Leaders and Lead-errs

There are ‘leaders’ and there are ‘lead-errs.’ Leaders are leaders in deed and indeed! In contrast, ‘lead-errs’ are mistaken for ‘leaders.’ The latter do not live true to their designation. They enjoy the label but have nothing to show as a true means of ‘identification.’ It’s time for a deep self-introspection to establish whether you are a ‘leader’ or you are a mere ‘lead-err.’ If you won’t do it for your own sake, assuming you do not appreciate the virtue and power of being authentic, you should at least undertake this self-assessment for the sake of the people whom you have assumed responsibility for.

Leadership is weighty as a responsibility because the lives of people are involved. Leaders determine in very large part what becomes of the life of every person. Leadership is intended to benefit every person, making them into personalities of greater value both to themselves and to their communities. Leaders are given to enable those coming behind benefit from the invaluable teaching and counsel of those who have gone ahead. It is not wise and indeed, would be unfair to leave those coming behind to figure out the way to make true meaning out of life without help. If you are yet to take leadership seriously, and you continue to go in circles in your quest to make your life into something of value, chances are you are missing the input of leadership in your life.

Personalities make leaders

My favourite framework for analyzing and understanding leadership is the seed-to-fruit process. This simple and perhaps the most relatable process has given me very deep insights into the phenomenon called leadership, and it continues to do so (even up to the time of writing this piece). You and I can easily understand the simple process that a farmer goes through taking a ‘seed,’ planting it in a ‘soil,’ watering and nurturing it to transform it into a crop until it grows to produce a harvest of fruits.

What is interesting about this process is that, at the core, the seed that is planted defines the farmer’s ‘identity.’ It reflects the ‘personality’ of the farmer. Though called a ‘farmer,’ he could as well have been described by the ‘seed.’ A farmer ‘indeed’ is one who succeeds by taking ‘his seed’ and successfully producing a ‘harvest of fruits’ from it. A ‘farmer so-called’ also takes ‘his seed’ and fails to produce a ‘harvest of fruits’ from it.

Though they are both called farmers, because they had seeds in their possession which they attempt to utilize, one succeeds to show fruits from his effort while the other fails. The one who succeeds is the real farmer while the one who fails is a leader erroneously so-called.

That’s one interesting and intriguing way to differentiate leaders today. There are leaders indeed and there are leaders in error. The latter category of leaders is mistakenly so-called. I call them ‘lead-errs’ in this piece. Leaders have ‘fruits’ to show for their efforts while lead-errs have nothing to show but their persistent failed attempts to produce fruits. 

Personality is a key differentiator between these categories of ‘leaders.’ The ‘personality’ of the leader is defined by the type and quality of the ‘seed’ in his possession as well as the successful use to which he puts it. The chances are that the true leader uses a higher quality of seed, operates with a better understanding of how to use it, and demonstrates greater discipline in following the process to fruition. The lead-err on the other hand would have failed in at least one of these three aspects of the process. The lead-err’s personality type differs from that of the leader.

If you mind the personality type of the true leader, you will access the secrets to his success. Personality, also referred to as character, explains in large part why leaders succeed or fail. I love the quote of General Norman Schwarzkopf, the famous Iraq war veteran about character and strategy, from a leadership perspective. He said that leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character and if he had to be without one, he would be without character.

If you are looking to assess your leadership personality type, I encourage you to take my quiz by clicking here. [By gaining deeper, independent-sourced insights into your leadership personality, you would have taken an important first step toward being a leader indeed. Hopefully, you will confirm your personality type and it should explain why your leadership results are what they are. You will also receive insights into the remedial steps to take if you come out as a lead-err or the steps to take to strengthen your status as a leader. Though the quiz questions may appear simplistic, rest assured that they are based on the proven seed-to-fruit framework.]

The point being made here is that the main difference between the leader and the lead-err is that the leader’s personality can see the seed-to-fruit process through to the end, producing successors after his kind as the expected outcome. Successful farmers do not just produce fruits from a seed, the fruits have the expected identity and contain seeds just like the one that was planted.

