Leadership is a broad yet novel
concept in academia even though it has been in existence since time immemorial
in practice. There are multiple types of leadership styles, but this research
will focus on five which are Autocratic, Democratic, Laissez faire,
Transactional and fiTransformational leadership styles. The five leaders whom
the author of this paper felt greatly influences him as an individual and
aspiring leader are Jesus Christ, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Sayyid Ruhollah
Musavi Khomeini, Professor Rungano Jonas Zvobgo and Robert Gabriel Mugabe. This
paper will begin by defining what leadership is in both the Western and Eastern
context, and give a description of leaders, their leadership styles and how
this author benefits and feels inspired by the leaders.
Leadership
Leadership is defined as leadership
is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common
goal (Ward, 2018). This is can either be in the social, business or political
contexts. This leadership definition captures the essentials of being able to
inspire others and being prepared to do so. Effective leadership is based upon
ideas (whether original or borrowed), but won't happen unless those ideas can
be communicated to others in a way that engages them enough to act as the
leader wants them to act. Put even more simply, the leader is the inspiration
and director of the action. He or she is the person in the group that possesses
the combination of personality and leadership skills that makes others want to
follow his or her direction. Leadership is a social influence process in which
the leader seeks the voluntary participation of subordinates in an effort to
reach organization goals (Omolayo, 2007).
According to DuBrin (2001) as cited in Mukkelli (2013) leadership style
is the relatively consistent pattern of behavior that characterizes a leader. A
common fact among leaders and leadership is that there must be a shared goal to
be met and there must be followers who share the need to achieve that shared
goal.
Jesus Christ
The leader who has, and continues to
inspire and influence this author is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was a
first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of
Christianity. Most Christians believe he is the incarnation of God the Son and
the awaited Messiah (Christ) prophesied in the Old Testament by the prophet
Isaiah. Jesus Christ is believed to have been born in Nazareth in Galilee in
the Middle East of the Virgin Mary conceived through the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ practiced the servant
leadership style. Having born of humble parents, with a father who was a
carpenter, Jesus Christ sought to acquire knowledge at the tender age of
twelve. At twelve years of age when he was taken to Jerusalem for the Passover
festival Jesus Christ stayed behind questioning and quizzing men of wisdom and
understanding in the temple(Luke 2:41-47). The insatiable appetite for
knowledge and wisdom is the same appetite that this author shares both in
pursuit of knowledge and wisdom as well as in questioning status quos. This has
helped the author in the acquisition of both knowledge and wisdom.
Jesus Christ was a determined and
resolute being who saw to completion the things he would have started. Even as
he fasted for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness and was tempted by
Lucifer to turn rocks into bread so as to quench his appetite he remain
steadfast in his fasting. He also refused to warship Lucifer in exchange for
all the riches in this world. This tenacious and resolute aspect of Jesus
Christ inspires the author in that corruption is a scourge that has taken over
most leaders the world over and when one reflects on the experiences of Jesus
Christ then one feels motivated to remain resolute to ethical principles even
in the face of easy pickings in financial gain.
Jesus Christ was a servant leadership
who always led by example in whatever he did. At the age of thirty he was
baptized by John the Baptist as a gesture of rebirth and the cleansing of sin
even though he was perfect and without sin. He washed the feet of his disciples
as a demonstration of what they ought to do. Even at his crucification at
Golgotha, Jesus Christ took the time to forgive those who had crucified him. At
his death a soldier exclaimed that they had indeed killed the son of God. Jesus
Christ as a leader transformed the world as we know it today. He inspired
Christianity as a religious movement and that juxtaposes him as a
transformational leader as well. The most inspirational quote of Jesus Christ
that greatly influences this author is John 13:34 “A new commandment I give unto you, yea love one another as I have
loved you. Yeah love one another.”
Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi
Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi
better known to the western world as Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was born on 1
September 1969 in Sirte Libya and was murdered on 20 October 2011 in Sirte
Libya. Colonel Gaddafi dropped out of the University of Benghazi were he was
studying Geography in order to pursue a military career. He was an avid
follower, protégé and ally of the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. By the
age of twenty seven when he was an army captain heled a bloodless couple which
led to the removal of the monarch and his installation as the first democratic
leader of Libya as well as his subsequent promotion from Caption to Colonel.
