The world stayed glued to their television sets and radio as history was made yet again. Things had gotten out of hand and it appeared that there was no way out of the many issues the world was facing. Between wars and the global economic crisis, the world needed leadership. Someone who could fix these problems or at least proffer answers to the many questions on everyone’s mind.
It was the year 2008. The event was the American Presidential Election. The man that had us glued to our TV sets was Barrack Obama.
He was black, he was “inexperienced”, he was hated, he was loved, he was radical but he spoke a language the world wanted to hear. Change!
“Yes We Can” and “I Know How Do That!” These were the words that determined America’s choice at the polls.
(http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/26/obama.transcript/index.html)
A leader, according to a man known for his great obsession with research on the topic, is someone who serves, someone who seeks to work with the people he hopes to serve. Myles Munroe insists on the fact that servant leadership is what determines if a leader will attain greatness or not.
Leadership, he maintains, is creating an environment that allows people to manifest their gifts for the corporate good. It seeks to engage the people that are being served and work with them as a team to bring about the desired change.
Hence, the world believed in the man who wanted to carry them along in his quest for change and had no faith in the man who believed he was the change. (http://www.rfi.fr/actuen/articles/106/article_1799.asp )
A leader always seeks to develop people. A servant leader appreciates the value of people and this keeps him from trying to be all things and to do everything.
So it is with leadership in every facet of life. If we must lead, we must be willing to serve.
As I watched McCain’s concession speech as well as Obama’s reflective victory speech, it struck me that the summary of his loss and Obama’s win was as simple a thing as the difference between ‘We’ and ‘I’.
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28751183/ )
Obama’s “inexperience” which his opponents had hoped to use against him, became his greatest strength. It made him reach out to the people to work with him to bring about the change that America and the world craved. McCain’s constant praise of self as “the Maverick” and great emancipator alienated him from the people. His constant, “I know how to do that!” drove the people to decide that this democracy is theirs. They agreed with Obama’s, “Yes we can!”
What is your philosophy of leadership?
