The fundamentals of leadership using letters of the alphabet.
By Sulaimon Olanrewaju (Culled from Punch Newspapers )
The ABC Of Leadership IV
S – Service
The hallmark of leadership is service. Leadership that does not offer service is mere rhetoric, not more than mere gas. Leaders are agents of change; the change created by them is through the instrumentality of the service they offer. A great leader does not wait to be served, he serves others. He serves because, at heart, he is a servant. He knows that the core of his calling as a leader is to serve the people under his watch. He knows that as a leader he is duty-bound to help those over whom he superintends. Leaders serve others by helping them to get better. Leaders serve those they lead by putting them and their needs ahead of personal desires. By so doing, a leader makes his people better than they were before their meeting and helps them to accomplish their aspirations.
When a leader offers service that helps his people achieve their goals, he wins their hearts and their trust. He is elevated in the thinking of the people and they are willing to do anything for him. That is what happened to Nelson Mandela of South Africa. He served the people. He did for them what they could not do for themselves. He helped them to accomplish their goals of self rule. He did not betray their trust. As a result, the people loved, trusted and adored him. He was worshipped in life and even in death.
While Mandela was in prison, he suffered deprivation; he was cut off from his family and friends. So, he would have deeply appreciated his freedom. The apartheid government offered him freedom, provided he would abandon his agitation for the people’s freedom. But he spurned the offer because he knew what service meant. He traded personal liberty for collective freedom. At the end, he, alongside others, was able to get for the people what they wanted. Consequently, he was elevated to the status of a god by the people.
Leaders who serve the people in truth are not only served by the people in return, they are also celebrated by them.
T – Trust
Most leaders ascend the height of leadership on the ladder of trust reposed in them. For anyone to get into a leadership position, especially one that is not hereditary, he must have earned the trust of those who made the ascent a reality. However, the trust which got the leader into position is a mere deposit; making a success of the position and remaining relevant while holding the position require the growth of the deposit because trust is leadership collateral.
Trust is so critical to a leader that losing it marks the exit of the substance of leadership, what is left after that is mere shadow. A leader who is not trusted by the people can never get the result he wants. Leaders who inspire trust usually literally have the people eating out of their palms; they can motivate their people to accomplish anything. When a leader is trusted, no task is unachievable, no height is un-scalable. Management skills, vision, drive and positive attitude are all essential in a leader’s armoury, but without trust, they don’t amount to much and can achieve nothing of appreciable significance.
Leaders begin to run into trust crisis when they start disrespecting their people. This looks tangential but is quite critical. The truth is that a person only acts in consistence with his conviction. If a leader holds his followers in contempt, he consciously and unconsciously begins to devalue them; he shows little concern about what matters to them. On the other hand, if a leader respects his people, he will advertently and inadvertently act in ways to increase their worth; their wellbeing, challenges and concerns will be paramount to him. Neither a leader’s respect nor his disdain is lost on the followers and they reciprocate accordingly. So, to earn his people’s trust, a leader must consciously, unrepentantly and continuously respect those he leads.
How to build trust
Trust is earned; it is never given. Therefore, it has to be built. These are some steps necessary in building it.
Consistency
To be trusted, a leader must not be like a shifting shadow. Consistency comes from the leader’s commitment to the vision of the organization. Consistency is critical because many people cannot cope with sudden changes. If there is going to be a change they want to know in advance, so they are unable to trust an inconsistent leader. An inconsistent leader may arrive at his destination but may not have anybody following him.
Accountability
Although accountability is mutual, many leaders go about believing that only the subordinates should be accountable. But this is a fallacy. Trust is strengthened in an atmosphere that encourages accountability. Non-accountability allows suspicion to flourish. Trust flies where suspicion thrives.
Be a model
People submit themselves to others’ leadership because they believe the leaders have some qualities that they admire. For as long as the leaders exhibit the traits loved by the followers, they will enjoy their trust. However, when the leader drops the ball, he loses the trust of the follower and destroys his leadership.
