The five prongs of leadership: Know em and get a firm grasp

Often times, it dawns on people who assume a position of leadership, that beyond a deep passion and drive for their vision,  they need some other principles to carry the day! If you are a leader and seek to continue to lead in any kind of environment, or perhaps you have an ambition to do so, there are five prongs that should be at your finger tips, that would help you to continue to lead effectively. These include Communication, Respect, Integrity, Excellence and Service. If every leader can keep these prongs handy, and add them to his vision, he is bound to do well in his area of leadership.
Communication is of utmost importance because every leader needs to carry his followers along. He needs to be able to tell the followers what he hopes to do(vision), how he intends to do it(strategy) and also convince them why they ought to follow him(conviction). Leadership in this age is more persuasive than authoritative, so if the leader cannot sell his idea to his followers, why should they buy into it? Increasingly, we find that on the political scene people are winning positions based on how well they can talk to the people that would support them and not necessarily how well they can actually do the job. We cannot therefore underestimate the role that communication plays in leadership. Those you are talking to need to understand you and be convinced that you know what you are doing.
Respect helps us to attract respect to ourselves.Everyone loves to be honored and respected so why shouldn't we give them what they crave? The way we talk to people and relate to them on a general basis is   very important. Respect is not just a matter of age and achievement, neither is it all about wealth or titles. The ordinary man on the street deserves some measure of respect, for the fact that his is a human being, and is in our circle of influence is enough for us to acknowledge him.


The need for integrity is also a basic factor in leadership. We ought to be able to walk the talk in all that we do. Honesty is definitely the best policy. If we are found to be telling or promoting lies or untruths it takes quite a lot for people who seek to follow us to believe us once they find out. The human mind works in such a way that they are constantly reminded that a lie was told; that a person is not really what he makes out to be and that we not be able to trust certain people!
Everyone should promote excellence in what they do. What is worth doing is certainly worth doing very well! Excellence advertises itself. Nobody likes shoddy work or mediocrity. Good leaders seek to raise the standards of whatever they are doing at every time. How can we be satisfied with results that are not up to par? Once we have a better example to compare whatever work or project we are engaged in we tend to yearn for better quality or higher standards! This is simply human nature. Everyone wants to be associated with the best. Why settle for less?
Service is the fifth and last prong. If only everyone who leads could see himself as rendering a service! If that were possible, selfish and lustful motives would disappear. This does not mean we should not be ambitious and focus on what we want to achieve, rather it means putting others first and achieving our goals and objectives with other people in mind. If every leader saw himself first and foremost as a servant of the people he leads, the world would certainly be a better place!