When Leaders Lead, Followers Follow

Leadership shouldn't be by title alone. Whoever is interested in being a leader should strive to lead by example. How can you order people around if you are not practising what you preach? It is essential for a leader to be at the forefront and be dedicated to a given task. By doing so, the followers will have no choice but to follow.

However, in a scenario where a leader only gives orders but is absent when needed the most, the followers will certainly hesitate. They won’t be committed to carrying out the leader’s directives.

Also, if a leader is bad, it will only take the grace of God for the followers to be good. A leader sets the pace for their followers. There is a saying in my local language that when the head is bad, the rest of the body will surely be affected, no matter what. Perhaps that is one of the reasons for the challenges we face in Africa; less development and more uprisings. In a nation where leaders are corrupt, it inevitably affects the citizens. It's only a matter of time before the consequences become obvious.

In my workplace, we used to have a principal who cared little for the students. I say this because she showed little concern. Most times, when students misbehaved, she did little or nothing about it. I don't know if she felt threatened, but I doubt it. Teachers did as they pleased, and no one was ever queried. I don't even know what to call that kind of leader. She didn’t come to work on time, and although she lived far away, that didn’t mean she shouldn’t have assigned the vice principal to take necessary actions. Sadly, she retired last month but left the school in a bad state. It is truly pitiable and unfortunate.

Now, within just a few days of having a new principal, everything has changed for the better. This new principal is committed to the students. She doesn’t just stay in her office; she regularly visits classrooms to ensure that everyone is doing their work.

Today, she called all the students together and gave them a moral talk on how to live a good life. Good leadership isn’t rocket science. If you are good, you are good. It is important for a leader to be an effective manager of people; otherwise, no one will take them seriously, and nothing productive will happen.

There’s another unique thing about her. She was seen washing the toilet herself. That is the mark of true leadership.