EVERYONE IS A LEADER

The dictionary defines a leader as someone who guides or directs others. This is true. Leaders are people who possess certain qualities to direct others to perform a task or accomplish a purpose. Every individual is a leader. 

We can lead directly or indirectly. But sometimes people don’t call themselves leaders because they do not lead directly (i.e., they don’t have subordinates).  Some people cultivate the habit of drinking because of their relatives. The reason is that their relatives are indirectly leading them. This happens in our day to day lives.

Most people join certain groups in church because of the inspiration they take from people. Because of the zeal and commitment of the choir master, people can choose to join the choir. Others join the ushering team (or church greeters) because of how welcoming they are. Some ushers are really good. There are a number of people I know who join some churches because of the ushers. Unknowably to the ushers, they are leading many people.

Everyone is a leader. I believe this forms part of the reasons why many people will not opt for a community where kids bully themselves or husbands beat their wives or drinking bars are scattered everywhere. Influence seems to be the issue. Certainly, leadership is all about influence. 

Both direct and indirect leaders lead by the power of influence. Before I continue, may I say that direct leaders are those lead over subordinates or employees. These people are aware of their followers and directly relate with them. A pastor is a direct leader. He is aware that the entire congregation is his followers. The managing director knows his followers; his secretary and all the heads in the various offices that he oversees. But the nagging wife hardly knows she is a leader to her children. If she knows that she is influencing her children and destroying their future marriages she wouldn’t nag and shout and disrespect. 

One of my aunties had a TV set which she never used. I stayed with her for one whole year and the TV wasn’t plugged into a socket. So I mastered courage to ask her why. She explained, “The TV is functioning very well. I just don’t want any of my children to be badly influenced. Ama is still too young to be seeing certain pictures on TV.” The TV is capable of directing the life of her four children badly for which reason she decided to make it a living room log. TV, magazine, books, internet and etc. are filled mostly with indirect leaders, influencing either positively or negatively. 

My niece, eight years old, wants to be newscaster because of Nana Aba Anamoah. She only knows her from TV3 news. This great Ghanaian journalist gave my niece a reason to dream. Nana Aba doesn’t know her. This agrees with something that John Quincy Adams (6th president of USA) said that if your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. 

A leader is however someone who can give you a reason to dream. This could be directly or indirectly. It could be people you know or people you don’t know. Assuming the TV3 journalist doesn’t have any subordinates, her actions and hard work is inspiring others to learn and dream in life. The fact that she has no subordinates doesn’t disqualify her from being a leader. Her influence on others including my niece makes her a leader.

We are all leaders, influencing people by our activities, hard work and lifestyle directly or indirectly or both. It’s therefore wicked for us to live our lives anyhow. Our actions are living sermons we are preaching to incalculable people. Destinies surround us waiting to be manifested after we have fully affected them, which we cannot tell when. Let’s live right and the world would be a better pillow to rest our head on.

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By S. E. Entsua-Mensah. ©2014 Christ for Humanity Outreach 

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