A leader is someone who lead or direct and in the cost of leading, influences others to be like him.
The English dictionary was able to give us a plain and simple definition of a Leader but let's look deep into who a leader is and what is expected of him.
Take a look at this acronym;
L - LADDER. A ladder is a series of stage that allows you progress into a new position [source](English dictionary). Any good leader always create a possible means to elevate his followers to a new position. He can be addressed as a good leader if he inspires his followers to be greater than him.
E - ECHO. A leader is an echo. He must be heard of. He must be spoken of and he must be identified with because his achievements spoke volume of him.
A - ANSWER. You have failed as a leader if you can't be an answer to someone's problem, troubles, needs, matters arising etc. Any good leader is selfless. He thinks about others first before himself.
D - DRIVER. A leader is a driver. He knows his destination and is ready for every obstacles he will encounter while driving through the road of his destination. He teaches his followers how to drive through rough roads of their destination by sharing his experiences while on his journey.
E - EDIFICE. A leader is an edifice(a permanent landmark). Any good leader must leave behind something he will be remembered for.
R - RABBI. Leaders are teacher. They may teach both directly and indirectly. The direct way of teaching may be in organizing seminars, workshops, meetings etc and the indirect way of teaching is for his followers to learn from his morals, mannerism, dress code etc.
There is a mystery behind the word Leader as each letter is able to denote the characteristics and quality in a man leading. No person should call himself a leader if the meaning of this acronym doesn't reflect in his life.
Many people get confused in identifying if they are called be a Leader, Supporter or Followers.
Take a look at this example;
When a storey building is undergoing construction, it will need pillars to support the weight of the building and the pillars will also need beams rooted to the ground to support it too.
The building is the leader, the pillars are the supporters and the beam holding the pillars are the followers.
There are different graces at the 3 levels. That is why, a follower cannot be a supporter and a supporter cannot be a leader. There's a capacity to what any of them can carry and handle. Never you be forced to think they'll be a kind of elevation or reduction of grace capacity if you try to test a position that is not meant for you.
I met a young vibrant leader some time ago. I was opportuned to remain in communication with him. His achievements spoke volume of him and I decided to work with him.
Initially, I used to wish to lead an organization but when I came to realise there's more to the title Leader, I found my mind, spirit soul and body gradually walking out of my fantasy. This happened because I accessed my grace capacity and found it not enough to lead but it located me into the Supporting group. There was a greater unleash of grace right there in the supporting group.
As the tenor of this vibrant leader got expired, he stepped down with records and legacies established and yet to be beaten.
Currently, a follower was assigned to the position of a leader to lead this organization and guess what? We are struggling to drag out the leader from within the followers. I stopped dragging when I realised the mystery behind being a Leader.
I've heard many debates about education as an important qualification of a leader. Some said being a leader isn't about education, while others said, education is one of the necessities of a leader.
To every disadvantage, there is an advantage. This is because, there's a restricted to people and places an uneducated leader can access but an educated leader can get there due to his qualification.
I have also seen an uneducated but positive influenced leader rule more than an educated but uninfluenced leader. In other words, it's a vice versa.
Am I called to be a leader? Do I have the qualification and characteristics of a good leader? What is my grace capacity for leadership? These very questions will help you access yourself and help place you in the category you fall under.
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Thank you for reading.
