Chekrovei Cho-o
Of late, it has become pretty tough to get in touch with most of our leaders—our phone calls are ignored, our text messages are ignored, our mails are not no paid heed to, forget about getting our job done. And they say. “I was too busy!” The fact is that, if a leader is too busy to keep in touch with people, he or she becomes a leader of the organization at the expense of the members of the organization. This is a terrible reality we’re facing in our society today. Of course, there are wonderful leaders in Naga society. They’re people persons. They’re helpful people; their goal in their career is to extend help to anyone who may need their humble service. There are medical doctors who keep the communication open even in Operation Theatre without switching off their mobile phone. There are leaders who would receive your phone call even in the middle of the night and still not be annoyed. We need to be truly grateful to these Good Samaritan leaders. Hats off to them! This article is for people who occupy important places in the offices, be it a tribal body, student community, government establishment, or any organization, but have not yet learned to act as leaders.
After you become a leader, if your contact with people becomes selective instead of expanding, something is wrong with your leadership because you’re not just the leader of leaders but the general public (no matter how insignificant they are) although you need to coordinate with your subordinates more often. It’s extremely vital to be sensitive to the needs of even the least among the bonafide members of your organization. If your contact is only with people who can benefit you than render your service, you become an egotist, not a leader. Many leaders among the Nagas today are becoming too self-centered. Mega-events are becoming more important than helping people or equipping people at the grass-root level. These leaders put more attention on the events or organizational reputation than meeting the needs of the people. This leadership sickness is called “Ego-gratification.” Becoming a leader does not make you great; it only brings you greater responsibility; the higher the organization, the greater the responsibility. If you’re not aware of this fact, you better revisit your attitude.
In spite of too many leaders leading to leadership crisis in Nagaland, we still experience famine of leadership. Leaders who are truly for the people they lead are still rare. People who head the organizations are not necessarily leaders in the real sense. Leaders are who plan with people, organize people, lead people, and facilitate opportunity, all for the welfare of the people. They are leaders who are accessible, approachable, and responsive to people’s needs.
Alexander Strauch believes that the organizational changes that occurred during the early centuries of Christianity were disastrous. Christianity, the humblest of all faiths, degenerated into most power-hungry and elaborately hierarchical religion on the face of the earth. Nearly everything Christ had taught and lived was distorted; the pristine character of Christianity was lost. The principles of humility and servant-hood are at the very heart of Christ’s teaching. And his teachings were directed not only to the clergies but to all Christians who occupy important leadership positions. In fact, Jesus himself was not a religious professional. He was a carpenter by trade, not a clergy.
For Christians there’s no difference between sacred and secular service. All are expected to serve him by serving people with utmost humility and dedication. A leader who lacks humility will find hard to serve people but only look for opportunity to be served and honored. Max Depree says, “Above all, leadership is a position of servant-hood.” And, Laurrie Beth Jones opines that, the principles of service is what separates true leaders from glory-seekers. Blessed are you if you’re a leader of the people. May your kind of leader increase! But, if you occupy the chair of an organization and still not a leader yet, it’s time that you start leading people today than remain in your chair at the expense of the people. Hoping to meet more accessible, approachable, and responsive leaders in the years to come!