His success in leading a bloodless coup places Colonel Muammar Gaddafi as a
leader who respected the sanctity of human life. As an autocratic leader his
respect of human life differentiates him from other autocratic leaders who were
known to be blood thirsty such as Adolf Hitler of the Jewish Holocaust, Kim
Jong In and his firing squad, and Robert Gabriel Mugabe and the Gukurahundi.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi practiced a
leadership style that we autocratic in a transformational manner and yet people
centered as well. During his reign at the helm of Libyan politics Colonel
Muammar Gaddafi transformed Libya from being a low income earning country to
being an upper middle class economy. Under the stewardship of Colonel Muammar
Gaddafi Libya become the owner of all the big companies in Libya and the wealth
was distributed among the Libyan citizenry. During the reign of Colonel Muammar
Gaddafi Libya was the best country in the world by comparative standards as
Libya offered $50000.00 to newlyweds, $5000.00 to mothers who would have given
birth, free health care, free education, vehicle purchases subsidized by 50%,
unemployment benefit equivalent to the salary of someone in fulltime employment
in the field, free electricity and a monthly oil allowance to all citizens.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was a unifier
advocating and championing socialism throughout Africa. At the time of his
murder he was advocating for a United States of Africa (Al Jazeera, 2011). The
achievements of Colonel Gaddafi are better viewed in comparison with other
countries only then can one conclude that Libya was the best country in the
modern world under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi than any country has ever been in
the comparable period. The author’s favorite quotes by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi
are, “Let the people of the free world
know that we could have bargained over and sold out our cause in return for a
personal, secure and stable life. We received many offers to this effect but we
chose to be at the vanguard of the confrontation as a badge of duty and honor.”
And “Man’s freedom is lacking if
someone else controls what he needs, for need may result in man’s enslavement
of man.” (Asser, 2011).
Imam Sayyid Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini
Imam Sayyid Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini
known to the western imperialists as Ayatollah Khomeini was a Shia Muslim
Cleric in Tehran, Iran. Imam Khomeini was born on 24 September 1902 and died on
3 June 1989. Imam Khomeini was a marja
or source of emulation in Shia Islam. He was also a Mujtahid or Faqih (An
expert of Islamic law) in addition to authoring more than forty books. He is
however renowned for being the First Supreme Leader of Iran and to have led the
political revolution in Iran that saw the overthrow of the last Shah of Iran,
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979. Imam Khomeini was different from the other
Muslim religious leaders who are radical and intolerant of other religious
groups. Imam Khomeini was tolerant of other religions, other forms of Islam and
even criticism.
Imam Khomeini was a selfless leader
who after successfully leading the Iranian Revolution gave executive power to
run the Iranian state to the council whilst he took a predominantly religious
and advisory role to government. The charisma of Imam Khomeini ensured that he was
so popular among Iranians in particular and Muslims in general that he was
affectionately known as Grand Ayatollah even though his official tittle remain
Imam which in itself remains a huge Islamic Leadership Honorary tittle. The selflessness
of Imam Khomeini as well as his tolerance of others inspires this author as an
aspiring leader to be tolerant of diversity.
Professor Rungano Jonas Zvobgo
When the talk of learned people in
Zimbabwe come up there is one family that stands out shoulders above the rest,
which is the Zvobgo family of Masvingo. So educated are the family that at one
point Edson Zvobgo claimed that if the family’s academic certificates are to be
burnt a meal can actually be cooked. My greatest academic inspiration happens
to be Professor Rungano Jonas Zvobgo a Zimbabwean academic and administrator.
Professor Zvobgo has had vast
experience in the higher and tertiary education sector in Zimbabwe. He is a
well published scholar with numerous book, journal articles as well as papers
presented at conferences. Professor Zvobgo has won a plethora of awards for
both his writing as well as his administration skills. Professor Zvobgo has won
local, National, Regional as well as international recognition for his sterling
work as an academic (www.gzu.ac.zw).
