The Year is actually Ending, Not Beginning!

“The year has just begun!” you say.  “But it no longer has 365 days!” I say to you. “You’ve already started spending it!”

One thing now awaits you and I – - – working on our resolutions.

A host of ‘discouragers’ are assembling themselves to tell you why you CANNOT.

A million others are already standing in your way, wasting your time.

Many more are laying ambush waiting for an opportunity to derail you along the way.

Now, if you know that your resolutions are important, work on them without delay, hindrance, or fear.

Begin yesterday to act!

Don’t wait for tomorrow or next month to start.

START NOW. Implement your resolutions… quickly. Time is gone!

 

Warning: Morally Corrupt Moral Agents!

They’ve said, “Set a thief to catch a thief.” This has been on assumption that this thief knows the hide-outs and strategies of all thieves, thus better positioned to easily deal with the other thief being chased. However, I don’t think that this applies in all of life’s spheres. For instance when it comes to moral uprightness, one does not need to live an immoral life himself to apprehend the immoral elements around him/her. Sadly, that is what is happening today in many societies. As a matter of fact, there are people in our societies who have been given or have acquired, naturally or by imposition, a responsibility to be agents of moral uprightness, yet are abusing that responsibility to the bone.

A Case in Example:

A teacher, for instance, is expected to build the nation through imparting knowledge, skills, values and/or discipline among the students he teaches. But what happens when the teacher – a moral agent, is the one defiling the young female students, selling dangerous drugs to the students, encouraging them to rebel against some administrators and fellow staff members, dressing both indecently, going around the community drunk, and all sorts of immoral behaviors? What happens when his/her speech is full of vulgarity, blasphemy, obscenity, and profanity? What happens when he instead becomes a discouragement to the students, living a life that clearly displays no purpose, mission, or exemplary virtue at all?

 

There, we simply produce a crowd of educated fools, clever devils, who are not only functionally illiterate but also valueless in their ways. Our educational institutions continue to churn out half-baked products who add to the lot of the immoral, abused, depressed, misdirected, and immoral citizens. The importance of education gets lost since only the head and maybe the hand are equipped, but leaving the heart empty, devoid of values, attitudes, and principles around which a total human being’s life must rotate for productivity. We end up with an élite group of unmotivated, purposeless, unproductive, and functionally barren individuals flooding the streets of every town begging!

 

Looking at a parent or guardian, he/she is responsible for protecting the children under his/her care, providing for them, and teaching them how to live a decent and upright life. But what happens when this dad is the one forcing the daughter to sleep with him at the beginning of every school term/semester before giving her school fees; scheming for her to get forced into sexual relations with other men who can buy the dad a bottle of liquor; having extramarital relationships with other women and young girls? What happens when the mom is the very person taking the daughter out to the night clubs; forcing her to get married at a very young age just to get wealth through bride price; training her in prostitution as a way of getting money?

 

There, we accumulate bands of frustrated, desperate, unkind, merciless, and ruthless youths who see no importance whatsoever in upholding strong, godly family values – a people who see the institution of family as a military torture system, and they thus have neither regard for it nor any desire to strengthen it themselves. We end up with curses that accrue from the terrible sin of incest, and a high influx not only of teenage pregnancies but also of abortions, prostitution, and drug abuse. The future of the children is not only blurred but also totally doomed. What is left is a fraternity of youths that have lacked mentors and role models, thereby navigating their lives on the guidance of sex saturated tabloids, nudity promoting TV stations, and immorality heralding radio stations! Their identity is not clear to them and so they tag themselves onto vulgar celebrities, drug-obsessed film stars, and dangerously indoctrinated peers who appear ‘cool’ and fashionable, ending in destruction.

 

Now consider the religious leaders. These are (or are supposed to be) the voices of moral sanity in the society and prophetic trumpets to the nation. Nature expects them to show the way, set the pace, and engineer moral uprightness in the community. With all divine powers in their “custody” or at their disposal, they’re heavily endowed with authority to demolish uncouth systems and set a strong precedence for uprightness in society. But what happens when the same religious leaders are the ones who either shy away from condemning all evil, or support immoral behavior under the cover of freedoms and rights? Remember that “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 17:150). What happens when some Sheikhs are corrupt, some Reverends are sexually immoral, and some bishops are dictatorial in their administration of leadership over the flock? What happens when some of these religious leaders are cited in dubious business deals, undercover illegal operations, and abominations?

 

There, we get a society that gladly blasphemes God without fear and has no regard for spiritual values at all. We get a community that ridicules things of God and mocks those who are ambassadors of such things. We get a political leadership that has guts to abuse God’s messengers and does not respect their counsel whatsoever. We get a religious fraternity that merely retains a name for being alive but is actually dead (Revelations 3:1-6), and a nation that partially agrees to the existence of God though denying His power to save and provide, judge and protect, lead and chastise.

