When Pharisees (Politicians) rule instead of Leaders, the people suffer

When Pharisees (Politicians) rule instead of leaders, the people suffer. Nations are doing great exploit today not because of their natural resources but the type of leadership provided by those holding such positions.

Ghana’s leadership fortunes do not look good no matter where you turn. From business to education, and to governance at all levels, we are getting it wrong and our people are suffering from leadership failure.

When the gold cost was discovered, the chief resource was gold. This moved to include natural resources discovered than human capital (Human resources). Today, leadership is important if we are to reap the full benefits of what we have or do not have. However, many are wearing the crowns of kings and queens, yet they cannot leave up to the standard of the titles given to them.

You may hold a leadership position and be deceiving yourself that you are churning out leadership, but the truth may be that you are only occupying a position you rarely deserve to hold if not for your political affiliations.

Whether you are a follower or an individual holding position in business, education, government, measure yourself by the leadership tape measure outlined in this post. This way you can be sincere with yourself if you are a leader or a politician or a “Phariseeship”.

Those holding leadership positions today continue to struggle with their core mandates because they do not possess the leadership mindset, skills, and attitude. There are many more holding leadership positions without the slightest idea, skill, or knowledge of what leadership is all about.

Leadership has to do with the leader influencing followers toward the attainment of the collective goal of the nation, business, education, etc. However, in our part of the world, there are many holding leadership positions who are not having the required impact on followers (citizens).

Unfortunately, many of the followers (citizens) cannot detect that their leaders are underperforming. Politics has eroded our unbiased judgments that we cannot confidently accept that a particular leader is failing in his capacity as an arrowhead of the nation or a company or a sector of the economy.

Many of the so-called leaders we have in politics, for instance, know very well that they are not succeeding. They do not have any targets set for them to achieve in their respective ministries, departments, municipalities, and assemblies. At best, they struggle to achieve some success and spend more time transmitting about it.

They preach one thing and do the other. Innocent people are arrested for offenses, those in leadership commit more serious offenses and steal walk on our streets. One is tempted to ask if they are leaders or Pharisees. The good old book admonishes us to ‘do as they say not as they do’.

The above is a clear indication that there is a vast difference between who a leader is and who a politician is. Not all politicians appointed into leadership positions are leaders, and that is where the problems of Ghana and African start.

Today, our politicians make laws, yet they are just not great at keeping it when it concerned them. They look at what citizens do or want to do and are critical of it but yet they turn around and do the same things themselves.

Leadership without examples for followers to emulate is mockery and must be avoided by all holding leadership positions even if you lack leadership qualities, skills, and the knowledge needed to steer the affairs of a nation, region, or business.

Citizens who themselves are followers need to appreciate the contrast between politicians and leaders to be able to know if those who have been given political power are showing leadership, or leading them, or mere “Phariseeship”

Politicians who are leaders earn the respect of the people because of the character they portray. People genuinely respect leaders, not because they have any affiliations with them. Politicians, on the other hand, constantly demand respect by virtue of their political office. If you have anyone in leadership or occupying a leadership position who feels that he must be accorded respect because of his or her position, the individual is a politician or “Phariseeship”.

Leaders do not wait for things to mess up before they take steps. Leaders must be proactive and not reactive. We see a lot of reactive actions, decisions, and choices by our government and those holding political posts nearly all the time. The reality is that pure politicians are reactive and sentiments guide their actions with the quest to become popular.

Leaders have a clear course of action and take responsibility for the actions or errors they have committed but the typical politician will do all he or she can to avoid responsibility for the errors from his deeds. They will say (make a little sense) with so many words often to confuse their listeners. How many road maps have your government or leader given on projects and plans put into action to solve one problem or the other?

Leadership is always seeking to get things done, provide lasting solutions and ensure strategies and ideas implemented do not solve a problem, only to generate new and difficult problems for society.

Sadly, politicians or those into “Phariseeship” aim at maintaining the power they have to acquire and the position and not the solution their followers badly need to make life comfortable. The longer they take to solve the problem the more popular they become because they manage to build an image around the persistent problem.

True leaders inspire confidence in people but politicians end up using coercive force and pay their way through (bribes).

Politicians do not truly think about the masses. If they show signs to prove they do, it is only a camouflage because politician works for the party and hid behind their party or personal agenda to attempt to solve problems that confront the masses but leader works for the followers or citizens.

The politician’s aim is to earn from others or their people, but true leaders burn out themselves to serve their people. No one doubts the leader, but many don’t trust the politician.

Read: Can Ghanaian youths learn something good from today’s Leadership?

You can see clearly that leadership in Ghana and Africa has a long way to go if those in leadership are to truly impact our generation and leave a positive and inspiring legacy for posterity.

As my reader, I have empowered you to judge and find the thin line that shows the kind of political heads we have put in leadership positions as a nation. Use the same yardstick to measure your leaders at all levels in business, religion, academia among others.

To those holding leadership positions at all levels in politics and outside it, it is time to fix yourselves, fix your offices, fix your duties and roles, fix your leadership and fix the country.

Source: Wisdom Hammond | Leadership expert