clear understanding of that matter.

In the next episode of this series, I will bring you some basic things you need to understand about leadership. Stay blessed.

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LEADERSHIP TONIC (THE PROLOGUE)

It was Dr. John C. Maxwell in his great book, 21 indispensable qualities of a leader, that said and I quote; “everything rises and falls on leadership”. The concept of leadership is one that is so vast that no one person can completely exhaust the totality thereof. But you can agree with me that the way we live our lives and the results we get has so much to do with how we handle issues regarding leadership. In this series, I’ll want to look at some aspects of leadership, especially in Christendom. What I will be sharing was built on the foundation that was laid by a very close friend of mine, Pastor Godwin Nsikan. In 2011, he gave me a notepad where he wrote some things on leadership. It was the greatest gift I have received from him so far. This is because, that notepad brought out the writer in me. I will be merely expanding on the work he tried to do. I will also draw references from great leadership experts, and most importantly the Bible. So, get ready as we explore the world of leadership. As always, your contributions (comments and questions) will be greatly appreciated as we journey through. As I close this prologue, I’ll leave you with this quote by Dr. Miles Munroe of blessed memory: “No matter who you are, you have the nature and capacity for leadership”. Stay blessed. © TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES