Being effective as a Diaspora leader is not an overnight chore, nor is it a ready-made acceptance. As in anything else, a job, expertise, and advanced education, becoming a Diaspora leader requires learning, practice, building relationships, patience, and experience.

Many of us jump into action and in front to capture the opportunity to quickly become famous, with the fantasy of knocking heads with high-profile leaders, making money, and getting their names and photographs in the newspaper. Yes, you will become popular. Yes, you will gain visibility. But are you a leader? Do you care about people? Do you care about the issues? Do you care about building a mechanism from which Diaspora members can benefit? Are you willing to learn from others how to be a Diaspora leader? Are you patient?

There is a difference between a leader and a noisemaker. A noisemaker jumps into action without first understanding the history and legacy and finds themselves in anything and everything wanting to be relevant and visible, disguising their leadership deficiency. They convince themselves that everyone buys in. As it turns out, the disguise causes burnout, and such a person quickly disappears from active Diaspora work because notoriety didn’t come fast enough.