Saki T Nikoddemus
9 May 2008
Windhoek — SOMEBODY once observed: "Leadership is not developed in a day, but daily". I believe wrapped up in this phrase is the reality that there are no shortcuts to true leadership.
And this is a fact that very few individuals understand, because in the past two decades or so, which is relatively a short span, the world has experienced (and continues to experience) a decline in the number of competent leaders.
It appears as if our nations somehow lack the necessary instruments to produce the quality leaders that our generation desperately needs. True leaders are increasingly being replaced by "half-baked" leaders - leaders who haven't gone through the full process of leadership development. And I believe the reason for this painful reality is the fact that the current crop of leaders, either are not aware or simply ignore the price of true leadership.
In either case, the impact is the same - we are ending up with pseudo-leaders. And there is great fear and concern that this trend in leadership vacuum will continue to encroach into our present and future generations, and the prospect of ever reversing this trend seems bleak - unless something drastic is done about it. And as the pattern has been, the least developed nations will be the hardest hit by this painful reality.
It must be understood that anyone who aspires to the position of leadership must not be misguided by the perceived glory, prominence and benefits of an honourable position. I want to stress that true leadership always demands a high price of the leader, and the more effective the leadership is, the higher the price to be paid.
Jesus expressed this component of leadership in His warning question to His ambitious followers, "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptised with the baptism that I am baptised with" (Mark 10:38). He was literally asking them, can you pay the price that leadership demands?
If you desire to accept the challenge of leadership and to impact your generation positively, then you must be prepared to accept and face the cost that comes with leadership responsibility. The mistake we often make as leaders is that we easily get carried away by the promises and benefits the leadership position has to offer that we hardly pause to look at the price the position will demand of us.
It is pertinent to note that there are countless challenges and trials that leaders must endure, but in this article we will focus on some of the common ones that all effective leaders must face, sooner or later. Understanding the price true leadership demands of you, as the leader, will ultimately give you vantage, which will increase your leadership expression.
1. Personal Sacrifice: Any leadership that is preoccupied and obsessed with the elevation of its own status, glory and agenda, is not true leadership at all. All true leaders are willing to lay down their lives for objectives greater than their own personal well-being, comfort and security. And history holds this truth to be self-evident, that all great leaders that ever impacted humanity in a significant way were individuals who were ready to lay down their lives.
It was perhaps Martin Luther King Jr who once remarked, "A man who won't die for something is not fit to live". Remember, true leaders have not only found a purpose and passion to live for, but they have also found a vision to die for. I am convinced that the highest sacrifice a leader can ever make is that of self-sacrifice.
Most leaders are only able to lead in conditions that are favourable and where their personal welfare is not at stake. We call that leadership of convenience.
As a leader, you must ask yourself, is there something in life that I am so committed to, so infected with, so passionate about, and so bent on, that I am willing to die for it, no matter the prevailing popular opinion? And if your answer is no, then I strongly suggest you take a closer look at your understanding of true leadership.
I want to suggest that you will never make a lasting impression in your generation as a leader until you are first willing to die for that cause.
Greatness in life is found in the willingness to die. Always remember this, true leadership is not finding something to live for, but finding something to die for. You can never escape the price of self-sacrifice as a leader, especially if you desire to make a difference in your community.
2. Rejection: This is perhaps the most common cost that all genuine leaders should be willing to pay. This goes without saying, if you are willing to accept the call to leadership in your generation, you must also be willing to be rejected and misunderstood by many. Again, history is highly pregnant with evidence of this truth.
The experience of rejection in true leadership is not something new. Even the ultimate leader, Jesus Christ, had His fair share of rejection, as recorded by one of His students, John: "He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him" (John 1:11). It is said, no man is ever fully accepted until he has first of all, been utterly rejected.
As a leader, if you always depend on the endorsement and approval of everyone around you in order to feel secure and worthy, you will never be a successful and effective leader. I mentioned in my last article that all true leaders are self-motivated, self-confident, intact and in sync with themselves.
It must be understood that true leadership is based on self-discovery, and as you lead among people, you will inevitably encounter opposition.
I have seen leaders, out of fear for rejection, ship-wrecking their leadership potential, and sacrificing it on the alters of acceptance and expediency. Dr M Munroe, perhaps one of our generation's foremost thinkers on the subject of leadership, observed the following, "Often great leaders are never appreciated nor recognised by their contemporaries, rather by their following generations".
It is critical to note that rejection does not necessarily mean you are wrong as the leader, but it could indicate that you are challenging others to change. And all true leaders know that change is never welcomed without conflict and resistance, because change by its very nature is uncomfortable.
These two aspects are embedded in true leadership. Understanding them and expecting them as a leader, is perhaps the first vital step in dealing effectively with them.
In my next article we will look at criticism, loneliness, pressure and fatigue.
Remember, the price for true leadership is always high, and there are no cutting corners. But all true leaders derive their joy from serving their generations, and therefore they are willing to go all the distance to pay the highest price that true leadership demands.
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