IS IT LEADERSHIP?

Almost every organization has someone in a position of leadership but the effective organizations have learned to distinguish between having someone in a position of leadership and having an eldership or a rulership. Many have failed to understand that ‘’rulership’’ or ‘’eldership’’ is not leadership.
Any leader that does not understand his destination may lead the ship in a wrong direction and then we say the ship is bad; it is not the ship but the leader. Anyone in charge of the ship gives the ship definition and direction, it may be leader in the ship, an elder in the ship or a ruler in the ship.
The unfortunate truth is that most African churches, organization, and government have people occupying offices who do not know the first thing about leading people. Given my perspective, it should be clear that having a title or position does not make one a leader, anymore than swimming in the ocean makes one a fish.
Society’s problem and great deficit is that we do not have enough leaders who understand leadership styles, approach, and also principles. Our society needs people in politics, ministry and business who know how to apply their leadership styles in the boardroom; we need political leaders who seek their guidance from God and not from thugs and elders. Our society longs for statesmen but it gets rulers,tyrants and exploiters.
Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth. On my study on leadership, I discovered that voluminous materials are currently being published on the topic, yet there seems to be no simple definition of it.
Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus discovered over 850 different definitions of leadership; I think this may be one of the major reasons why today’s leaders are unsure how they measure up. Too many standards to meet!
By reading and research I have come across various definitions on leadership but the following is a small sampling of the helpful definitions that have been offered by some leadership experts;
 ‘’Leadership is the process of persuasion or example by which an individual induces a group to pursue objectives held by a leader or shared by the leader and his or her followers.’’
John w Gardner
 ‘’The central task of leadership is influencing God’s people toward God’s purpose.’’
Robert Clinton
 ‘’Leadership is influence, the ability of one person to influence others.’’
Oswald Sanders
 ‘’Leadership over human beings is exercised when persons with certain motives and purposes mobilize, in competition or conflict with others, institutional, political, psychological, and other resources so as to arouse, engage, and satisfy the motives of followers. ‘’
James MacGregor Burns
 ‘’A Christian leader is someone who is called by God to lead, leads with and through Christlike character; and demonstrate place. ‘’ George Barna
All of these definitions help bring focus upon the role of leaders. Burns, one of the most respected scholars in leadership theory, explain that leaders are motive-driven. And he notes that leaders may have first aroused motives within their followers before they can engage and satisfy those motives.
A leader is a man who has the ability to get other people to do what they don’t want to do and like it. Any leaders who make no difference in their followers’ lives are not actually leaders. I heartily agree that leaders must exert influence if they are to lead.
Effective leadership must consider the following three C’s which is very crucial in leadership; call, character, and competencies. Leadership either in business, church, and politics should be ultimately measured not according to the leader’s skills but on the leader’s results.
Popularity is not leadership, and leadership is not status but service, not title but task, not power but purpose, not by been aggressive but been assertive. It is not what you have but what you can offer. It is not where you are but who you are. Many of our leaders accept status, title but neglect service and task, forgetting that its responsibility that calls for leadership and any leader that fails to accept responsibility will surely die in liability.
It is not the crown that calls for the king but ability to respond to situation. Every position of a leader is a cry for solution provider, problem solver. It’s right to intuitively know that claiming to be a leader or holding a leadership position does not make someone a leader. There is no leadership without followership. The higher you want to climb, the more you need leadership skills and ability, and the more you try to do in life, the more you will find that leadership makes the difference. You can overcome many challenges in a church and organization, but you cannot compensate for the lack of good leadership. Believe me that nothing will cripple a nation, organization, church, business and home more completely than the absence of effective leadership.
As you strive to build your organization, business strategy, family and church structure, I want you to remember this, stated by one of the leadership gurus, John C Maxwell. That;
Personnel determine the potential of the organization
Relationships determine the morale of the organization
Structures determine the size of the organization
Vision determines the direction of the organization
Leadership determines the success of the organization
Personal and organizational effectiveness is proportional to the strength of leadership. No organization can grow beyond its leadership. No matter where you go or what position you hold, I’ve learned that ‘’leadership is leadership.’’ Everything changes, time rotates, culture changes and varies but leadership principles remain constant.
Stand out and Lead!!!
hincyte