WHAT LEADERSHIP IS NOT

THE CONCEPT
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Sometime last year, I had the privilege of sitting under the mentorship of the phenomenal Fela Durotoye at the FREE conference. He made us see a video of a Big tree which fell and blocked flow of traffic in a certain community. The state of the road was quite deplorable and it was difficult if not totally impossible to go through the road. Government officials went through the road but could do nothing about it, the policemen were comfortable with the situation and this remained the position.
However a young boy(about 7 years old) on a rainy day as he was going to school got stuck in the traffic. He noticed everyone’s attitude towards the problem. He just couldn’t help but act. He walked to the big log and exerted all the energy he had gained from breakfast on the log but could not move it. He kept trying and before long, the whole community joined him to push. They lifted the log and everyone went home happy.
He could have ignored it like the government or the police or everyone else but he acted and this leads me to the conclusion that Leadership is not a position but an Action.
Who comes to your mind when Leadership is mentioned? A class Representative? Governor? President? Bank manager, Commissioner of police? Pastor? You need to get rid of these thoughts! As much as the position confers on you the authority and platform to lead, Leadership has nothing to do with rank, hierarchy, authority and position. It is not in the title and cannot be mandated neither can it be loaned, mortgaged nor assigned. No title makes a leader of any man but his action. The reality is that we find people every day who fail to demonstrate leadership even with their titles and positions.
Are you a true leader? The test to find out goes beyond what seat you occupy. Can you inspire people to take action, to make a move or make a change? If you can do that without the official title you have, then you’re on track and you are ready to handle a position. If however, you would lose your influence if you lost your title, then there’s much more to do.
Have a great day!
You’re my priority!
#SteemJuice