This is the first time I am featuring @robertm. Robert is an excellent writer.
You can view his introduceyourself post Learning the ropes here
I hope you enjoy his writing as much as I do!
Where is the servant leadership? (Featuring new author @robertm)
I often wonder about people that want to run a country. Or run anything. I myself have often gravitated to leadership positions, not out of a desire to tell others what to do (probably out of a desire not to be told what to do myself) but because people seem to battle with making decisions.
There is nothing worse than a bunch of people standing around not doing anything because no one can decide what must be done. Very much like a bunch of sheep looking blankly at each other. However, so many leaders do it for one reason. Power!
It is true that many people that occupy senior positions in business and social life are at best ego maniacs with a desire to be put on a pedestal, and at worst outright psychopaths. The latter may sound harsh, I mean they are our leaders. But thinking about it one has to admit that what psychopaths generally desire is to have power, and politics and business gives you that. IN both cases, these leaders either find little chinks in our armour, exploiting fear or anger to such an extent that their blatant bigotry or lying is tolerated or over looked. I mean, they are looking out for us because they will protect us against this evil or that danger. As you are reading this you either already see such people around you or are getting a sense of unease about someone you may support or have been supporting.
History is littered with these people, often people that caused others great hardship and anguish, and often on the world stage, death in great numbers. They do not look like a monster (mostly). Often they are well spoken, successful and charming. Generally all of them are great orators. And their modus operand are all the same or similar. Think of world leaders like Stalin, Assad, Hitler, Pol Pot, Kim Jong-un. Also, smaller nations are littered with these people, such as PW Botha in my country, and yes our current president, Jaco Zuma is also in this class, although perhaps not as “successful” as the others.
As I watch current world affairs, listen to politicians lie to get office, or keep it, I cannot help wonder why even when we individually do not trust or agree with these people, often we support them as a collective. Is it perhaps that we do not have to account when making collective decisions on our leaders, where as if this was a decision about what car to buy or what shoes to wear, we take far greater care, as the impact is very personal?
These leaders all try and silence any opposition voice … not engage with it, but silence it. Truth is not their aim, but power. At all cost. They blame the press for their past or current actions. They belittle and attack opponents, not based on policy or fact, but often on such personal and petty levels, that it would not be tolerated in most households if their kids acted that way. They all find one or two buttons to push, generally ones that illicit fear. Currently it is the word Muslim, foreigner or big business. You just have to watch Donald Trump in the American presidential race or the leave campaign in England to know the way this works. Forget the facts. And once these leaders lead, they are always blaming others or history for their failures. They will never take accountability. They do not discuss, they shout and jump about on stage, working up emotions to the point where sane, intelligent people fall for their rhetoric. Yes, it is very much the same way charismatic churches hook you and keep you. And it works
Would it not be lovely that people take more interest in what their leaders say or do, and hold them to account for the things they do. Do not be one of those that contribute to the evil in the world. Nothing is above scrutiny. Not even religion. Ask tough questions. If you do not get answers be wary …. Be more wary if you get answers that makes no sense. And take action with your voice and vote. History is fortunately also littered by people that do this, and my hope is that with the world becoming smaller and more engaged, people will use knowledge to elect those to power that will at least try to make it better.
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