Is it our fault that our leaders are such poor service providers? Do we treat them as masters instead of servants? There is a story of a king who when he would walk on the streets people would shout out his praises. However, he always walked with a servant who would whisper in his ear, “you are just a man,” repeatedly so that he would remember that he was just a man. Do we shout out praises to our leaders distracting them from their duties as service givers? Maybe we should begin to shout out to them, “You are just a servant,”
Are we partly to blame for our leaders poor leadership because it seems we admire them for the wrong reasons: their money and prestige? We forget that power is given by God and nobody is born deserving of it. We put them on a pedal stool and consider them to be more important than us and in effect encourage them to consider themselves more important than us. We convince ourselves that they must know what they are talking about because they have the title honorable before their names. We criticize them for being incompetent and wallow in dissatisfaction in the comforts of our living rooms but in their presence clasp their hands enthusiastically and unconsciously bow our heads.
I sometimes believe that our ideas of a good leader are distorted. We do not know that not every powerful person is a leader. We seem to have the notion that all successful people are leaders; that success equals leadership. Everybody can be successful but not everybody can be a leader. Leaders, like men of God are divinely chosen.
There are so many qualities that are attributed to good leaders such as commitment, passion, confidence, intelligence, wisdom, courage, discipline, vision and persistence among others. However, the most important quality that is hardly mentioned is service. A lot of the advice given about leadership is in such a manner that leaders see themselves as masters instead of servants. They consider their key duties to be delegating work and commanding people instead of encouraging commitment and loyalty, standing up for their people and helping them. Service is the only quality that determines whether a leader possesses all the other qualities to serve his people or himself.
A leader with the quality of service puts the needs of his people ahead of his own. This is a person who is always around when you need him and sometimes when you don’t. They don’t help you shout out your problems but find solutions. They help you help yourself. They take nothing for themselves and ensure that everything is shared equally among everyone. They do not confidently stand on the pedal stool you give them because they know that one person cannot be greater than the community. They are willing to sacrifice and suffer for the greater good of the community. Do not be fooled, there are people who look and talk like leaders but are nothing but a mirage.
In an interview on K24’s Capital Beat last year, Ngugi wa Thiong’o was quoted as saying that “leadership is when you are actually there to serve.” He explained that back in his days leaders used to give something so as to attend meetings. They did not expect to be rewarded as he sees today. He said that elders sacrificed their own lands for the construction of schools without expecting anything in return.
Great names in history also serve as example of leaders who were not just leaders but servant leaders. Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus in the fifth century abandoned his farm to serveRome as a leader during an invasion by rivaling tribes and immediately resigned his absolute authority with the end of the crisis. George Washington served as a general during the American Revolution that saw America gain independence in 1776. After victory had been finalized in 1783, Washingtonresigned rather than seize power and returned to his domestic life, even though he was elected president in 1789. Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa for only one term, between 1944 and 1999 even though he spent a great part of his life fighting for freedom and equality. He did not hold on to power as others did and are still doing.
The idea of leadership as service should not be downplayed as it determines whether a leader is in power for self interest or to serve his people. All leaders should be expected to exhibit signs of being servants first then leaders. People need to treat their leaders as servant leaders so that they act like servant leaders. We also need to admire their acts of service instead of the power and prestige so as to encourage them to do more for their people.
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