Professor Zvobgo is a transformational
leader who is result oriented and endeavors to transform the area under his
jurisdiction. When he arrived at Great Zimbabwe University in 2012 as the Vice
Chancellor, professor Zvobgo introduced a plethora of transformational changes
that changed the kaleidoscope of the university and shaped a new trajectory. He
transformed Great Zimbabwe University from being a minor state University to
becoming one of the fast growing universities in Zimbabwe offering a wide range
of degree programs, using the multi campus system.
Professor Zvobgo inspires the author in
that he is a charismatic academic leader who not only inspires vision, but sees
the achievement of that vision. As a leader Professor Zvobgo is a
compassionate, humble and accessible leader as the author benefited from his
compassionate discretion during his undergraduate studies at Great Zimbabwe
University. The author seeks to borrow from the education of Professor Zvobgo
as well as his charismatic ability and transformational leadership style.
Robert Gabriel Mugabe
Former Zimbabwean president Robert
Gabriel Mugabe is a leader of extreme distinction. He was born on the 21st
of February 1924. He served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987
after which he assumed the presidency. He was unseated from power during a
coup-de-tart which was orchestrated by his then estranged deputy president
Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa whom he had fired from the vice presidency.
He is the most educated man ever to
become a president. In his tenure as a leader of Zimbabwe, President Mugabe has
won a number of local and international awards including getting honorary
degrees from almost every continent and getting Knighthood from the Queen of
England. Robert Mugabe was a fearless leader who stood by principle and upheld
both the will of his people as well as the African value of Ubuntu. His
greatest achievement which was his greatest undoing in the face of the Western
imperialists was redistributing Zimbabwean land which had been in the control
of the white minority twenty years after the attainment of independence.
President Robert Mugabe was also
resolute in denouncing homosexuality. This resolute denouncement of
homosexuality was in the spirit of Ubuntu where sexual relations between man
and man or woman and woman are a taboo. President Robert Mugabe was an
awe-inspiring charismatic leader whose speeches had all the hallmarks of a
hypnotic oratory prowess. President Robert Mugabe was not a mere pushover,
standing his ground on indigenization, beneficiation of minerals and natural
resources, neo-colonialism in international institutions like the United
Nations and the big brother attitude of Britain, America and their western
allies in meddling in the internal affairs of sovereign countries which has led
to political instability.
The author feels greatly inspired and
motivated by President Mugabe’s level of education. His unwavering and resolute
resolve in matters that he perceived as fundamental principles. The importance
he placed on education as a leader which ultimately led Zimbabwe to be regarded
as the African country with the highest literacy is not a mean feat. The
ability he had to tame enemies and use counter intelligence to either absorb
enemies in the system or dispose of them showed him as a tactician par excellence.
Conclusion
Given the above discussion of the
five leaders that inspire the author, it can be concluded that the author
aspires to be a political leader with a strong academic background. The
understudying of world leaders who either have a politically rich leadership
style and/or a strong positive attitude and aptitude for learning juxtaposes
the author into following the footsteps of the men he views in high esteem.
References
Al Jazeera (2011) Profile: Muammar Gaddafi www.aljazeera.com/english/amp/indepth/2011/02/201122117565923629.html
Mukkelli, V. (Mar. - Apr. 2013). Comprehensive
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of All Times. IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM) e-ISSN:
2278-487X, p-ISSN: 2319-7668. Volume 9, Issue 5 PP 70-79 www.iosrjournals.org
Omolayo, B. (2007). Effect of Leadership Style on Job-Related Tension and Psychological
Sense of Community in Work Organizations: A Case Study of Four
Organizations in Lagos State, Nigeria, Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology, 4(2).
The Holly Bible (2013) Kings James Version. Utah,
Intellectual Reserves Inc.
Vermes, G. (1981). Jesus
the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels. Philadelphia: First
Fortress. pp. 20, 26, 27, 29. ISBN 978-0-8006-1443-0.
Ward, S. (2018). What is Leadership? And can you
learn to be a good leader. www.thebalancesmb.com/leadership-defination/
www.gzu.ac.zw/vice-chancellor/
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