The Blind Man in Front

“One blind man cannot lead another; if he does both will fall into a ditch.” – Jesus (the Christ)

When you see a man with a stick and his hands placed on another person right in front of him you automatically assume he is blind. What never crosses your mind is that the blind person may be the folk in front or, more comically, both may be blind! You assume this because you know that to lead you need to see.

Unfortunately many leaders cannot see. To be a follower denotes there is a place you want to get to but you need someone else to facilitate your journey. It certainly is – at least physically – permissive for a follower to not see his way. To be a leader, on the other hand, you must see your way through.

Many folks take this for granted because they have misunderstood the basic concept of leadership. It is assumed that leadership is about staying in front or being on top. Both of these ideas are misguided because a shepherd boy, for example, leads from behind his flock. In effect he is more a guide who knows where he his flock needs to be and how to get them there. Without proper knowledge of where to lead people to you cannot guide.

Second, many leaders imagine themselves and their followers as a pyramid structure in which they are the peak while their followers carry them. This is another misconception because rather than a pyramid, the structure is turned upside down and the leader is at the bottom carrying the weight of the followers.

       With this modification in conceiving what leadership is, you would realize that you cannot lead without seeing where you are headed. The sight of the leader gives solace to the followers. It makes them confident to put the next foot forward, knowing that if their leader did not fall into a ditch they would not.  

It does not matter if it is a question of marriage, church, or football team. A leaders’ vision is paramount. The first question to ask any one person you intend to follow is, “what can you see?”