A leader is determined to achieve success: Meliga and Billa, as young shepherds learnt to protect their flock from danger. Despite threats from his wicked uncle, Billa refused to pour the poison into the source of water Meliga’s village drank from. Meliga and Billa were determined to keep the friendship they had found regardless of the punishment they knew awaited them if caught. This helped them achieve success in the long run; their friendship finally led to the peace between their villages. As young leaders, our determination and hard work will enable us achieve whatever we have purposed in our hearts to achieve.
A leader influences positively: In the last chapter, Meliga and Billa led all the children in their respective villages in merrymaking accompanied by the playing of drums. As young leaders, they influenced their fathers who did not exhibit good leadership qualities in solving their conflict and therefore influenced their society positively. Here, we learn that we do not need to be adults to influence our communities in a positive way. Young as we are, we can contribute our quota in influencing our societies positively just like Meliga and Billa (our young leaders) in the story did.
A leader is selfless, caring and compassionate: In the story, Billa lost two of his goats to snake bites and cried because of the possibility of being punished by his parents. Meliga; however, out of care and selflessness replaced Billa’s flock out of his own. As a selfless leader and friend, he was careful to make other people around him happy. He can be likened to a good leader as a result of this excellent trait exhibited by him. A leader should show some level of selflessness and care in solving problems around them and this will always amount to effective results.
A leader takes complete charge and responsibility for items placed in their care: Meliga was put in charge of his flock and so he did everything in his power to protect them from danger. In his bid to rescue his flock from the enemy village and from danger; he fell into a pit which happened to be in the territory of the enemy village. He needed to protect his flock because he was accountable for their upkeep. As young mentees and leaders, we need to work hard and protect whatever is left in our care, so as to be able to give account for them.
A leader makes use of their talents (and brings out those in others): If the old man had kept his talent hidden and did not make the drums for Billa and Meliga, the two villages might never have been united. You never know where your talent can take you - and we all have one talent or another. As leaders, you also want to be able to bring out hidden talents in those around you so that everyone is the best they can be.
Leaders are innovative: Sometimes as leaders, we know what we have to do, we just don't seem to have everything we need to do it. This is where innovation comes in. Billa and Meliga had to think outside the box in order to be able to meet up with each other. They could have simply looked at their situation and given up, but they went out of their way to come up with a solution tho their problem. With innovation and the right attitude, almost anything is possible.
Finally, a leader must strive for peace: The fact that there was constant tension between the two villages meant that they could never work together. The more people you have working together to achieve something, the greater your chances of success are. As leaders we must be able to quickly resolve conflicts to ensure you can get the best out of everyone. Where would the Black Stars be if the members of the team decided not to cooperate with each other?
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