AKINYEMI: Popular leaders express the desires of those who follow

One of the definitions of a leader is someone who can give expression to the aspirations and thoughts of the led.

We live in a world where our lives are run by gadgets. The first activity of many people when they wake up in the morning is to look at their phones. At regular intervals throughout the day, we will constantly check our phones. If we leave the house and realise we forgot our phones, we will most likely turn back to go and get them.

We experience a whole new world of fun, entertainment, education, spiritual uplifting and much more on our gadgets. In essence, we can enjoy life by ourselves.

The biggest victim of this gadget driven world is interpersonal social relationships. People are becoming less socially interactive because they engage the whole world on their phones.

A family could be in the house sitting at the table and not talking to one another, yet they are totally engrossed with people on the other side of the world. What an irony that the very things created to aid our communication are the same ones that tear people apart.

One unplanned consequence of this is that because communication barriers are created by our gadgets, those who make strong emotional inroads into the psyche of others have an advantage.

Eyebrows have been raised around the world as people who the world would have considered unelectable a few years ago, because of what we would call their uncouth behaviour, are emerging as winners. These people are characterised by their brash behaviour and seeming disdain for order and convention. One would have thought that with the advent of the internet and social media, which makes news about these people travel further faster, they would not stand a chance. Well, the opposite is the case. They are gaining followers with speed all over the world.

One such personality is Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The former mayor of Manila has built a reputation for saying the unprintable. However, it seems that his outspoken style has made him popular with many Filipinos.

Another such person is British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Like President Duterte, his expressions are unguided and he speaks as he thinks. He attacked people whom he considers different with reckless abandon, yet he won the election with a majority.

Controversy and bombastic statements define US President Donald Trump. During the presidential campaigns in 2016, he would say or do something contentious, and it would look like the end had come for him, but after the trouble has passed he remains standing. He was like a bulldozer that just rode over everything and anything that was on his way.

How do we explain this phenomenon that seems to be blowing across the world? There are many reasons but one cannot rule out the fact that social media has created a platform for many to pretend to be what they are not. People even buy followers, and as such when they post notifications there is a huge discrepancy between their number of followers and the interactions that their post gets. That is simply because they are not real.

In a world where people are pretending to be who they are not, where people fake it until they make it, the authentic have a great opportunity. Unfortunately, it does not seem to matter whether a person is authentic from a noble perspective or from a brutally blunt perspective, authenticity is the new cool.

People relate with and even vote for brashness, for uncouth behaviour, for those who trivialise murder, for racists, for intolerance and for other evils rather than support someone who pretends to be what they are not. The saying goes that the devil you know is better than the angel you do not know.

So, in the case of President Duterte, President Trump and Prime Minister Johnson, like them or hate them, they are giving expression to the thoughts in the minds of many. Thoughts that people are afraid to speak out.

Now, what did we say the definition of a leader is? A person who is bold enough to verbalise the thoughts of the multitude. It is an emotional connection. It is relevance. It’s called leadership, and you don’t have to like it.

Wale Akinyemi is the chief transformation officer, PowerTalks