When leaders love power, they fail.
When leaders love people, they start to lead from the heart. Leaders are very important, but that does not mean they are above the people they lead.
We don’t lack people in positions of power, but we lack good leaders in positions of authority.
Any organisation or it could be a country, company, or church, is as effective and successful as its leadership.
As John C. Maxwell says, “everything rises and falls on leadership”.
Countries are battling with problems such as the economy, wars, but the greatest problem is leadership.
Results don’t lie, and we reap what we sow. The results we see are an outcome of how we lead.
Government does not have to be all powerful, but it must be a good servant to its people.
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Governments have failed their citizens because they have not served the citizens but have become more powerful than the citizens they are supposed to serve.
Citizens have been fooled to think the government is above all. True leadership is about serving. This article looks at the heart of a leader; it is for self-introspection. Why do leaders fail?
Lack of self-control
We have leaders who don’t fear sin but love to violate basic principles. They have all the charisma but lack self-control. Leaders have fallen into the trap of loving money, sex and lasciviousness. It’s unfortunate that this even manifests in church, the very arm that should be representative of good and Godly morals, justice, values, and good standards.
Lack of servitude
Great leadership is not having power over people, but the positive influence through serving them. There are so many people in leadership positions who are power hungry and use unorthodox means to have that power. Instead of serving people, we walk over people and inflict pain on them.
Lack of passion
We are in dire need of leaders who have faith in the possibilities of the future; that is conviction. The problem is that we have leaders who accumulate everything to themselves. They are egocentric, self-centred, and self-serving. We need leaders who have a burning desire to see their countries and companies succeed.
Lack emotional intelligence
According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in an article titled, Why You Need Emotional Intelligence, emotional intelligence is defined as that which “affects how we manage behaviour, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions that achieve positive results. Emotional intelligence is made up of four core skills that pair up under two primary competences: personal competence and social competence”. Personal competencies consist of self-awareness and self-management. Social competence is made of social awareness and relationship management.
A leader could be cognitively intelligent, but that’s not enough without emotional intelligence. A leader with emotional intelligence has empathy, sympathy, compassion and is always listening to the pains or cries of the people. Political leadership seems to have lost the heart for people in most African states. They are detached from the people they lead, and they thrive on the people’s pain. Political leadership seems to thrive especially in Africa, yet the people are in dire need of basics such as water, food and education. Sean McPheat (2010) in his book, Emotional Intelligence says there are three reasons why executives seem to fail; “Their inability to handle change, poor interpersonal relationships, and not being able to work with a team”.
Lack of wisdom
The God of the Bible shows clearly that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom is, therefore, not the accumulation of information we get from books, but the wise application of what they have learnt. Godliness is when integrity, cleanliness, and righteousness is present in our leaders. We need leaders who are repentant, who will turn to God, and seek to be connected to the Father, who is the maker of everything. With each day passing, the governments of this world seem to be taking God out of the equation, which might be the greatest mistake that we are making. We need to bring back God into every sector including education, government, media, and information. Wisdom is the principal thing. Seek it, pray for it, and strive to get it every day.
The gun in the wrong hand
The very painful thought comes when you know that you are ruled by a wrong person. It’s like giving a gun to an insane person and expecting to live peacefully. Resources — human, financial and mineral — are at times in the hands of fools/ or mad people. But the majority celebrate those people and praise them to the detriment of society.
Lack of respect
Reverence of human life is core in leadership. The moment a leader loses the respect for human dignity, he/she can treat people as animals. We need leaders who honour and respect the people they lead, especially the poor and powerless.
Lack of planning
Leaders must be strategic in their approach; they must plan. With a plan, we create a life that we want. Without a plan, time and change will always catch us on the blind side. A plan shows us where we should get to and how to get there. Country and corporate success is hinged on planning. Failing and success are all based on planning or lack thereof. Individuals are failing because they have no plan at all, so is leadership. If we have a plan, we have something to compare our decisions with. Performance can be best measured if we have clear targets. Fathers are failing to lead families effectively because they don’t have a plan.
Lack effective management
Systems must be well managed. They either choose to manage them effectively or spend them lavishly. Leaders have access to many things than other citizens and as such they may abuse what they have to the detriment of others. Management includes planning on how to use resources.
Parting point
As you lead, have an open mind to learn, have an open heart to touch and teach others, have the wisdom to understand and execute your true mandate, and have a versatile intelligence to disrupt your old beliefs and embrace the future.
Jonah Nyoni is an author, speaker, and leadership trainer. He can be contacted on Twitter @jonahnyoni. WhatsApp: +263 772 581 918