The lead-err on the other hand exhibits a personality that is unable to see the seed-to-fruit process successfully to the end. The process is aborted at some point, thereby frustrating his efforts in the quest to prove himself to be a leader indeed. The lead-err should be more appropriately seen as a leader ‘in deed’ but not one ‘in truth.’ A leader ‘in truth’ shows it by producing successors who share key attributes with him as evidence of his good work.

5 Obstacles that undermine lead-errs

Drawing from a deep analysis of the seed-to-fruit framework, well explained by the parable of the sower given in the Bible (Luke 8:4-15), we can identify 5 key obstacles that undermine the quest of lead-errs to become leaders. They may be seen as deficiencies in their personality or character that make it impossible for them to live true to their claimed status as leaders.

Obstacle 1: Low quality of seed

However good a farmer may be, it is impossible to produce good quality fruits (and ultimately, seeds) by planting seeds of low quality. Farmers talk about the viability of ‘seeds.’ Viable seeds are good or high-quality seeds. They have a high probability of surviving the process of production of fruits compared with those not considered viable or those considered to have a low viability index.

The ‘seed’ in the hands of leaders and lead-errs refers to the depth of their knowledge of what leadership entails and how to do it right. Only trained farmers know how to identify viable seeds, and certainly more than those who are farmers by ‘hobby,’ ‘interest’ or ‘accident.’ It is the same with leaders. Those who are trained and have the skill to reproduce successors using their ‘seed’ are more likely to succeed in carrying out the responsibility. Lead-errs are not as competent and fail from the very start because they possess ‘seeds’ that aren’t viable.

The Bible points out more specifically that the ‘seed’ in the farmer’s hands represents the word of God. This also tells us that the words that the leader engages in her interaction with the follower remain pivotal in carrying out the leadership responsibility. Leaders recognize this and know how to use their words expertly to produce the desired transformation in the personality and lives of their people. Lead-errs are unable to replicate the same prowess in this regard. You can look at a previous article in which I spoke about the significance of the leader’s word to gain better insight into this point. The Scripture below provides good support for what’s being discussed here.

And with this Word, God created all things. Nothing was made without the Word. Everything that was created – John 1:3 CEV

You may want to ask yourself about the quality of the ‘seeds’ you engage in your leadership responsibility. It may explain where your identity as a leader is being corrupted.

Obstacle 2: Lack of commitment

It is one thing to have the right ‘seed’ and another thing to show that you truly value it.

Leaders do not only have the right seeds, but they also know their value and show it by the way they engage it. They are jealous of their seeds and do everything to protect them. They are intentional and so committed in their use of the seeds. They do not allow anyone or anything to undermine them in the use of their seeds. Their seeds cannot be stolen from the hearts into which they planted them. They are not careless farmers who plant valuable seeds carelessly, exposing them to tampering by external forces.

The lead-errs on the other hand are too casual in the use of their seeds. It’s either they do not know the value of their seeds, or they are careless in their use of them. They are less committed to the seed-to-fruit process. They are quick to explain away why they aren’t making an impact on their people and why it is difficult to carry them along. These leaders do not show enough dedication to their people, and they lose many or all of them for this reason at some point or the other on their journey.

Without showing a strong commitment to the people you are leading, you would never become a true leader. You risk becoming a lead-err. If you simply expect your people to follow you because you have been designated as a leader and you aren’t working tenaciously and purposefully to make them do so, you will soon become a lead-err instead of a leader. The quest to produce leaders out of them will be truncated sooner than you know it, and you may not even be aware early enough to take remedial action.

So, how committed are you to the people you are leading? And how is your commitment being measured? This is so crucial.

Obstacle 3: Lack of inner strength

The weakness of lead-errs may also be shown in their lack of inner strength. Put differently, this group of leaders is unable to cope with the grind that leadership demands. When the heat of the leadership responsibility shows up, they get offended instead of rising and riding it till they overcome it.

Such lead-errs do not understand why their people will not just live up to their expectations and just keep making what they consider to be stupid mistakes. They won’t have the ability to show understanding toward their people as is required for people whose character or personalities you are trying to change. They expect that their people will just obey them or follow their directives without asking for a reason or having to explain to those who do not understand what they really want.