U –Unleash to connect
Leaders unleash people; they liberate them from their limitations and connect them with their purpose and destiny. Most people will operate far below their capacity unless they come under the tutelage of leaders who unleash them from the limitations imposed on them by their beliefs, backgrounds or experience. Leaders help others to attain their full potentiality and achieve the utmost possible for them. Leaders unleash people, organizations and nations so as to connect them with their purpose and attain their potential.
Ben Carson and his mother
Ben Carson, the United States of America’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, appeared headed for the dark side of life until his mother, Sonya, an illiterate, decided to change the course of his life. Carson, whose parents got divorced when he was eight, was living with his mother who sometime left home for work as early as five in the morning only to return at about midnight, consistently had poor grades in school. Worried about the situation, the mother limited Carson and his brother’s access to the television, insisted on them not going out to play until school work was done and encouraged them to read two books weekly, write the summary of same and hand over to her. Neither Carson nor his brother knew that their mother could not read because she spent time rummaging through their reports.
As the sons made a habit of reading, it impacted positively on their school performance and from the rear of the class, Carson went to the top. He later studied medicine and gain global renown as an outstanding neurosurgeon. Carson, who once sought the presidential ticket of the Republican Party, would have dropped out of school if not for her mother who rerouted his path and unleashed his potential.
Arugungu and NIPOST
The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) had become the poster boy for corporate failure. The outfit was fast becoming moribund. It had earned a reputation for itself as a government department where nothing worked. In those days, letters took months to get delivered and parcels got missing regularly. Nigerians hated to have anything to do with NIPOST and those who could afford it resorted to patronizing courier companies despite the higher fees being charged. Everybody, including the government, was patiently waiting for the demise of the department. Then, Abubakar Musa Argungu was appointed the Postmaster General in 1999.
Shortly after he became the head of the agency, the organization was transformed. NIPOST started delivering mails within 72 hours. Initially, it was thought to be a fluke but it was sustained throughout the time he was in charge. To every nook and cranny of the country, mails and parcels were delivered within 72 hours. The transformation that took place in the organization did not escape the notice of the Federal Government as the late PMG was conferred with the national honour of the Officer of the Order of Niger (OON). He was also re-appointed the PMG in 2005, making him the first head of the organization to be so appointed since its establishment in 1985, following the split of the defunct Post and Telecommunication Department. Unfortunately, Argungu could not complete his second term as he lost his life in the Bellview Air disaster that occurred in October 2005.
What Argungu did was to halt the fall of NIPOST, redirected it, unleashed its potentialities and connected it to its purpose. With that the organization bounced back. If the Nigeria Airways and other moribund government-owned businesses had had the fortune of leaders like Argungu, they would have survived.
Paul Kagame’s Rwanda
Between April 7 and July 15, 1994, Rwanda was embroiled in genocide that claimed about one million lives. The Hutus made mincemeat of the Tutsi, killing as many of them as they came across. After the genocide was quelled, Rwandans could still not live together as one people. Suspicion pervaded the space and the human development indices went down. But after the resignation of the former President, Pasteur Bizimungu, in 2000, Paul Kagame became the President. Since then, the story of the former war-torn country has changed. Kagame has successfully steered the people of the country from seeing themselves as enemies to believing that they are one. With that, the country has been growing by leap and bounds.
Rwanda, which was a pariah state two decades ago, has become a reference point for development in Africa. It is considered the second safest country in Africa after Algeria. It is rated as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and it has also become the choice of planners of international events, all because a leader has been able to change the direction of the country, unleash its potential and connect with its purpose.
When leader provides the right leadership, they unleash the potential of the people, the organizations or the nations they lead.
V – Value-creation
The essence of leadership is value creation. A leadership that fails to create value has failed indeed. The reason is not shrouded in any mystery; leadership is nor for the leader but the led.
