History is chock full of establishing a worldwide empire ranking in a fabulous fortune which people want to governed and the principles on which their government would rest. Truly the world is full of leaders, bad leaders, famous and many infamous who have examplified themselve in nation building and leadership.
A university Don, Jim Collins illustrated the difference between a leader and leadership in these terms; "If I put a gun to your head, I can get you to do things you might not otherwise do, but I've not practiced leadership; I've exercised power. True leadership only exist if people follow when they have the freedom not to. If people follow you because they have no choice, then you are not leading".
People often assume that if anyone presents himself as a leader, he is. people often equate a leader with good leadership. while history is filled with poor leadership, there are positive examples to learn from among them, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr, Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikwe, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
From the beginning of time, people have cried for good leadership, we don't just want it, we need it. Let's learn from past leaders, both good and bad and consider the world great need for the right kind of leadership. The more narcoissitic, incompetent and tyrannical leader are, the more they play on the gullibility of human condition.
In both secular and biblical histories, entire societies have acquiesced to such leader throughout time for a numbers of reasons. These leaders eventually reveal themselves as either tyrants or simply incompetent and lazy. Adolf Hitler was a hypnotic leader who duped a great many in the German nation into thinking they were the super race, millions died. Joseph Stalin controlled the entire Soviet Union through brutal intimidation and spreading fear. Many more millions died. King Herod of Judea in the first century b.c had Jewish baby boys murdered in an attempt to kill the Christ child. He was consumed by ambition and jealousy.
Many leaders take advantage of their power because they can. They sell the people their ideas without stack. They rely on form rather than substance and smoke and mirrors instead of transparency. They are motivated by selfishness, their legacy is disgraceful.
It is not a gainsaying that no matter how much you have achieved, you will always be merely good relative to what you become. Greatness is an inherently dynamic process not an end point. The moment you think of yourself as great, your slide towards mediocrity will have already begun.
Leaders should always show genuine respect for those they lead and connect and interact with them. Leader has a seemingly counter intuitive action that inferior leaders ignore or dismiss. It might seems superficially contradictory but it's a simple truth that good leaders follow others' lead.
However, today in an increasingly leaderless world, the cry goes out for the right kind of leaders is crying for and demanding.
To be continued...
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