Genuine, generous, honest, flawed leaders are the best leaders.
Why?
Honest, straightforward people who help folks but make ample mistakes are called “human beings”. Human beings are about the best leaders for fellow human beings because human leaders teach human followers from fallible, less than perfect, genuine energies.
In terms of corporate, politics and education, or in any field, the worst leaders harbor unrealistic expectations, always say the right things (aka lie to bolster false, flimsy appearances), and appear to be flawless. Any alleged leader who appears to be flawless is either enlightened, lies between their teeth or has engineered a web of secrecy to hide their mistakes.
Pay particularly close attention to any leader in a corporate or political setting who:
- makes mistakes
- owns their mistakes
- apologizes for their mistakes
- corrects their mistakes
Noting these humans clearly indicates: you have a bona-fide leader before your very eyes! But most people do expect leaders not to spend 8-12 hours daily making 5, 10 or 20 mistakes every single day. Making mistakes and doing little empowering obviously does not make you a leader. Empowering humans to be great, to excel, to shine on their own and to be future leaders, giving generously of your time and talent, and flubbing up along the way, admitting errors, all seem to be traits of the best leaders.
Beware False Leaders
Particularly, politicians and corporate types seem to be prone to being false leaders a bit too often. Politicians who always say the right things fear saying the wrong thing. Do you effectively lead human beings if you fear being honest, direct, clear and straightforward with them? Nope. How can you be genuine if you say things almost solely to uphold appearances, to prop up illusions and to sugar-coat situations better served for gulping down unpleasantly, similar to eating saltine crackers after not drinking a cup of water for 24 hours?
Run, do not walk, from political or corporate leaders who make enlightened promises but employ fear, manipulation and force to drill these concepts into your mind. No human being has mastered the art of forcing love onto humans with the tool of fear. Perhaps one part of these individuals means well but a bigger part is lying to you to get you to do what they want you to do; psyche 101 here folks, not rocket science.
Leaders Empower Freedom
Real leaders empower followers to be completely free, 100% independent of the leader and more than anything, real leaders lead a MOVEMENT versus putting attention and energy onto themselves as being a savior, a god or some critical cog in the movement.
Pay particularly close attention to any CEO, prime minister or president who places a strong emphasis on the company, nation or country before themselves. Even less than perfect CEO's, prime ministers and presidents who appear to be riddled with character flaws and various other human mental maladies can be outstanding leaders if said individuals empower a substantial portion of their followers to think, feel and act freely, independent of the leader.
I run a leader through the independence test; does the CEO or president empower followers to be free, healthy, prospering and inspiring, to a new generation of followers? Yes? That is a leader, folks.
No one else is a real, genuine leader because anyone telling you that you need them for help, for leadership, for guidance and for support obviously has their own selfish, manipulative interests at heart, feasting on your loyalty for their own gain, their own power and their own ego. These energetic vampires do not lead and free new leaders, but program a sense of victimhood, entitlement and weakness among their followers, making their followers dependent on them for their lot in life.
Avoid these alleged leaders like the plague.
Ultimately, you are the only leader who matters in your life because all matters of import flow from your heart.
But as a worldly citizen of a nation, an employee in a company or a follower of any religion, keeping these ideas in mind lets you see the real leaders from the energetic leeches of the world.