Leaders are honoured, celebrated and rewarded because of the value they create or add to their nations or organizations and the people. Leaders are not only change agents, they are also game changers. They act as game changers by the value they create. Through their insight and foresight, they bring the much needed change. Therefore, the worth of a leader is a coefficient of the value he delivers to those he leads. His relevance is tied to the value he creates. If he continues to deliver value, his relevance will be on the increase because value is magnetic; it draws people, power and affluence to whoever possesses it. But when a leader fails to deliver value, his worth plummets and his relevance nosedives. Therefore, creating value is critical to the continuous relevance of a leader.
Last line
You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time. — Angela Davis
The ABC of leadership V
W – Wholeness
One of the major challenges many leaders face is ensuring wholeness or completeness in their leadership. Many concentrate on what gives them public acclaim to the detriment of other aspects of their lives. They run on the wrong assumption that success in what they consider as the major aspect of their lives will make up for the consequence of their neglect of other aspects. But as they often find out, it does not work out that way and they regret their neglect. Leadership goes beyond occupational or financial success. A leader is a model and, consequently, must be exemplary in all aspects. That is what gives him wholeness. A leader must not just pay attention to his work or vocation; he must also pay attention to his health, marriage, faith and society. Therefore, a successful leader is one who is able to maintain a balance in all aspects of his life without subjecting any of them to neglect. It is only when that is achieved that his success does not leave a bitter taste in the mouth.
Jack Welch, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Electric, is a globally-acclaimed successful man. Under his watch, General Electric’s value rose about 4,000 per cent. The company became one of the most successful and profitable businesses in the world. So successful was Welch as GE’s helmsman that at his exit in 2001, the board rewarded him with a severance package totaling $417million, which is regarded as the highest of its kind in history. Welch, who was named Manager of the Century by Fortune Magazine in 1999, and now in his eighties, is still courted by royalty across the globe and celebrated by presidents across the continents.
However, as successful as Welch is, his record is blighted; he couldn’t replicate his boardroom and workplace success in his home. He has been married thrice and divorced twice. He divorced his first wife, Carolyn, in 1987 after 28 years of marriage. He divorced his second wife, Jane, in 2003 after 13 years of togetherness. He is currently married to Suzy, his third wife. Welch admits that while he was building his career he had little time to build his home and was not there for his four children and his first wife. So, despite the glamour and adulation, he harbours a personal regret over his failure to be the kind of father he should have been.
John Maxwell
John Maxwell, one of the best known leadership experts in the world, suffered a heart attack when he was almost 60 years. If not for the availability of advanced medical facility in the United States of America, where he is domiciled, he would have died. According to his account, the heart attack was a result of his overweight and lack of exercise. Maxwell is a workaholic who has impacted positively on millions of people across the world through his leadership training programmes and books. But while he was growing his career, he neglected his health and almost paid for that carelessness with his life. He had a second chance but not many people are that fortunate. So many people who sacrificed their health for their careers never really enjoy the fruit of their career success, those who do not die live everyday in pains.
Leaders must deliberately seek wholeness; success in one area is insufficient. The really successful leader is the one who is able to ensure a balance in all the parts that make his life whole. To be an excellent leader, in addition to your work, pay attention to your family, faith, health, and society.
Leadership lessons from a storm rider (2)
X – Xenodochy
It is a leader’s function to make people feel welcome by creating the right environment that will make them thrive. A leader’s success is hinged on his team’s level of engagement, productivity and creativity. So, a leader has to practise xenodochy. He has to be hospitable and accommodating enough to make room for others’ differences.
The leader’s style determines the culture of his organization; the culture dictates the tone of the workplace environment and this plays a critical role in what the bottom line turns out to be. A leader’s style can choke productivity or give vent to it. It can either stimulate creativity or stifle it. It can inflame positive passion or take the wind off employees’ sail. The leader’s style is responsible for whether the organization remains a going concern or a sinking one. It can turn a prosperous business upside down or turn a struggling business right side up.
The reason for this is not shrouded in any mystery. Business growth is engineered by customer loyalty. There can’t be customer loyalty without customer satisfaction and customer satisfaction is a function of employees’ action, which is a whole gamut that starts with quality production and ends with excellent customer service. Employees don’t act in a vacuum; their actions are a reflection of their state of mind, their perception of their worth to the organization and their satisfaction with the organization, all of which are influenced by the workplace environment created by the leader.
