Leadership

I have been elected to our school's Student Representative Council (SRC) today.  It has gotten me thinking about what leadership is and what it means to be a leader.  And after long periods of consideration, I have formulated this argument or statement.

It is interesting to see how different people react to becoming a leader.  But what is quite shocking to me, is that a large portion, I dare even say the majority, of people seem to think that being a leader immediately merits people's respect, loyalty and a measure of authority over them.
But this is however not the case.  With leadership comes responsibility, much of it!  With leadership comes not games, but work, not authority, but servitude, not loyalty, but scrutiny.  You have to work to gain people's trust, to attain their loyalty, to receive their respect.
You need to lead people well, and do what is best in their interest, this is not necessarily what they want.
Being a leader means doing the right thing, not the thing that is popular, or what is easy.  Being a leader means making the difficult choices.  Giving the credit to those whom deserve it, and taking the blame when it is deserved.

There are many thing I can say about being a leader, or leadership.  But I believe the most important thing is that being the leader means serving those following you. Ultimately being the leader means that you occupy the lowest rank in the world's social hierarchy.  You serve the Business owner, the housewife, the street sweeper, the schoolchild, the beggar doing cocaine.  You must live the example that you want other to be.
Being a leader means sacrificing everything, because God has called you to where you are.
Yes being a leader is the hardest job in the world, but it is also the most rewarding.