The world of the leader is full of potential

Justicia Shipena

There are so many books and countless websites devoted to teaching us to become successful leaders.

They torment us, and understandably so. Every day calls go out from our parents, our professors, our employers and others for us to stand up and become leaders in all our endeavours.

Of course, for the typical student, this is nothing new; after all, being leaders helped us to get into certain positions in the first place. We are leaders in our classes, clubs and in the innumerable services we are involved in, and also among our friends.

However, I would argue that although the collective wisdom of the older generation might say otherwise, all people are not intended to become leaders. Instead, we are called on to do quite the opposite, for a world full of leaders is a dangerous place for everyone.

From my point of view, the problem is this: If everyone is a leader, who’s left to be led? If everyone is the traffic cop at the street intersection, then who is driving the cars? If everyone is formulating the blueprints to the house, then who is actually building it?

In short, our misunderstanding of leadership is linked to excessive societal pride; there are far too many leaders and far too few followers.

Woefully, a social stigma has slowly crept its way into our impression of a ‘follower’. The stigma is that followers are the small-minded, uncreative folk who lack powerful insight; they play an insignificant role in a community when compared to leaders; they are a dime a dozen and are enslaved to the powerful leaders they follow.

We believe followers are the lemmings of the human race. They march blindly ahead, throwing themselves from cliffs at the slightest nod of their demagogue master.

This is far from the truth. In fact, the follower is far more important than the leader. A leader can draw castles in the sky, but only the follower can take that vision and build a castle on the hillside.

A leader can envision the healing of the world and call for it, but only the followers’ hands and strength can achieve that solution.

According to Wikipedia the word ‘leader’ comes from the old English word laedan, meaning, ‘cause to go with one’.

But one cannot guide if no one will follow. The word ‘follower’ comes from the old English word full-gan, meaning ‘full-going’. The follower is passionate, excited and motivated. The leader cannot exist without the follower; the connection between the two is unbreakable.

Yet, I question how often leaders forget about their followers?

In doing so, they divorce themselves from the greatest trait any leader can possess: trust. No leader exists in a vacuum; they must rely on those around them to accomplish their goals.

The best leader is one that inspires his or her followers and trusts their work so much that he/she need not even be present for the job to be done.

A few months ago I watched this documentary which said leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done, because he or she wants to do it.

A great leader does not only display this trait in small, everyday interactions, but also in the greatest act any leader can perform: stepping down from power. The act of resigning from power is really to trust those who follow to expand upon your accomplishments and learn from your mistakes. The great leader recognises his own limitations; the great leader does his part and lets others do theirs.

Therefore, we are not called to be leaders but we are instead called to be a leader. The distinction is linguistically subtle, but the ramifications are immense. If one is a true leader, you trust that others will lead where you cannot.

A true leader guides in that one area where he or she can makes the greatest difference and accepts the guidance of others elsewhere. A true leader is not asleep but is instead a daydreamer.

A leader does not consist of visions and words alone, but also consists of his/her actions in relation to other leaders’ visions and words. A leader arises to make a realistic difference, and a true leader departs once that objective has been accomplished.

So, I conclude by saying: be a follower to your peers and friends, as well as a leader. Inspire, but also be inspired. Guide and in the same vein, let yourself be taken down unknown paths. Dream, but also toil to realise the dreams of others. A world of leaders is fleeting; the world of the leader is full of potential.

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