A perspective on forming leaders

There are different perspectives of approaching the subject: “The qualities of a leader”. For a start of many series on the topic in this paper, I will assume a leader from the not common perspective.  You or self as a leader of yourself.  My argument as you will discover is that if you win it at the individual  and private levels chances are that you might be a productive leader in public as well. You might remember how we often try to piece together the childhood times of public leaders. Because they seem to suddenly appear in public to lead us. The question we often ask is “where did they learn the skills of being leaders?” Think of any leader, presidents of notable performance , Mandela, Museveni, Obama, and many others. What were their childhoods like? It is as if such childhood were to be discovered and studied carefully, then we will have the formula of creating leaders just like the ones that have made a leadership mark in our times.

Think of the story of Jesus Christ. He is a leader of divine character. We have scanty stories of his formative years.  Many books outside the canon of scripture, that is the rule that determined the books of the bible which have sufficient information for our salvation, claim to have the childhood story of Jesus Christ. This is the yarning of humanity trying to look for what can work easily for us. In active public life we meet Jesus once at age 12 and later when he is 30 years old. It would then be argued that his childhood was as normal as that of any other child in his village of Nazareth.  There is, however no doubt that when we meet him especially at his Baptism he is already focused to the purpose of his life and even his father our God acknowledged it.

 I will have an accession to discuss some leaders of our time but for now let me suggest to you that what we see in Jesus Christ at 30 he was already a leader of self during his childhood. The difference is in the magnitude of performance a manifestation of ever increasing areas of responsibility.

If you win the battle of self leadership, the rest is orientation in specific skills and positioning for, your success and then public responsibility.  So, what makes you a successful president as the same as what make a successful man or woman as a leader of yourself. The difference is in the magnitude of responsibility. My perspective therefore is that the qualities of a leader are the same for “self”, because it is the “self” who eventually becomes the president and anything in between self in private and the public leaders that we know.

Let us look at these initial qualities that we need to be successful leaders of ourselves?  These qualities include but not limited to:  Love, hope, faith, having a vision, imbuing ones’ discipline, communication and action with integrity. I will here below explain what each one of these qualities mean. I will give briefs on each quality. Remember we are focusing on the individual as leader for him/her self.

1. Love is the starting point from which you meet the world around you. You learn love by receiving and giving it God and to others. To love yourself is the biblical basis for knowing how to love others. My perspective of what I am worth, in balance, enables me to recognise the value in others. Godly people have received this love through parents and friends but most of all from God. It does not cost any money, because it is invaluable. We receive it freely so we must give it free to others.
2. Hope is the perspective that things will be better than what they are. Hope communicates things revealed but not yet seen in reality. This perspective creates a positive attitude in the present and provides strength to face present challenges as you work your way toward the bright future. Hope is an assurance that serves as an anchor that stands against any opposing force in one’s forward march to the object hoped for.
3. Faith is what we believe that it will work because we trust and are confident in the knowledge of God the author of life. Faith may build on the past performances but much more on what has been promised by one that is trustworthy. Faith in one’s self is to suggest that because of the trust and confidence I have in the one who created me I can succeed.
4. It is from our love, hope and faith that a vision for self emerges. Vision is to discover my purpose in creation. Vision answers that question: “What am I here for?”  We prayerfully seek God to guide us in finding a vision for our lives. He might reveal it right from heaven and is birthed in your heart. Or he might lead you to some mentors or friends for counsel.  Vision is often defined as a clear, vivid picture of where to go what to do, as well as a firm grasp on what success looks like and how to achieve it. But it’s not enough to have a vision; you must share it with others. Check it out as young people say.  Once you feel that you have grasped it then articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion.
5. Discipline is daily routine commitment to do something toward your vision single-mindedly, as well as to direct your actions to the goal. The discipline to act daily is the difference between a leader’s vision and a dreamers nightmare.  A leader does not suffer “analysis paralysis” that is the confusion of indecision that cause us to simply live without a plan. Discipline calls us to always do something in pursuit of the vision. In turn we inspire others around him/herself. We become role models for the present and successive generations
6. Communication is the ability to articulate our vision to others. This will be the entry point into public leadership. For the moment communication helps you to find and build a resource bank of people and monetary value. Your vision must be communicated clearly and passionately. This is yourself coming out to the world. Take note of peoples comments. Pick positive ones and use them to sharpen your vision and creative actions. Listen to negative criticism; you might pick some wisdom from them as well.
7. Integrity is the integration of outward actions and inner values. A person of integrity is the same on the outside and on the inside. Such an individual can be trusted because he or she never veers from inner values, even when it might be expeditious to do so. Your must earn trust from people around you and keep it. Because it takes a single action or a cause to suspect, for one to lose the trust and with you one’s integrity