Many times people confuse authority with leadership. You can be a boss with authority. You can be a husband with authority. You can be an employee with authority. You can be a volunteer with authority. You can be a manager with authority. But not everyone who sits in a position of authority is in a position of leadership. And some confuse with leadership with positions of authority. The leader doesn’t have to be the boss. A leader can lead from the second or third chair. A leader is someone special. Someone who is capable of casting vision and breaking it down into bite sized pieces for his/her followers to understand and believe. A leader uses the input of his/her team to create momentum that is shared by all. Not someone who forces ideas onto those on his/her team. A leader values wise counsel from those around him. Not someone who only surrounds themselves with people who cheer and say “yes” to everything. A leader creates community by sincere interest in those who follow him. Not insincere flattery or insuffiecient knowledge of those who follow. Someone in authority doesn’t need to heed these points if he/she just wants to be in authority or in control. Being an authority figure doesn’t automatically equate to being a leader. But an authority figure can be a leader. If he/she wants to be one and is willing to do the things a leader does. Leadership is not easy. If it was, everyone would be a leader and there would be a heck of a lot less followers. Today’s world needs leaders. Today’s world needs followers. Today’s world needs a healthy balance of both!