So, the leader can make the employees work their hearts out for the organization even when the remuneration is not the best in the industry. In the same vein, he can make the workforce contribute just a fraction of its ability despite being well remunerated. The difference is in the leader’s understanding and practice of xenodochy.
Y – Yearning
Yearning precedes earning. Without yearning (desire), change remains elusive. It is only when there is a desire that challenges are overcome. Hence, every great accomplishment is birthed twice; first in the mind, then in the physical. Nothing great can be accomplished until it has taken root in the mind. The mind must first conceive of an idea before it is translated into reality. The conception of the idea is known as desire. The Wright brothers didn’t just wake up one morning to assemble an aircraft; their starting point was the desire to build an airplane. Dr Mike Adenuga did not just find himself running Globacom, the starting point was the desire to own a telecommunications company. Alhaji Aliko Dangote did not just become the richest African, the journey started long ago in his mind.
Webster’s Dictionary defines desire as “a conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction in its attainment.” Desire is desirable because there is an end in sight. The end is either enjoyment or fulfillment. So, unless the end promises the assurance of giving a satisfaction, the desire for success cannot take root.
Though desire is the starting point on the journey to success, it has to be properly defined to become a reality. No one can find what has not been defined. What does success mean to you? It is not enough to want to run a great company, what is your own definition of a great company? Is it a company that is the market leader, a company that produces world class products, a company that offers great after sales service, or a company that goes an extra mile to make employees comfortable? What do you want to be known for as an organisation? To be propelled towards success, you have to define what success means to you.
It is good to desire wealth. But what does that mean? You must put wealth in perspective. What does being wealthy mean to you? Is it having N10million, N100million, N1billion or having property in various places or having a number of companies or having shares in a number of blue-chip companies? This must be put in proper perspective to produce the energy and drive that will result in the desired end. It is when a desire is defined that it is possible to know whether the mark is hit or missed. Defining the desire makes it possible to track progress.
Defining what you want is fine-tuning your desire to achieve clarity. Where clarity is lacking, speed cannot be achieved and success may be delayed, if it is ever achieved. To bring success within reach, you have to properly define what it means to you.
Defining your desire is very important because success does not have a universal application. Success is person, organization or situation-specific. The specificity of success cannot be achieved until it is defined.
Z – Zeal
Nothing separates failure from success more than zeal. The difference between excellence and mediocrity is rooted in zeal. The difference between a go-getter and an airhead is enthusiasm. Zeal blurs difficulties, blunts adversities and dulls the effect of disappointments. With passion no height is unattainable, no goal is unachievable, nothing is impossible. Those who are driven by passion go to any length to achieve the tasks assigned to them. They go beyond the call of duty to get the desired results. Achieving any significant thing in life will be an uphill task without zeal. Zeal is the seal of success. Zeal gives life power, energy and meaning.
Walt Disney was not the only artist or illustrator of his generation but what stood him out was his passion for arts. After taking classes as a boy to hone his skills, he took up an appointment as an illustrator when he turned 18 years. But he wanted to do more than he was being offered, so he moved to California and set up the Disney Brothers Studio with his brother, Roy. He, however, did not see himself as having arrived despite the immediate success he recorded. He threw himself more into the work and developed the popular character, Mickey Mouse. Success pushed him to work harder and he came up with more animated films. The more adulation he got, the more passionate he became and the harder he pushed himself. In 1950, he came up with Cinderella, which was hugely successful and in 1960, he released Mary Poppins, which won five Academy awards.
As a result of his passion, he veered into the amusement park business by opening the Disneyland in 1955. He also had a number of television programmes, including Walt Disney’s Disneyland and the Mickey Mouse Club.
Disney is regarded as a giant, not just among his generation of artists and illustrators, but even among those that came before him and after him because of his zeal. Passion is life, without passion life becomes humdrum. As observed by Donald Trump, without passion you don’t have energy, without energy you have nothing.
Last line
Most people don’t know who they are, so they die as someone else. – Myles Munroe