Personal Development: The Genesis of Leadership

“Leadership is the influencing power one exerts on others through words, actions, and way of living, leading them from a state of purposelessness and despair to a state of prosperity and fulfilment.

It is the mechanism designed to add value to lives and transform society.”

This definition constitutes my leadership lessons and experiences from the Central Leadership Program. Considering the context of this definition of what leadership is, an individual cannot claim to be a real leader upon expressing poor self-governance in daily living. The trajectory to authentic leadership starts from self-leadership. One cannot lead others when he cannot lead himself. In other words, you cannot make people what you are not. Presently, the dominant principle running our society on account of solving problems is the oral art of leadership. The reason is obvious; it is much more difficult to do than to talk. Hence, the theme of some acclaimed leaders is “this is the right thing to be done” but they never do the right thing themselves. James signalled a warning of deception when he said “Be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” In our context, we will say that “Be doers of the right thing and not talkers alone, deceiving yourselves.”

CLP has re-edited my leadership context to employ and reflect personal responsibility and development rather than problem dissertations and opinionated solutions. I prefer to understand myself, annul my weaknesses, and heighten self-awareness than to be busily discussing social problems and challenging problem-solving opinions that do not sync with my perspective. This has been a difficult switch for me since I am more driven to address what I see as problematic in my environ. However, being the solution is better than talking the solution and this mindset keeps me moving forward. The words of Rumi perfectly define how CLP has transformed my leadership worldview. He said: “Yesterday, I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today, I am wise so I am changing myself.”

I am confident about the path I am taking and I have a strong assurance that after I am transformed to become who a Christ-centred Leader is, I will likewise transform my world.

By Rex Mainoo Yeboah