Kiss my...

So, I am trying to work through the qualities that make a leader versus the qualities that preclude one from being a leader, in essence....making one a non-leader. See, I do not happen to adhere to the notion that the opposite of a leader is a follower.

I believe a true leader sometimes follows....as a matter of fact, I believe that a true leader is a confident follower...a follower of a higher calling....a follower of the legacy that was laid before them. See I believe that in order to lead....they must follow One who exists outside of their own understanding.....they must also understand where they have been and where they are going and what foundation they are building on.

I have noticed that true leaders arise from the ranks. But I have noticed that within the ranks there are two types of people, those who line up in front of their leader and those who line up behind their leader. I believe that true leaders come from the line in the front, not the one behind. What do I mean by that?

Well, I believe that there are those people who will stand up in front of their leader and they will look them in the eye and will be willing to talk to them and challenge them when needed, but always with respect. And I believe that there are those people who will line up behind a leader and kiss their butts, never looking them in the eye...never challenging their ideas....just standing behind their leaders with their noses shoved so far up the leader's butt that you can't see where the leader stops and the butt-kisser ends. See, I do not believe those are followers....they are just sucked along with the leader like those sucker fish that attach to sharks and just feed off of them and go everywhere the shark goes. They are not followers...they are sucker fish. They are butt-kissers, and that is a non-leader.

I have also noticed that those people who like to get in the line behind someone are actually there for two reasons. First they find that they can kiss butts back there but they can also put a knife in that person's back. I find that those butt-kissers are also the same people who are the first to knife you in the back.

So, as I ponder this...I realize that I don't want to be in the line in the back and I don't want anyone lined up "behind" me (I couldn't resist that). I want to help those whom I oversee to stand in front of me and encourage those they lead to stand in front of them....that is how I want to live...up front, with my lips able to speak the truth and no knife in my hand (or back).