The Type Of Leadership To Avoid

Close your eyes and imagine a child as your leader. . . Do you like what you see? I am sure you don't! God declared that children would lead His people.

As for my people, CHILDREN ARE THEIR OPPRESSORS, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

-Isaiah 3:12
The tone of this Scripture leads us to believe that it is a curse or a punishment for a group of people to be led by children. On the surface, this may sound a bit harsh but a little reflection and meditation on the meaning of this scripture will help you to develop your abilities to lead. Indeed, these are two curses that you must understand and avoid at all costs! You must have heard the statement, “You are childish!” You must have heard the statement, “You are behaving like a child!”

You must have said before, “I am not a child.”

These statements are made because grown ups sometimes behave like children. Unfortunately, leaders in high positions often behave like children and this greatly affects everyone around them. You must avoid developing a leadership style that is akin to the leadership of a child!

1. THE LEADERSHIP OF A CHILD IS CHARACTERIZED BY DISORGANIZATION

Then he will appoint children to rule over them, and ANARCHY WILL PREVAIL.

-Isaiah 3:4 (NLT)
If you cannot tidy up your own room you must be a child. If you cannot clean the places where you live, you must be a child. If you cannot clean up your city you must be a child even though everyone calls you the mayor or the minister.

The leadership of a child results in anarchy and disorder as the Bible predicts. Whenever you see disorder, chaos, disorganization and confusion you can assume that the leadership of a child is at work.

2. THE LEADERSHIP OF A CHILD IS CHARACTERIZED BY A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF SERIOUS ISSUES AND IMMINENT DANGERS

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I UNDERSTOOD AS A CHILD, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

-1 Corinthians 13:11
You must study leadership, understand leadership, and practice appropriate principles of leadership otherwise you may lead people with the mind of a child. A child's mind is dominated by a lack of understanding of the serious issues and dangers that confront him.

Leaderless people usually have dirty eating places and dirty toilets. Little children live in dirt and do not understand what it means. If children are left alone, filth and dirt multiply. That is why no one leaves children alone. They will not clean, sweep or wipe anything.

The childlike leadership does not sense the connection between these death traps and the welfare of their people. Even if they sense the connection they do not know what to do. The chief characteristic of cities that are ruled by children is the rubbish and life-threatening garbage that can be found everywhere.

Leaderless nations have destroyed the educational system of their countries not knowing the implications of what they are doing.

3. THE LEADERSHIP OF A CHILD IS CHARACTERIZED BY NOT UNDERSTANDING ANYTHING THAT IS A LITTLE COMPLEX

Dear brothers and sisters, DON'T BE CHILDISH IN YOUR UNDERSTANDING of these things… but be mature and wise in understanding matters of this kind.

-1 Corinthians 14:20 (NLT)
You must study leadership, understand leadership, and practice appropriate principles of leadership otherwise you may lead people with the mind of a child. When a person is in leadership and has the mind of a child he does not understand anything that is a little complex.

It is obvious when an unlearned person is at the helm of affairs. He does not understand the implications of his statements. One leader boldly declared he would never repay the debts of his country. Another such leader gave every foreigner twenty-four hours to leave the country with a maximum of twenty-four kilos of luggage.

Leaders of poor countries have swallowed the concepts of globalization and free trade with their negative implications of de-industrialization, de-agriculturalization and de-population of cities. Industries, farms have been wiped out in nations, which wholeheartedly accepted these policies without understanding the complex implications it would have on the rest of the nation.

Richer nations like the USA and Australia absolutely rejected the idea of freely trading with England at the expense of not developing their own industries. They understood the complex nature of simply opening their borders to cheap imports. Why are populations being led by people who have studied these things in school but do not know how to apply them in their nations?

The fact that someone who sells iPads and iPhones and iPods will always be at an advantage over someone who sells oranges and cocoa, is not easily understood by leaders who simply announce that their emphasis will be on agriculture.

How can a child understand the practical implications of terms like diminishing returns, increasing returns activities, synergies, innovations, perfect markets, imperfect markets and so on?

These complexities are not obvious to leaders who are like children. You must avoid the leadership of a child!

[email protected]
The Art of Leadership
By Dag Heward-Mills