Leadership demands physical maturity. A leader must be physically fit.
King Saul was elected as a king just because of his physical fitness. He was a giant man. In many cultures, a leader is expected to be a man or woman with strong muscles. He/she should not appear weak. Sometimes, a child chosen to be a leader is given special meals. His/her body is built to look very strong before the eyes of everyone.
A leader who is not physically fit is undermined. People respect the person they see is more fit than them. Even a child will look down on you if you are not strong. Your physical fitness gains you respect. You make people obey your commands. Sometimes a leader is selected after a fight. Two rivals are made to fight and the winner is made the leader. People expect the leader to be that tall guy, that fat guy, that strong guy or that huge guy.
With physical strength, a leader is believed to protect his people. With buffalos, the leader attacks first. A leader must be in front line. He/she must fight first. Even women like men who are physically fit. A weak man is not loved by any woman. That guy who can beat everyone is preferred by women. They know he can protect them during danger. They know he can protect their children.
Leadership is full of missions. As a leader you must move from place to place. Just take the time of the liberation, those leaders had to move in the bush with people. They would not manage if they were not physically fit. Sometimes, the mission is full of running from here and there. You must run with people as a leader. A leader must be free of sickness to fit for the mission.
Work on your physical fitness before you think of becoming a leader. The first challenge of leadership is your physical strength. How you look matters in leadership. You must have strong muscles. Do enough physical activities. Go for gym. Be a boxer if you can. It has an advantage as becoming a leader is concerned. People elect you because they know you can beat them if they play with your leadership. There are some other leaders who will even slap you for nothing. If you are physically fit, they will not attempt. This is about a mind-set. People’s mind is set to respect a leader who is stronger than them. As a young person, don’t rush for leadership. Question your physical fitness. Be reminded that physical fitness is not enough to be a leader. The next is mental maturity.
Mental fitness is the key determiner for leadership. A leader must be mentally mature. This mental maturity comes through experiential knowledge. It does not come through head knowledge. Sometimes, young people think they can climb to the top as soon as they finish basic degree. To be honest, the result is depression. We are not taught in schools to be leaders. We learn to be leaders after school through experiencing life. Leadership is about life.
A matured mind will be able to manage leadership issues. The time you become a leader; it is the time everyone will expect that you do everything right. You will be expected to solve problems. You will be expected to plan for the community. You will be expected to teach the community. You will be expected to direct the community. People will stress you. You will manage the stress if you are mentally fit.
You should be wise enough to handle matters concerning your community. Wisdom is experiential. As young people, learn slowly from the wise elders to take up leadership role. Challenge your mental world. Expose your mind to many things. Learn to solve problems first at home. Learn to think big. Plan your mind to be a leader one time. Preparedness is readiness. When you say you are ready to be a leader, we automatically believe that you are prepared for it. Avoid pressures that can make you rush for leadership. Your community will come for you if they know you are mentally matured.
Leadership demands your financial maturity at most. A person who is not financially fit is not fit for leadership. Throughout the centuries, leaders were, are and will always be rich ones. These people don’t become rich after leadership. They are rich before leadership. You must have food. Leadership is a promise that you can feed people. Visitors will come to your home. You must feed them. Other leaders from other nations will come to your home. They expect you to meet their standard.
It is sad that people in my nation think it is leadership to make them rich. For the visionary leaders, leadership is to make them poorer instead. You become poor because you feed your community with your own resources. Leadership is not an opening door to become rich. You must make money before you think of becoming a leader.
If you become a leader while poor, you will automatically corrupt. You will not avoid corruption. As a leader you must prove to be rich. You will just use the nation’s money to prove it. People will come to you begging for money. They are coming to beg your own money. It is not the nation’s money. Many leaders in my nation will just write a letter to the central bank with the signature of the leader. The money in the central bank does not belong to the leader. It belongs to the nation. It must go out with what the nation has planned for its use.
I have also learned that people borrow money to campaign for leadership. Come on! What are you proving? Financial fitness is a leadership requirement. How can you be financially fit with someone’s money? If you are not financially fit, just don’t waste your time rushing for leadership. Rush for money instead. If you have money, you will get many supporters. People support money. They don’t support you. The time your money disappears, the time they leave you. The time your money reappears, the time they come back for you.
A person preparing to be a leader must start feeding people before he/she becomes a leader. Vultures only gather when there is dead animal to be eaten. Your people gather at your home when they know there is food at home. People will walk with you when they know you can feed them. People will talk good of you when they know you have money. Though you mistreat them, they won’t mind since you give them food. A dog does not leave the owner because of the beating. It leaves when the owner does not give it food. A dog interprets beating as love. Anyone will interpret mistreatment as love if you give them food.
Leadership demands social maturity. You don’t have a family but you want to be a leader. You are not connected to anyone and you claim to be a leader. You don’t know your social beginning you think you can be a leader.
There are many symbols to our social fitness. A married man is expected to lead. Everything begins from the family. A man or woman who is able to solve family matters can also solve the nation’s matters. In my culture, a single man is not made a chief. People must see your family first. You must first raise successful children. If you are not responsible at home, where else can you be responsible? If you always fight at home, it is what you will even promote when put a leader.
Another social symbol for leadership is cultural participation. You cannot be a good leader if you don’t know your culture. Culture is our true identity. In the culture, we have language. You must speak your first language perfectly well. In the culture, we have our cultural dance. Some people think it is too local to dance. I need to tell you, you are too deceived to overlook the obvious.
Our social exposure is also a great symbol for leadership. A leader who is not socially exposed will always be tribal. As a leader, you must know other cultures. There is no nation will one ethnic group. You can interact with the cultures of all the tribes in the nation if you want to be a nation’s leader. You must fit in every social setting.
A young person aspiring to be a leader, you must learn experientially to be a social being. Study your culture properly. Ask elders to tell you how life was in the past. Learn to be a friend to everyone. Learn to accept other people’s cultures. Be a leader at home. Correct your social world view. Don’t be isolated. A leader is found in the group. Build your speaking ability. A leader must eloquent.
Finally, leadership demands spiritual maturity. Nebuchadnezzar was spiritually immature; he led his people to worship an image. Leaders who don’t connect with God don’t bring peace into the nation. Peace only comes from God. Wisdom only comes from God. Connect with God to lead well. Moses connected with God. He led Israelites to the promise land.
Don’t rush to be a leader. Rush to be mature physically, mentally, financially, socially and spiritually. Be patient. Your time will call for you. You will make a great leader.
Be kind to the nation.