 

For the political and/or civil leader, in the same breath, he/she has a responsibility, among others, to ensure that the society’s moral fabric is strong and unadulterated by any forces that present a moral challenge to the nation. This can ably be through stringent legislations that prohibit immoral behavior in society, strict regulation of the media houses that broadcast immoral programs, running campaigns that reinforce and strengthen the moral uprightness of the nation, empowering such entities that spearhead maintenance of sanity in the nation, and leading by example a life of unquestionable integrity, among others. But what happens when the leaders themselves not only do but also shamelessly approve immoral misdemeanors in the nation; shield the immoral from prosecution; go soft on immoral legislation in councils and parliament; shy away from strongly condemning immorality in the public; harass those who advocate for moral sanity; or openly get involved in immoral behaviors themselves such as grabbing public property, sexual scandals, bloodshed, witchcraft, corruption, among others?

 

We end up with a disgruntled and hopeless society that is capable of doing anything deadly, a community built on the foundation of blood, bitterness and dishonesty. We end up with the misuse of the available resources for development; loss of national values and pride; open advocacy for evil and immoral pervasions; unstable political institutions; poor civil institutions; and a whole wave of national mistrust among all citizens.

 

What Next?

 

Shall we therefore go back to the drawing board and reform our lifestyles? Shall we, the teachers in our educational institutions, once again become the teachers they were dreamt to be? Teachers who guide and counsel students appropriately, living an exemplary life. Shall we, the parents, reestablish the family institution and all its precious values so that we can build strong, principled and godly families upon which the nation can stand? Shall we, the religious leaders, return to the God-given mission of making disciples of all nations, worship God in truth and in Spirit, living godly lives, so that we can once again regain credibility and moral authority to rebuke evil in our society? Shall we, the political leaders, live sensible lives again, having honest concern and authentic love for the people under our leadership, giving proper guidance and direction to the citizens so that we can live in peace, harmony, and godliness?

 

If the above is not done, we will continue to live in self denial, calling ourselves what we are not:

• Calling ourselves Good leaders yet we do and promote a lot of bad in the society, and are actually more of a liability than an asset to those we claim to ‘lead’
• Calling ourselves Christians yet we are far removed from the nearest nearness to being and acting like Christ in our words, thoughts, and deeds.
• Calling ourselves Good teachers who claim that “Because We Are, The Nation Is” yet we teach students that they came from animals and then go on to wonder why they actually act like animals in and outside our schools!
• Calling ourselves “Men/Women Of The People” yet all we plan and execute are aimed at self aggrandizement and attainment of selfish, inordinate ambitions
• Chanting mottos like “For God and my Country” in the midst of a totally ungodly community that values individualism, self-pleasure, and survival for the trickiest.

 

I beseech you, therefore by the mercies of the Creator, that you reestablish the moral fabric of our nations, starting with your own behavior / morals, those of your children, neighbors, workmates, and the whole nation. This will be ranked your most reasonable service and contribution to national development and kingdom living. Do not live your life in imitation of what “others” are doing or what others have called good, but be transformed by the examination of self and the rebuilding of moral pillars and resurrection of universal, godly tenets in you so that you may prove that a good, morally upright, and decent world is possible and within our reach!

 

MAINTAINING COMPOSURE UNDER PRESSURE

You may either be a leader of the people or among those led. You may be leading others or leading yourself. You may be who you want to be or what others and the environment have made you. Whatever the case, one thing knocks on every door: challenges of life. Some may be small irritations, while others may be earth-shuttering experiences. All in all, pressure always mounts up at one stage or the other.

In this article, I choose to call such circumstances storms. But mainly, I’d like to tell you that in any storm in life, you can (yes you can) keep up your stamina. You can maintain poise or poise even under the pressure of storms of life. Below, I share with you the five facts about storms.

 

Fact # 1: Everyone Experiences The Storms Of Life.

When challenges come, it is common habit to think that you’re the only one encountering moments of storms and pressure. Just because no one else is telling you about the storm they face doesn’t mean that they do not face them! Though that is not certificate for us to meet storms too, it is a comforting realization that “It’s not me only; even other people are going through this and more!” While some people know how to respond, others don’t; and that’s what makes us different! But the point here is that you’re not alone. Everyone experiences the storms of life.

 

Fact # 2: Storms Of Life Have A Deadline.

John C. Maxwell says, “Though problems are everywhere, they’re solvable – they have an answer.” Nelson Mandela of South Africa spent more than 25 years in prison. Wasn’t that a storm? But it also ended – triumphantly at that! He came out to be 1^st black President of South Africa! Also, God told Jeremiah (29:10) to tell the Israelites, “After 70 years of captivity in Babylon, I will come and fulfill my precious promises…” You see? A storm would last for 70 years. Thereafter, it would end because it would be for a season. It would come to an end. So in any storm, you should know that soon, the storm will stop to exist and your joy will be restored!

 

Fact # 3: Storms Of Life Can Either Be A Disaster Or An Opportunity, Depending On Your Perspective.

Have you heard about John Bunyan? He was thrown into prison several times for preaching without a license. That’s when he wrote the time-tested, multi-century long book, “Pilgrim’s Progress: A Journey to Heaven.” Even in prison, there’s an opportunity. I remember a time when I was off work for some good months. I saw that as an opportunity to think about my life, give my family all the time possible, read many self-help books, and write books. That’s when I wrote my book, “The Wise Campuser”. Why is this so? Because it is not about “God come and see; I have a big problem.” Instead, it is “Problem come and see; I have a very big God!” So, don’t look for the reason, but the lesson – the opportunity – in your storm! It will either be a disaster of an opportunity on account of your own perspective to it.

