W.C.H Prentice defined leadership as the accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants and a successful leader as one who can understand people’s motivations and enlist employee participation in a way that marries individual needs and interests to the group’s purpose. The focus of this article will be the subject ‘the leader’ who guides the leadership process to achieve the intended goals. Leaders have been defined in numerous ways, but my strongest conviction is that leaders are born “as”. With a little twist to the common Shakespearean saying, we may say, that some are ‘born’ leaders some ‘achieve’ leadership while others surely have leadership ‘thrust’ upon them and we see these different types of leaders in our day-to-day. The most successful leaders are those born with leadership entrenched in them which culminates in servitude. The other two facets, i.e. the ‘achievers’ and those ‘thrust’ into leadership, yes, are available in their masses but are not the most efficient and effective leaders. Their form of leadership had to be defined outside their inborn traits and originated only as an attribute tied to a title, seniority, or rankings but with no real capability. Great leadership thus stems from the heart.
Leadership is about forgetting self and putting others first. Leadership is an “ability” and ability is the “state of being able to” which cannot be acquired by way of a nomination into a leadership position. Leadership embraces inspiration, motivation, communication, and love in guiding to a common goal. As a Christian, the greatest leader born, for me, is Jesus Christ who was born into leadership and is the epitome of a leader who then died for the people he led. You may know or have other examples of these types of leaders. These same principles must be applied in the workspace and organisations should make unprecedented efforts to identify ‘born leaders’ who have an in-born ability and passion to achieve the intended goals. Leadership traits follow through from a tender age with participation in community, school, work, and any other positions that call for this.
A great leader once said Leadership is not a trumpet call to sell importance, it’s an opportunity to serve.
Maureen Moses
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