After reading through, you will be kinder to your leader and more human in how you treat him. Today, I want to stand with the leader. This morning, my friend Lydia Amuge wrote in one of the dailies an article titled, “Help your CEO succeed”. Immediately, it resonated with the pain I have been having in my heart regarding the quagmire of many people in leadership positions.
I’ve always said that a leader has unique troubles. For example:
- Giving: Very few think of giving the leader anything (apart from disloyalty and backbiting) since everyone expects him to be the one giving. He is expected to give his time, effort, money, a listening ear, and material gifts, among others. Rarely does anyone ever think of doing the same to their leader.
- Listening: Rarely does anyone get interested in the leader’s own personal life because everyone is busy expecting the leader to solve all their problems. He will struggle with his marriage, find challenges in parenting his adolescent son, or lose peace over a disturbing loan. But everyone else will come to him about their own struggling marriage, addicted daughter, or land grabbing neighbour, yet none of them will ever turn around and ask him about his own life. (Fact: Many leaders are willing to open up and share their personal life.)
- Company: Leaders tend to be lonely however much they try to hold the hand of some to come with them to the top. This is because amidst all their efforts to invert the organizational “triangle”, those at the bottom want it to remain “upright” leaving very many people in the bigger fellowship “down” and very few lonely leaders in their troubled state “up”.
Here then is the key thought: Please, find as many ways as possible to help your leader.
- Can we start to help our leaders (even those that seem to need no help)?
- Shall we also listen to the leaders besides us always reminding them that a good leader listens?
- When shall we go to the leader to make him happy too, not only to tell him how he is not making us happy enough?
- How about sacrificing something for the leader after all the sacrifices he may have made for you so far?
- Is it wrong to point him to relevant opportunities he may need at a personal level instead of only complaining that he doesn’t offer you great opportunities paid for by the organization e.g. study abroad or holidays in the Bahamas?
For the start, here are some links to other thoughtful articles that some other equally concerned people have written, from different angles: faith, business, etc. — all about how to help your leader:
- 5 Statements To Lighten Your Leader’s Load: https://www.velocityministrymanagement.com/5-statements-to-lighten-your-leaders-load/
- 10 Tips to Make Your Boss a Better Leader: https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2014/jan/15/ten-tips-boss-better-leader
- 3 Ways to Support Your Leader: http://andrewburchfield.com/3-ways-to-support-your-leader/
- Disadvantages of Being a Leader: Number 3 Will Shock You: http://www.naijapr.com/23337-2/
In a nutshell, as we passionately hold our leaders accountable to be the kind of leaders that are worth the name, let us also be the kind of followers that these leaders will enjoy leading. I am sure it takes two to tango. Just think about it!
#YouWillManage
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