Leadership Journal-001

   Once upon a time, close to a battle field over 200 years ago, a man in civilian clothes rode past a small group of exhausted battle weary soldiers digging and obviously important defensive position. The section leader, making no effort to help was shouting orders, threatening punishment if the work was not completed within the hour. "Why are you not helping?" asked the stranger on horseback. "I am in charge, the men do as I tell them" said the section leader, adding, "Help them yourself if you feel strongly about it". To the section leaders surprise, the stranger did mounted and helped the men until the job was finished. Before leaving, the stranger congratulated the men for their work and approached the puzzled section leader " You should notify top command next time your rank prevents you from supporting your men - and I will provide a more permanent solution" said the stranger. Up close, the section leader now recognized General Washington and also the lesson he'd just been taught.
   Leadership has been completely misunderstood by so many in our society today, as portrayed by the above story. Leadership has been mistaken for an escape route to luxury and pleasure when it should actually be a call to hard work and perseverance. No surprise we are getting the kind of results we get today, when non leaders are leading, the led will always suffer the consequences of their actions and decision. Leadership is not about sitting down and commanding others to do your dirty job for you, neither is it about controlling people and sacking anyone who refuses or hesitates to bow to your dictatorship. Leadership is the bane of any and every successful organization, thus, the saying,"everything rises and falls on leadership".
   Now that we have established what leadership is not, what is leadership? What a question, hopefully we'll be able to establish the true definition of leadership. First and foremost, it is very important that we establish the fact that God never intended that a man be led by another men. He created man to lead the rest of his creation not other men, this is why it is easier to to lead sheep than to lead man. You can tame a lion but it is very hard to tame a man, if it wasn't slavery would still be on today. Man was a created to dominate and not to be dominated, to rule and not to be ruled. The big question is "Who was man created to dominate and rule over", the answer is simple; man was created to have dominion over everything else except God and man. If that is the case, what then is leadership?

" Leadership is the quality of pursuing a set goal and positively influencing others to do the same, until accomplishment is fully attained".