“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus.”
We’re nearing the end of 2020. Finally.
It’s been such a hectic year that it feels like 5 years’ worth of events have happened in the last 11 months.
To cap off the year, the world turned its eyes onto the United States to see who would become the new “Leader of The Free World”. Naturally if you’ve been following, you know just dramatic it’s all been with heated debates, contested results and even some conspiracy theories have been thrown in the mix.
Ultimately, it’s important that democracy be practiced in a civilized manner and that the will of the people be done.
What caught my eye though was not the results or the drama, at least not entirely.
The arguing, the fighting, the protests, it all comes down to each group wanting a different leader. But even within those groups, there are divisions where they all disagree about who should be their leader.
As a matter of fact, a lot of those who voted would prefer options other than those available to them. And people really care about this, they really care about who their appointed leader is. Why? Obviously, one would say that each candidate would offer different ways in which to take the country and normally people want to choose the side they find themselves agreeing with. But it’s more than that because some people have voted for the candidate who doesn’t hold their same beliefs about politics or how to better the economy.
This happens more often than one might think. So what pushes someone to vote for a person whom they disagree with on almost everything?
The short answer, not every politician is a leader. And leaders, are in very short supply.
In every facet of human civilization, leadership is paramount for progress. Leaders are the driving force that can push people to accomplish great things. This applies in almost everything that involves groups of people working together, which happens to be a lot of things.
If you’re an avid sports follower, you know this to be true. The Cavaliers overturned their 3-1 deficit in the Finals playoffs against the Warriors thanks to Lebron James’ incredible leadership. Chelsea defeated the mighty Barcelona in 2012, even though everyone had written them off, with the help of their charismatic senior players.
This is even more evident in military history. Countless battles across centuries have shown that with true leadership, people can achieve almost anything.
It can be said then, that leadership is necessary to bring out the best in us. If a true leader can inspire you to achieve something you didn’t think was possible, that means you were great all along, you just needed the proper guidance.
A leader isn’t great because of what talents they may possess, but because of how they can showcase the talents in other people and help them shine. More importantly, to help them shine together.
A leader is not the most talented person in the room, nevertheless they are the most important because they can make the people around them work together in harmony and achieve something that’s bigger than the sum of their talents.
Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, will go down as one of the most successful and inspirational leaders of all time. As a woman in a position of power, she undoubtedly faced countless challenges, she cemented herself as the only stable seat of power in the western world for decades, helping her country achieve unprecedented levels of success and prosperity. She isn’t the loudest person, or the most charismatic, but she is a true leader. Honest, hardworking and humble, she worked to elevate those around her.
Leaders aren’t just important, they’re indispensable. Without proper leaders, in our offices, schools or politics, our humanity struggles in the wake of absence of leadership.
Leaders look outward, no inwards. They don’t look to see how they can go past others, they look to see how to help them.
Every leader can be a manager, but not every manager is a leader.
Every leader can be a president, but not every president is a leader.
Every leader can be a teacher, but not every teacher is a leader.
In every aspect in your life, and see where you draw your sense of leadership from. If it’s lacking, look to yourself and see if you can step up and fill the gap.
We need you. The world needs more leaders, not matter how many times we talk about this, it’s still a matter we need to discuss. Leaders from all backgrounds, regardless of sex or race or age, we need you to help push us.
We work best when we work together, and we need leaders to unify us, and help us be better than what we think we are.
