I went for a 2-day course recently, as part of my certification to become a coach for the Prostar programme. Prostar is a programme designed to raise awareness and impart knowledge to teenagers/youths about HIV. We would go into schools and universities to organise activities pertaining to that.

This particular course involved a lot of group work. Thus, it is natural to select someone as a group leader with a snap of the finger based on only a few hours of knowing each other. Looking around the room, it is always the loudest or the most energetic ones who are easily selected. Once these individuals are chosen to lead – then the members will have to make do for the next 2 days.

And this is what I realised.

If you have the means to select the leader of your organisation in a non-hurried way – choose them well. For these reasons

• They are the face of your group. They represent the mission and vision of the group. A person with a presence would command respect and attention from other groups for the things they want to say. If a leader is meek in the presence of other leaders, the group may not look as good.
• They will be the first person in line to receive messages from other superiors. If this leader is unable to understand, process and share important points with the group members, the group will miss out on important points. This was a profound discovery I stumbled upon while completing our tasks for the day.

I personally do not enjoy being a leader. However, having followed several disturbing commands from dubious individuals, sometimes it is better to take on the reigns than to just sit at the back of the carriage. The pain of not doing anything and watching everything crumble is palpable.