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THE EXPLANATION OF THE LEADERS’ CLASSIFICATIONS

THE EXPLANATION OF THE LEADERS’ CLASSIFICATIONS

The focus of today’s discourse is on the explanation of some the outlined classifications made in the just previous essay. I am going to do this using an analogy we all are conversant with, which is “do not give me fish, rather teach me how to fish” to explain the principles associated with some of these leaders being classified.

Let us assume that the leader owns a fish pond and his leadership purpose is to provide fresh fish to the members of the society at their steps. Here are possible things he could choose to do:

To the Followers
If he chooses to give people fish, he will end up having perpetual followers who are satisfactorily dependent on him.

To the Disciples
If he chooses to teach the people that follow him how to fish, he will end having perpetual workers who would rather go on strike for a pay raise or look for another fish pond owner to continue the same work.

To the Collaborators
If he chooses to teach people how to process, package and distribute fishes, he will end up having perpetual collaborator who are journey men whose concern would be to beat the target per month in order to retain their jobs.

To the Leaders
If he chooses to teach the people following him how to own a pond, he will end raising fellow pond owners and the distribution of wealth will almost be equaled.

By the classification you will discover the following: 1. There is a class of leaders who only gives the followers fish in other keep them as perpetual followers and those who give them fish but go the extra mile to also teach them how to fish in order to transit them into disciples. 2. There is a class of leaders who stop at teaching the disciples how to fish by making them perpetual partisans who will always work to earn a living just like we have in the civil service and those who go the extra mile to teach the disciples how to process and distribute fishes to the society by explaining what the leadership purpose is, which is to ensure that fishes are delivered at the door steps of each members of the society, in order to transit them into collaborators. 3. There is a class of leaders who stop at teaching the leadership purpose, processing and distribution methods who end up becoming perpetual journey men and those who go the extra mile to teach these journey men how to own a pond. 4. There is a class of leaders who stop at teaching the people how to own a pond without the corresponding initial startup capital to buy one and by so doing end up harboring disgruntled leaders.

Each of these individuals these leaders focus to raise will determine their overall progress in life, whether their achievements will outlive them or not. Looking at the above possible scenario, I have a personal policy in my leadership relationship with people that makes me only to give fish to the people who I understand have the desire to learn how to fish. And their desire for learning how to fish must be predicated on the need to be taught how to own their ponds, which enables me to properly transit them from being followers to leaders on the long run. What is your leadership policy like; to keep perpetual followers or keep perpetual disciples or keep perpetual collaborators or keep perpetual leaders or to help your followers transit into leaders who will eventually reproduce your performance and in the run out perform you? It is strictly your discretion to belong to any of these classifications depending on whether you need your achievements to outlive you.

In the next essay I shall begin a discourse on the dynamics of influencing your leaders. Just be on the lookout for more.

Elvis C. Umez
Leadership Consultant
School of Leadership Development (SOLD)
IDB Consult

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