TO BE A LEADER OR TO BE A BOSS, THAT IS INDEED THE QUESTION!

Our God who is in heaven, I thank you for being in my life. You have been gracious to me & you have watched over me. I thank you for giving me the gift of life & the use of all my limbs. I thank you for giving me a place to call home. I thank you for giving me people who love & care about me. I thank you for each day that I see the light of day. I thank you for who you are in my life. Amen!

Are you feeling low & cringing at the thought of yet another Monday? Exclaiming is it Monday again! Do you wake up each morning & ask yourself do I really need to go to work? Do you get sudden heartaches any time your superior calls you for an impromptu meeting? 

Do you hide behind the paperwork anytime assignments are being handed out at work? Do you catch your breath every time when your superior is choosing someone to do the work presentation? Well, don’t look for me for answers. I have sailed on the same boat with plenty of leaking holes. 

I was merely asking, noting that this are questions I have also asked myself a number of times. We do fall short of the greatness that is meant to grace our presence. In a family set up, as a man you are expected a be the holder of the fiery torch & wielder of the spear of destiny. 

As a man you are expected to be the leader, the provider, the protector, the comforter & so on. You are asking how does this apply to the work environment. Well, at the work place you are to be the one who knows the way, shows the way & goes the way hence leadership. 

Whenever the work place is to thrive a client needs to be there for services to be rendered. In addition, a remuneration is required to one who provides the service hence being the provider. At the time a situation gets out of hand, you are the one who shields your juniors from their heads being bitten off by an angry party. 

If in the event of a presentation being done in your stead or that of the company or work place & it doesn’t go as planned. It is not the time to throw your junior under the bus but rather bit the bullet together with them, as you are meant to be a team hence the protector. 

Everyone has emotions & there are times that they may overwhelm them to the point that functionality & productivity comes to a standstill. The morale of the person who is not performing can be uplifted. If one is unwell, it is not the time to curse them out hence being the comforter. 

I am not stating that this is exhaustive but merely pointing out the relation that we need to understand & come to terms with it. It is quite evident that most times a boss usually gives orders & is a “know it all” kind of person & his/her voice is the only one to be heard. 

A true leader does ignite a spark in you to do more & be more. It is common place for a boss to focus on the statistics & results, while a leader sees when a person needs to hear a good word to boost their mood/morale. It is notable that when you are an employer you can either be a boss, a leader of both. 

One thing to take into consideration is that a good boss is a good leader. Did you know that you don’t inspire your teammates by showing them how amazing you are; you inspire them by showing how amazing they are. “Followers think & talk about their problems. Leaders think & talk about the solutions - Brian Tracy”. 

You ought to chat out loud that you are a leader & not a boss. Let me break it down to the common traits that differentiate one as being a leader or a boss: A boss knows everything; a leader admits mistakes. A boss tells people what to do, a leader shows how to do things. 

A boss criticizes, a leader gives advice. A boss demands respect; a leader earns & deserves respect. A boss rules with threats, a leader shows human kindness. A boss relies on word of mouth; a leader fact finds. As Arnold H. Glasow once stated that a good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit. 

As I have said before to easily understand the character of a person, watch how they treat a waiter will reveal who they are or how they treat those who can’t do anything for them. If you are an employer, you need to check yourself. If you are someone who thinks it is okay to shout at your employees or juniors, you need to hold your tongue. 

It is important to understand that this are also people who have emotions that can get hurt. If you are one to play the blame game against your juniors when a wrong is done, you need to own up & help in cleaning the mess. If you are one who likes to bark orders within the job arena like a dog with rabies, you have to compose yourself & be gentle with those under you. 

If you are one who only goes with what is whispered in your ears, instead of hard cold facts you better get your head straight & work with the full information & not the words slipping off the deceiving tongue. If you are one who assumes that you hold all knowledge like Apollo the Greek god, you better know that no one is an island. 

When you lift others to soar like an eagle, you shall all rise like the phoenix & achieve what you have set in your mind. Be that one who is able to uplift the moral of those who work with you rather than proclaim yourself to be a demigod. The choice lies with you as to what & who you are!

BELIEVING IS SEEING!

I tell you, from where am seated the clouds are looking all pregnant with rain like a miraculous birth is just about to take place. You know like that moment you are told, “we need to talk” & you know it is about to go down & you become tense with anxiety, eyes popping out of their sockets. 

The clouds bringing forth to the merry earth the splendor from its belly the waters to cool the land. As the scorching sun, is playing peekaboo with us mere mortals giving us warmth in piecemeal. Indeed, we live in strange times when it can be raining & sunny at the same time. 

It is a marvel that we are not yet extinct considering how we have violated the earth by polluting it left, right & center. Claiming that it is not my responsibility to clean up after myself. Anyway, enough of the nursery rhymes & back to the reality check. If they told you that it is easy they lied to you. 

