the leader i will follow

the kind of leader i will follow is

a person with—
a heart of a servant,
a soul of a mentor,
a mind of a manager, and
the strength of a leader.

heart of a servant.
true servants have
a real sense of inner security,
a genuine sense of greatness—
enough to be truly humble.
for all true great leaders are humble servants.

soul of a mentor.
mentors are serving teachers.
mentors are also teaching servants.
their students respect them,
not merely because of their words of knowledge,
but mostly because of their works of wisdom.

mind of a manager.
effective managers accomplish tasks
through well-trained people.
well-trained and competent people are
the products of good mentorship.
competent and effective people are
motivated by servant-mentors.

strength of a leader.
the leader’s strength is her or his—
moral authority as a servant,
proven multiplication of learners as a mentor,
accomplishment of tasks as a manager.
people follow this kind of leader
primarily because of internal motivations,
not just because of external motivations.

if leadership is a pyramid
the foundation must be one’s desire to serve,
which will be the basis of
one’s credibility to be a mentor,
which will be the basis of
one’s qualification to manage,
which will be the basis
of one’s authority to lead.

it may be very difficult to find
all these virtues in one person—
like moses, gautama, jesus,
mohammed, ghandi, teresa, mandela…
that’s why it’s necessary to form a team
consisting of various people—
heart of a servant,
soul of a mentor,
mind of a manager, and
strength of a leader.

i dream to be this kind of a leader.