Leadership

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Three Attributes of Real Leaders
Have you ever heard the expression, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it?” That phrase undoubtedly was coined by some people who had trouble seeing the final picture. The greatest architectural feats in the world were built by leaders who “crossed bridges” in their minds long before anyone else did. They were built by leaders who saw the possible in their minds and moved to accomplish it. The only way to break new ground or move into uncharted territory is to look beyond the immediate and see the big picture. It is to move beyond the limitations to see the possibilities. These leaders understood that the person who cannot see the big picture is a slave to the immediate. Real leadership is not something that is beyond the realms of this world neither is it exclusive to a selected few. It can be developed by both Kings and Subjects. Real leaders depend on the power of vision to sail the boisterous winds to discover new territories. It is not surprising when many argue that, “A society without vision is a dead society and a dead society is a society where the leaders cannot dream.” The first distinguishing attribute of real leadership is vision.
The second major attribute of real leaders is that they understand their worth, believe in themselves and go in for the best at all times. Some of the major challenges we face today in our societies are as a result of leaders who have settled for second class when they could have obtained a first class. These leaders find the smell of success repugnant and they prefer the easy shortcut to the hard productive way. These “half-baked leaders” exalt goofing off rather than diligence, they despise the meat at hand but enjoy an already prepared “red pottage” and ultimately they prefer to sit out a problem rather than sweat out a solution. Real leadership is the reverse of what has been described above. History has always been shaped by leaders or individuals who dared to challenge themselves and exceeded the limitations society placed on them. They constantly demanded of themselves, “why remain a thermometer- when i can become a thermostat?” “In other words, why go with the flow when i can indeed influence the flow?” It doesn’t take much to become an average that is why a lot of people are comfortable being labeled as ordinary. Real leaders cannot be described as ordinary because they refuse to settle for the status quo.
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago said of Desdemona, “She counts it a vice in her virtue not to do more than she is asked to do.” Desdemona derived her outlook of life from the vantage of God. When God had an opportunity to give to man, he didn’t only give off his best, he overpaid. Real leaders understand the need to go the extra mile to achieve excellence. They understand that, lasting success in any given assignment is sustained on the Wheels of Excellence. Excellence which demands that they give in their possible best- It is difficult today to find leaders who meet such standards but as indicated earlier, these characteristics and behaviors highlighted are not alien to our mother planet. What was deemed impossible has been made possible by human beings of the same flesh as we are. You too can become the leader you were born to be.
Writer:
G. K. Sarpong
Email: [email protected]
(www.amazon.com/author/gksarpong)

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