The Leader and His Followers

The Leader and His Followers

If a leader must succeed, be should be the type of person that is sensitive to the feelings of his followers.  He has to be wiling to take to good advice and adapt them to his situation. 

However, we have situations where some leaders become too important in their own eyes that they do not consider their followers important anymore.  It does not take long before such readers begin to read discontentment in the faces of his followers and if sensitive, he will arrest the situation but if not, he eventually loses his seat.

However the dilemma of many leaders is that many followers will want to dictate the tune!  They offer advice but the cast such advice in stone for the leader to accept without editing!  If one is truly a visionary leader, it will not take long before one will be at collision course with the source of such (GOOD OR BAD) advisor.  A leader ought to have his own idea on any issue he is dealing with. The purpose of the advice from others is to compare and contrast such ideas being offered with his own and see whether there is need to blend, adapt, panel beat, polish or embed some new discoveries into his own already perceived ideas or better still to validate his own stand or disproof them altogether. 

One of Nigeria’s President once advised his newly appointed Advisers that they should consider their job done at the point of giving ideas or suggestions but never be so certain of the superiority of their own ideas over the President’s final decision on the matter.  He sounded arrogant be he stated the obvious.  Because some advisers can be really something else. One fact that must be realized is that a leader is accountable for his actions.  He should be able to defend his decisions based upon his own judgment.  Even if a leader is wrong going wrong, all his loyal followers can do is to advise him on the right way – not to impose his correction upon his leader.  Once that advice is given, he, like an agent in a contractual transaction, drops out and the leader is allowed the freedom to decide as he deems fit. 

If you are a follower, a deputy, please limit yourself to your ‘advisory’ role. Your leader will be glad to have you around him.    Good morning.

Thank you for reading reading Daily Energiser. Please recommend it to your friends.