The point is that they are unrealistic in their expectations of the practical challenges that leaders would face in the normal course of carrying out their responsibilities. Out of pride some of them are turned off and they give up on their people. They lack the inner strength and tenacity required to overcome natural obstacles that leadership responsibility presents.

Do you find yourself all worked up about your expectations from your people? Are you unnecessarily overwhelmed by their lack of response to your leadership? Could it be that you lack the inner strength to cope with what other leaders are also facing in the same responsibility and overcoming? This may be the reason you remain a lead-err instead of progressing to the status of a leader!

Obstacle 4: Lack of discipline

Leaders are required to demonstrate a high level of discipline all through their journey to produce credible successors. They are not only sharply focused on the real purpose of their leadership but also on their people and what it takes to transform them into the right personalities. As they progress in their interaction with their people, they are careful not to slip in their commitment to discipline in their approach.

They ensure that they aren’t carried away by other interests. They do not get distracted by the early signs of progress they observe in their people. They do not allow the views of the people who surround them to affect their perception of their people. In addition, they are not swayed by the pride that comes with their position as leaders. They avoid abusing the privileges that their position and power afford them.

As for lead-errs who reach the point of seeing some good progress in their people, they end up celebrating too early and they lose ground in the process. They unfortunately take their eyes off the ball and show that they lack the maturity to handle progress and success. They get carried away with other things including basking in the pride of success as leaders (when they haven’t become one).

See these lead-errs as akin to farmers who start celebrating because their crops are just a few weeks away from producing a harvest. If they take their eyes off the ball, weeds grow up and choke the crops. The harvest of fruits that they were in view of becomes a dream. There are many irrelevant factors that can make a leader lose focus and bungle accumulated efforts and progress at this stage. It is a most unfortunate stage to lose ground, but it does happen.

Are you celebrating already when your successors are not fully formed? Have you decided that they can hold their own and have stopped paying detailed attention to their conduct? Maybe you have even begun to call them successors and increasingly left much of your responsibility in their hands. Instead of you being the one in charge, they are now the ones doing everything and calling the shots.

You may be celebrating too early. Other irrelevant factors may be drawing your attention away from your unfinished job. Your people may be in danger and if you are not careful, all your efforts may still go to waste. You can still end up a lead-err and not a leader!

Obstacle 5: Lack of patience

Finally, the successful farmer also knows to wait patiently for the right time to harvest the fruits produced from his effort. They do not harvest once they begin to see the fruits on the branches of their crops. If they harvest prematurely, the fruits will be of little or no value to them. Again, they must wait until the fruits are ripe enough to be harvested. At that point, the fruits can truly serve their full purpose and command the right value from buyers.

So, leaders allow their people to mature and do not release them prematurely. They aren’t in a hurry to show forth their successors. They are disciplined enough to wait, never allowing the cost of their efforts to force them into haste to reap their harvests.

This is not the case with lead-errs. They have a point to prove. They are eager to show that they have succeeded in their leadership assignment and to throw their people in to take up leadership positions and responsibilities, albeit prematurely. They do not realize that such persons can still fall short of their expectations and can fail in such new responsibilities. Just as unripe fruits prove to be unpalatable by their sour taste in the mouth, successors released prematurely into leadership responsibilities can turn out to be a very bad choice.

In my Smart Leader Program, one of the things we address is when to know that your successor is ‘ripe for harvest,’ and what to do at that point. It is so important to know how to handle this crucial point in your leadership assignment because it can undermine all the work done up to that stage. And that would be a big waste and an undeserved shame.

From lead-err to leader

We all should be concerned about the quality of leadership that exist everywhere and especially wherever we have a stake or command influence. It’s important to ensure that we have leaders ‘in deed’ and ‘in truth,’ and not lead-errs.

The factors identified in this piece should help as a strategic framework for nurturing lead-errs into the leaders that I believe they desire to represent. Leaders must also be mindful so that they do not slide in the status of lead-errs from being leaders.

Olatunji Sobodu

+234 809 891 1826 | emetlead@gmail.com