The Servant-Leader Paradigm: A Call To Serve The Followers

By Young Erhiurhoro

The word “Leadership” in our society today, has been disdainfully reduced to a mere attachment to the echelon of the elites class among us, rather than a quality of inspiring followers to become successful in the life’s pursuit by showing them how amazing they are and not always showing them how amazing you are.

You will agree with me that, leadership is never about tearing people down and making them feel less of themselves, rather, it’s about inspiring people to believe that the impossible is possible. Come on it’s about developing and building people to perform at heights they never and could never have imagined. It’s about making a positive impact on your family, your community, your career, your committed loyalists, and by extension, the world.

Today, Some persons have fallen into the trap of believing that having a title automatically makes them a person worth following. It’s on the contrary, I want to state it, that leadership is to be earned and bought, you have to work for it, before you qualify as a leader. You have to first be an active participant, and at least take responsibility for what you do and say. You have to set the tone, and you have to be an example for others to follow.

Emphatically, your position in the society or social chart doesn’t necessarily make you a leader. Vividly, your titles doesn’t make you a leader, because leadership in a sane understanding, has nothing to do with your social status, your bank account, or where you reside. It’s all about one life inspiring and motivating another to become the very best version of themselves.

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In our nation today, there are quite a handful number of individuals, who are operating from a traditional concept of position & title and greater population of them, believes that a large amount of power is and should be granted to them, based on their title alone. As a result, they are often unable to look beyond the roles and responsibilities of the title to see how their performance, attitude, and general behavior affect others.

As a leader, you can gain more influence and power, by tapping into the “heart” of your followers and loyalists. It’s at this juncture, I want to say, we need fewer title-driven leaders and more influential leaders in our Nation, Nigeria, because, as a leader, you have the ability to impact a person’s character and behavior, and that alone is a responsibility that should never be taken for granted.

Leadership must be convinced in the right sense as the ability to create immediate impact and compel a lasting, positive change in the lives of others. As a leader, you have an incredible opportunity to change someone’s life every single day. It could be something as simple as saying hello, writing a handwritten note or dropping a message at your loyalist’s inbox, stating you did an excellent job today or remembering and mentioning their’ names when greeting them.

In conclusion, I would say it’s so unfortunate that nowadays, we have leaders who ignore most of these things, take them for granted and post themselves like “Demi-gods” to their followers, but believe me, your team will feel more valued, when you take some of these qualities as a top priority. Leadership is all about the people, the little things, you sometimes do for your followers, makes a huge difference, and most leaders are running with these attitudes are ultimately succeed.

Young Erhiurhoro;Kjc is a journalist and a member of the Urhobo Historical Society.