This
title seems like an oxymoron. One could retort to indicate that these are two
different categories of behavior. There are the leaders and then there are the
followers. It seems only too logical, and in our daily lives we see little to
indicate that leaders are servers, rather they seem the served.
My
daughter's school has a motto that exhorts "come to learn, leave to
serve" which reminds of service being the goal of learning. And my own school had one that said
"look to the end" telling of the need to be focused in life's endeavors
-- focus that opens doors to one's wishes. Yes, several of our learning
institutions tell us of the value of service to society and being focused in
our work. However, unfortunately, many such institutions may not quite adequately
follow up with the values that go to build the character need to live such
morality. The real world that we come out to, unless we are thoroughly imbued
with the virtues of these values by the time we graduate, influences us quite
easily to flow with the tide of our materialistic ethic that is sweeping our
world.
We
are born to be leaders actually - each one of us. We were meant to pursue
purpose and be steadfast in our pursuit of physical survival. And to do so required us to be always on the
look-out for innovative ways to survive – to be a leader in taking care of
every action in our lives. From birth to independent physical existence, we are
nurtured to be so. We plan and implement our lives to survive everyday and week
and month and so on. Our alertness is a God-given gift to make us natural
leaders by the time we step out of the cave. Overtime however, we have, through
our settling into communities and organizations, have given over this function
to selected or elected leaders and have spawned our systems of bureaucracy – a
chain of authority and power structures that have us mired. We discover that what we have created to
serve us has turned on us to subvert us. Take any organization or nation and we
see this picture emerging. We have relinquished our God given power to guide
and chart our lives to someone else – in the guise of whatever label.
Consequently we have become resigned to others taking decisions for us and
dictating our lives and we seem to be even enjoying the fact that we are
bestowed with that comfort of not having to take any decisions, do anything by
ourselves and be just taken care of. And this expectation has now become a
right that we demand of our leaders, but which unfortunately, the deluded minds
of most leaders would not easily give into – the result being our unending
conflicts with public officials.
Unfortunately
too, as our case is now, in our complacency we have even lost the capacity to
discern good leaders from the bad. And so in our jaded indolence and selfish
greed let those who promise to us the world in their campaign rhetoric have
their way and we allow them to be elected. When the proverbial milk is spilt
there is little room to cry. We get the leaders we deserve. And unless we
become aware of what characterizes good leaders, history will continue to
repeat itself. Our God given resilience to search out the good in our lives
must be re-invoked and we seek to be leaders ourselves --- not be satisfied in
being just followers. In democratic governance particularly, we the people are
the leaders and the elected our servants. We must exercise this right of ours
with the wisdom of a good leader which is founded on responsibility and
accountability. We must be alive to the fact that we have freedom with the
caveat of responsibility and not just freedom to do as we like. Ultimately, the
true test of good leadership is one’s ability to serve, and the features that
define a good leader are: being
established in higher values, able to communicate a vision effectively, be
endowed with impeccable character that is above reproach, being dedicated to
the welfare of the served, and being one not driven by self-interest.
May Maldives get
such leaders!