Raukura 2007: What is Leadership?
February 5, 2008
This is part of a series of posts using reflections produced by staff and participants at the Raukura: Intro to Strategic Leadership Module held at St Johns College, Auckland, in December 2007.
These reflections have been compiled as a Study Guide, and are available in printed form for below cost at $10.00 a copy including postage and handling (contact us for more details). Alternatively, you can download a PDF version here.
What is Leadership?
By Tomasi Fahina - Youth Coordinator for the Archdeaconry of Tonga, Diocese of Polynesia
In a simple way, I can define leadership as a position which is given to a person to lead, guide, protect and sacrifice his time for a large amount of people – this being the head of an organisation or society.
Leadership is not a simple thing to carry out. To be the head or a leader, you need character. A leader should have good qualities and skills, experience, intelligence, and understanding of others. For me, to be the head of an organisation, we have to go through difficulties, riots, and many obstacles – but how can we deal with these things?
We have to lower ourselves, and serve others. Sometimes it’s so hard to serve other people, but I believe that a good leader must serve others, and must know how to follow. He/she must act like a servant in order to find things easier, and cooperate with others. Servants work to meet the needs of those they serve. Leadership should not be based on selfish ambition and pride, but with humility always treating others as better than yourself. Don’t focus simply on your own interests, but show care for the interests of others.
Sometimes a leader must focus on commanding, and ordering, giving instructions, without being first example to others. Referring to the Bible, the Good Shepherd is the one who cares for the sheep, and leads by example. As the saying goes, “… there is no one greater than the one who serves.”
The ability to be a leader should have a good relationship with others. How to deal with, and how to treat others. What I strongly believe is that a leader must provide order for a society or organisation to function well. The leader must show respect in order for others to show respect back. He must promote forgiveness and mercy in time of shortcomings. He can also follow discipline to listen, to his co-workers. If we do not learn to listen, we can never solve problems. The way a leader treats others is a reflection of their character and of the attitudes that they have in their heart. Their actions tell us more than their words do.
Vision is important as a quality of leadership. People will follow a good vision. People will turn away from a vision if the leader only has a vision for himself, and makes himself first. People will leave after a short time. But a leader who gives away a vision for others, will always be looked to first.
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