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For the sake of writing ease, the term, “he”, (and other associated terms) is all-inclusive, and used to depict a prized leader, but in no way implies that “he” can’t be a “she”.
In a world where elections brew every now and then; where some of them are imminent and ominous, others not; in an instance where the power struggle kicks up a notch and everyone appears divided with people speculating on who and what; when all try to navigate and/or balance between a wave of change and the stiff breeze of the same old status quo; in the event that the people get stirred and they suddenly realize (and believe) again that they have another opportunity to steer their country in a better direction, any day is as good as any to ponder on who a prized leader is.
Who is a leader of caliber? What does it take to be a leader of caliber? History has shown that anyone can rise to a position of leadership legitimately, or by hook, crook, deceit, or mere chance. Some may attain a position of leadership based on ability, credibility, and collective agreement; others may have by throwing those precluding bases out the window. We have all seen it in our lifetime at some point.
However, one thing that will always stand true is that in the long list of leaders that get on and off the throne, eventually, the proverbial sheep always gets separated from the goats. The leadership seat has always been a hot seat, and whoever sits in it will be tried. Like in a miner’s fire, with enough heat, the stones are told from the diamonds. When the inevitable events begin to grab at the control of the helm of things, the leader’s true colors always come out – his true character always revealed; destiny and providence take over.
To understand what and who a prized leader is, it must be first understood what he should never be. The prized leader cannot be a bogus leader.
The Bogus Leader
A bogus leader is illegitimate. A common trait amongst such leaders is their rise to power illegitimately, and their continuous fighting of an uphill battle to prove their legitimacy. A bogus leader is spurious, fraudulent, and has a misleading appearance. A bogus leader is loved and promoted by crooks just like him, and by those too oblivious of the truth. He (in the company of his cohorts and elite gangsters) enjoys people’s ignorance and feeds on this ignorance to advance his own agenda. He always fights dirty, and employs disruption and harassment tactics. Like a guerrilla, he doesn’t know how else to fight. Every negative event is another opportunity to steal a little more power. He promotes perverted justice, and will eventually be a thing of the past, a bitter after-taste in people’s mouth. He is the epitome-in-training of the phrase, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
A Leader in the Making
Before becoming an actual leader, one that shakes his generation, the person in question has to go through a subtle yet rigorous training process (or a development process). This should not be mistaken with gaining experience, but goes a couple of notches above experience. Why? Because over and over again people (including myself) continue to run into those with years of experience and involvement, but at the end of the day their level of knowledge and understanding is equal at best to others with considerably “less” experience who may either be gifted, or just worked much harder in a lesser amount of time. When this displacement occurs, it raises the question of what these supposed sages had been doing.
Senator Joe Biden said during an interview that, “Experience only matters if you couple it with judgment”. Him and many others have echoed similar statements over time. Experience is not the only criteria, but carries more weight when judgment, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding is thrown into the mix. A leader in the making spends his whole life waiting to fulfill his destiny. Though the opportunity may have suddenly lent itself, a seasoned leader in training is poised and ready to emerge from obscurity, and greatly stir a nation. A prime example is the biblical David and Goliath story.
A Leader of Caliber
A leader of caliber is a quality leader in every sense of the word. He has ability, talent, and competence. More importantly he has an aptitude to pick things up quickly and adjust with ease to situations as they occur. This is especially imperative because no one can know everything all the time.
A leader of caliber is fluid and flexible, but not impressionable. He cannot be stuck in his ways. He is driven by self-motivation, and yet, is selfless in attitude. His confidence and sureness of self may be easily mistaken for a display of ego and bravado, but is not necessarily the case. He has good judgment and integrity, and is guided by humility, which isn’t learned overnight, but established over time.
A leader of caliber is a lion not a tiger. Based on the archetypal analogy, the lion has charisma, diplomacy, and power. It can effect strategies and principles by using less force and aggressive tactics. The lion can be termed a sleeping giant, who ignores a lot of side distractions, but when stirred can become quite ferocious, long enough to enforce order, a correction, or stability within his pride. A tiger on the other hand is reckless, a maverick, and reactionary. Force, aggression, and spurts of anger are its strong suits; deceit and cunning are its shadow; the tiger is pushed by its ego, and a sense of entitlement.
A leader of caliber can definitely make mistakes. However, he corrects them, apologizes when necessary, but does not excuse them, perpetuate them, or attempt to dissuade people’s perception when not in his favor (especially when wrong).
A leader of caliber does not willingly allow anyone to get the best of him, ruin, or destroy his potential. He always acts in moderation, and never does anything in excess. Everything gets its due diligence, and a balance is enforced. He fights for the people – those who need to be fought for. He speaks for those that cannot speak for themselves; he defends the powerless and those without aid. He has strong views about certain issues, but he doesn’t let his views negatively affect those that he has sworn to serve. He is not a magician, and can only lead those that give him an opportunity to lead them.
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Finally, suffice it to say (as far as this article is concerned) that there are many leaders with their own level of caliber, but often, in a prolonged moment in time, one tends to excel above them all – that is the prized leader. If a nation, party or creed stumbles on one and lets him slip away, they, not him, are to blame. If such an instance does occur, those who will continue laughing are those with power and means, while the rest continue to be brainwashed, or continue in their cycle of complaint.
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