By Sir Fosuaba Mensah Banahene
In Scripture, God Himself calls us to leadership. In his Infinite Goodness, God has not willed to Himself the exercise of all power; He has graciously allowed His people to exercise some residual power to manage His will here on earth.
This phenomenon which the Church refers to as “autonomy of earthly affairs” consequently engenders group dynamics and that in turn naturally results in some of the people taking up “leading” roles. Leadership is widely recognized as an indispensable element in social engineering and all other human endeavours. John C. Maxwell, a renowned Christian Writer, is of the view that “everything rises and falls on leadership ……the leadership of any group or oganisation will determine its success or failure”.
For someone to pursue a leadership role in a group, personal dispositions ought to be consciously cultivated. Six of such dispositions are: ambition, respect of human dignity, ability to leave the “pub”, character, courage and competence.
Ambition
Courting an appropriate ambition is necessary for leadership but care must be exercised not to turn it into over-ambition for that may lead one to “rock the boat” or become a tyrant. The Apostle tells us: “But genuinely desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way”. (1 Cor12:31).
Ambition should not be synonymous with chasing earthly power or wealth. A Christian’s ambition is to work to please God (2 Cor 5:9). If you are able to answer ‘Yes’ to: “Do I have something to offer my community?”, then you must follow the burning desire that your answer generates to please God.
God has equipped each person with some unique ability or talent that must be identified and used to the benefit of the community. This requires us to learn to identify our limitations as individuals; we must apply ourselves as permitted by our wingspan. No bird flies beyond the capacity allowed by its wingspan. This explains why the eagle, which has the widest and longest wingspan can soar higher into the skies than other birds.
Human Dignity
Since “leading” has to do with people, an emerging leader ought to possess a good understanding of people. This disposition is feasible and can be attained if there is present a respect of human dignity and this, in turn, comes from love – real love – for human beings irrespective of their ethnicity and station or status in life. Every person bears the image of God who created him. A person aspiring to be a source of influence within his group should consciously imbibe this quality in his character else in spite of all that he will do, he can achieve little with his ambition and thus, fail to provide leadership. Simply put, leadership is about people and not things.
Leaving the “Pub”
More often when one has assumed leadership in an organization or society, one becomes bedeviled with the inability to abandon those patterns of undisciplined behaviours or habits one has been used to but which are inconsistent with one’s new status or responsibility as a leader. Richard Olivier, a renowned Artistic Director and Writer on Leadership, refers to this difficulty and tag it as “leaving the tavern” or you may say, leaving the “pub”.
A person who has assumed leadership is expected to behave in a certain manner that will exude confidence in his followers. If you used to hang out at popular spots where people drink their heads off every Friday evening, when you have assumed a new status as a leader in your community you would be required to stay away from such places because your new status has placed you on a higher moral ground. King Henry V, as Prince Hal, indulged in pub-life with his friends such as Falstaff, but when the young prince assumed the throne as the King of England he distanced himself from his friends; when Falstaff shouted the Prince’s nickname at his coronation, the Prince responded with:
“I know thee not, old man fall to thy powers; Presume not that
I am the thing that I was; .…..(that) I have turned away my former self”.
Turning away from friends with whom you led frivolous lifestyles could be painful though, but your assumption of a responsible social position that can influence others towards the good of society is superior and more rewarding. “Leaving the tavern” is, therefore, a necessary “evil” all leaders must endeavour to pursue. St. Paul would tell us “Let us walk properly, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness “ Rom 13:13.
Character
A person with ambition to lead must first learn to lead himself through the practices of self-discipline, honesty and obedience to his Maker. These values help to build a strong and lasting character in a person. Character is an attribute that gives rise to sublimation to conscience, selflessness and responsibility. It enables a person to do what is important for the community even when it is not convenient. A person with character consistently displays socially-acceptable conduct in his dealing with others. He should be seen to have values that eschew greed, lust, anger, hate, discrimination, etc.
Competence
A person who lacks the requisite skill and know-how or expertise to help the group achieve its goal cannot assume leadership in the group. Competence, in this respect, includes the ability to know how to bring requisite knowledge to your group through someone else. It also means avoiding becoming a jack-of-all trade and rather practising delegation of authority. A competent leader is the one who exudes great confidence. He must also be able to demonstrate total commitment to the ideals of the group. This enhances esprit de corps and cohesion of the group, resulting in full participation.
Courage
Courage is a trait that enables the leader to take reasonable risks for the good of the group he leads. A leader that cannot take calculated risks cannot expect his group to make progress. A Christian aspiring to lead ought to know how to bring boldness to characterize his actions. A Christian leader is always firm and steadfast when it comes to defending tenets of his faith and ideals of the group he belongs to. He must not abandon the virtue of fortitude simply because of the preponderance of those against his stand which he knows are Christ-like. He should know that majority is not always right. But he must be able to distinguish between bravery and boldness on one hand, and foolhardiness and pig-headedness on the other. A courageous leader portrays some of the traits of a General of a platoon of soldiers.
