By Olubunmi Adebayo
*No man ever becomes great who cannot work and grow under the shadow of other leaders.*
*If you must emerge as a fellow that will lead others tomorrow, you must learn to work under the shadow of a master, under whom you will learn what you need to know, before you graduate to becoming a master in your own right, and ultimately becoming a leader.*
*It took careful followership on the part of Joshua learning and following after his master – Moses, before he emerged as the man to lead Israel into the promised land.*
*It took deliberate efforts on the part of Elisha learning under the tutelageship of Elijah, before he ( Elisha) became a prophet that led other prophets.*
*Please quickly know this – not everyone is good at following after another leader. This is why there are problems at times in producing leaders that will lead other people.*
*A man does not become a born leader if he can nyot learn to follow after the leaders ahead of him.*
*Today, I will NOT be looking at the personality of such leaders that are meant to lead others to warrant this unusual pattern, but I will be looking at critical prerequisites that will ensure you survive under the shadow of a leader, no matter how difficult or impossible the leader may be.*
*Let us consider the following :*
*1) As a man under the tutelage of a leader, you must understand that your leader, under whose shadow you are, is not perfect. No man is ever perfect. Therefore, you must never overplay his weaknesses. Where you know of such, you must learn to manage him with his weaknesses, especially where it looks as if he is finding adjustment difficult. The day you join in overplaying his weaknesses, that is the day your relationship with him begins to falter and suffer.*
*2) Your leader may also have his personal challenges that he is grappling with that you may not know. Because of this therefore, there could be a build up of tensions around him or off seasons with him. You must therefore know how to adjust to such situations, or perhaps work to ameliorate them.*
*Today, we all talk with glee, the pleasure and expectation of acquiring a double portion of the grace and power of God on Elijah by his protege : Elisha. But how many of us care to study and find out what Elisha went through before attaining that glorious status?*
*Please permit me to use this language : “Elisha went through hell to acquire the mantle of the double portion of the anointing upon Elijah.”*
*You may need to go through your own “hell”, while serving under the shadow of that leader.*
To be concluded tomorrow, God willing.
Good day to you 👍
©️ Olubunmi S Adebayo.
