There are followers and there are leaders because not everyone is meant to lead and not everyone is meant to follow. This is about why people put others in leadership roles.

The most obvious reason is the belief in their actual position – whether it is religious or celebrity – or just their charisma and/or looks. Sometimes though these physical characteristics do not always equal the ability to lead. The way someone talks can be very persuasive for people ready to hear what it is they are saying.

I’m talking about rhetoric or hyperbole. This is used when someone is seeking a position of leadership or power and they grasp certain points of interest and place them in their speeches. What they say sounds convincing when the target feels the same or seeks a solution to something that is not going well for them.

I had used an example along the way about a white student who was upset that a person of color got into a university when he didn’t. The other person had the grades but the white person did not, but using affirmative action as an argument was easier. This is the very method that is used by those who spout hyperbole: Take an issue that is bothering someone and create an excuse or place blame somewhere else and that person will agree – instead of addressing the real issue. If this sounds familiar, it probably is.

And another form of granting leadership is when people believe that a position automatically gives someone authority. People who follow the law to the letter believe that anyone wearing a police uniform is right because it is their job to fight crime. Someone with a collar and bible is given authority and reverence because they know the bible. What happens is followers of law fail to see when a police officer fails – they forget that the officer is human and capable of corruption or racism. And others who follow what the priest, preacher, or pope say substitute God for those people and forget that they are also human and capable of corruption or illicit actions.

There have been great leaders who were great because they not only saw what was wrong but did their best to address those wrongs, not point fingers and lay blame at others’ doorsteps. Great leaders know they are fallible and make a practice of listening when they need to, not closing their eyes and ears to realities.

It is the job of leaders and followers to have integrity, acknowledge their shortcomings, consider viable solutions, and make feasible choices.