If it was so easy we will all be doing it & would have reached the greatest heights of our lives pretty quick. Stop scratching your head, am explaining myself in the next line what I mean. Do not be lied to by the movies that shows you how the bad guy gets to have it all. 

The fast cars, the fancy houses, the bags full of cash, the beautiful women/handsome men, the stylish clothes & so on. Did you know that we are a people engineered to use short cuts to make things in our lives work? Why you ask? Well, when dealing with a short cut it will save you the time, the energy, the thought process, the obstacles & so forth. 

What you do not get to know or factor in at the time is short as it is, it will be short lived (no pun intended). We may deem that when I use the quickest route I will get there faster, which I will agree with you to some extent. However, you will not have calculated the details that will make your plan work & the eventualities to follow. 

It may show progress for some time but eventually the past will catch up with you. Ask Pablo Escobar, he made his money from the addiction of the people to drugs but soon thereafter he ate lead. Do you know that even though Samson was the strongest man during his time, he also had his own shortcomings? 

At the younger age he didn't have the miraculous hair that gave him untold strength. He was a common man & that is why God worked on him to make him a vessel for his use (this I can be corrected if am wrong). If we look at the times that we are current in, covid-19 has made it its purpose for us to forcefully change our way of life & reveal our true selves. 

Yes, it is a virus that can't be disputed except by the few here & there. But right now, we are doing things on a different level. No one would have thought we would be reduced from physical interaction to technological gadgets so as to do our work, interact, earn a living & so on. 

We are in unprecedented times that requires us to be more vigilant in our dealings. It is said that when you face a challenge or an obstacle, see how you can seize the opportunity that is presenting itself. One may raise a question, what can I learn from this pandemic that can make my life better. 

For starters it has shown that we need to work on our hygiene which we have not being maintaining to the expected standard. It has also shown us that technology should not be feared but embraced. Also, it has shown us that physical interactions which we took for granted like hugs, handshakes, pecks can be switched off in an instance. 

You may chime in & say what about the people of the rural areas or setting. Well, you have been shown that eating organic foods from the farm has its own health benefits & that those in such area areas work but on a different way to make life comfortable & bearable. 

This may not be exhaustive but the moment we have been getting used to has taken an about turn & we have been forced to slow down, catch our breath & take a moment to appreciate what we have. Those who are lucky to have jobs, you have realized that living pay cheque to pay cheque is not sustainable & requires an alternative source of income. 

We are all learning to have a worthwhile life. Nothing is granted any more, now we are working towards securing our future & present times as the past has taught us we need to be better prepared as life is not taking any prisoners. The going will be tough but you are built for this. 

You need not to doubt yourself, circumstances may make you question the sense of being alive but there is a greater plan formulating just do your part the rest will fall in place. Live in the now & plan your life accordingly, things will not just work out automatically but if your put in the correct strategies then it should get better. 

Plan your time more wisely by looking at how you spend your day. Is it spent on the internet or idling or is it something you can account for by being productive. If you are working hard to earn that coin to sustain yourself, are you investing it, saving it or are you just squandering it & saying tomorrow will take care of itself. 

When it comes to finances, you should be the last person to taste it like the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden. If you are salaried, you need to understand that money has a lifespan. The first thing to do when you get it is, give God his dues by tithing, pay your bills that is rent, water & electricity, invest in the things that will make your money grow & not just putting it in a bank account like the money market fund or shares or bonds. 

You then proceed to save some of it for a rainy day because you never know when you will need to break open the piggy. Lastly you can spend the few coins remaining to treat yourself or your loved ones. There are days that you will wake up & feel like discovering the earth hidden treasures like Vasco Da Gama. 

Other days you will feel like you need a break & need to hide your head deep in the sand like the ostrich. There are times you will feel like tearing at the roots of your hair. Other days you will feel like fortune has favored you. There are days you will feel like Peter Pan wanting to float around & not give a care in the world. 

While other, days you will want to reach out & take in the example of being like Jesus. You! Yes, you, the one reading this post. Are you tired of life, do you feel drained at every moment? Is your waking moment dreaded when you are leaving your bed? 

Does it feel like as if you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders? Is it a chore when you are asked to help others? Fear not my friend you are not alone; we are all cut from different clothes that make up the rag. You need to know that I am loved, someone cares about me, there is hope, I will make it, there is nothing I can’t do, I am meant for greatness & God still has got my back. 

If you have watched the 2006 movie The Pursuit of Happyness it will show you that life is but a stair cases with different steps that you have to climb to reach your appointed destiny. Every stage of your life is programmed to test you in one way & eventually you will discover your true purpose in life. It will not be easy but it will be worthy. 

In the words of Les Brown, “if life knocks you down, try landing on your back. Because if you can look up, you can get up. Never give up!”