 

Fact # 4: Every Storm Will Change You – Positively or Negatively, Depending On Your Reaction.

There’s no storm that can touch your life and leave you neutral. These challenges always have an impact on you. It may either be positive or negative. And this is determined by the way you react to it! When a fire gutted down Chicago town many years ago, one of the people whose property had been burnt came the next morning with a signpost reading: “Everything lost except wife, children, and hope. Business will be resumed as usual tomorrow morning.” Reaction is what makes the difference too! So, you should mind your reaction.

 

Fact # 5: The Issue is not always About the Storm; it’s about whom you’re with During the Storm.

A kid doesn’t care whether a plane is crushing or not. As long as “Daddy is the pilot; There’s nothing to fear!” it’s about whom he’s with. As long as “daddy is the one holding the rope”, I don’t mind being lowered into the depth of the pit! In the storms of life, your company matters a lot. And I strongly recommend the Greatest Companion that you can be with during the stormy moments of your life. John 14:6 (Bible) will give you a good crew of who this is. With him in your boat, you can smile at the storm! He is the Calmer of Storms (Matthew 4:35-41)!

 

“We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we’re perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” (Mr. Paul – 1 Corinthians 4:8-9). Whatever your storm is, maintain poise and calmness! Beyond the dark clouds, God has put there a Rainbow. What you need to do is to paint yourself a rainbow – from head to toe, body to soul! Commit yourself to live a colorful life – regardless of whether it is sunny or rainy, stormy or calm.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” So, today, I pray for you. May God give you a Hammer for Every Stony Situation, A Sweet Song for Every Sigh, A Faithful Friend for Every Problem, A Promise For Every Care, A Blessing In Each Trial, An Answer for Each Prayer, A Smile For Every Tear, A Candle For Every Darkness, and A Rainbow For Every Storm.

Even in the storm, gather yourself and maintain self-confidence and composure! Keep singing: It is well with my soul! Shall you?

 

CRISIS OR OPPORTUNITY: A Matter of Choice

Many are the challenges we go through almost on a daily basis. This is true whether you’re a leader or not (though, to me, everyone is a leader: especially beginning with Self-Leadership). But there’s one thing we forget almost in all of those situations. We often forget to remember that in all, Happiness is a matter of CHOICE not chance.

A friend of mine once told me that things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out! Failure and success – or losing and winning – are all affected by our attitudes. In fact, The Good Book says that as a man thinketh, so he is!

Today, realize that in every crisis, there’s an opportunity. But do we have the patience to give it a second thought so we can see the opportunity therein?

Many have found gold in the garbage while many others have been able to spot some garbage in a heap of pure gold. Now that it is up to you either to see rain as a source of mud or a clearer of dust, which direction shall you take? To say the glass is half full or half empty?

This is what will make the difference in your whole life! This is what differentiates difference-making leaders from indifferent leaders! Think right. View things from the right angle. Fish out the positive, even when the negative seem to flood your life like a tsunami.

Whenever a challenge comes your way, remember: It is a matter of choice. You can take it as a crisis and run away from it, or as an opportunity and utilize it for further growth and advancement.

 

LEADERS LOOK AT THE NEED BEFORE THE FUND

Of recent, I talked to a friend who works with some organization. In our conversation, he told me how they’ve been undertaking some tiresome project simply because someone offered to sponsor it. This was a project that was originally outside their organizational vision and mission. “When we saw that there were funds for it, we embarked on it,” he intimated to me.

This questions such an organization’s credibility to handle such a project. It puts the leaders therein in an integrity microscope and finds them very wanting. It leaves one wondering whether the purpose for the organization’s existence is to look for money and see what to use it for or to identify the society’s needs and look for money to meet those needs! Resting on one of the two options above will clearly bring out the underlying fact about whether that organization is surely transformational or merely transactional.

Transformational Organizations

i.            Transformational organizations are keen to first conduct a situational analysis in order to identify a pressing need that should be addressed. (This goes without saying that such a need should be relevant and/or in line with the organization’s vision, mission, goals and objectives.)

ii.          When that need is clearly defined, relevant goals and objectives are laid down. These objectives are the target achievements that summarily will solve the problem at hand. They answer the question, “What needs to be achieved in order for the need to be addressed?”

iii.         Strategies are then laid out. These are the approaches or methods and/or activities that are employed to achieve the objectives. They answer the question, “What shall we do to achieve our objectives?”

iv.        Thereafter, the PARTNERS – individuals, organizations or institutions – are identified. These are the ones that join hands in one way or the other to support or enable the accomplishment of the mission. They answer the question, “Who is relevant and instrumental in helping us achieve our objectives?”

v.          Evaluation tools are identified i.e. from what shall you come to conclude that you’ve addressed the need and accomplished the mission. These can also be called the assessment procedures – both formative and summative. They answer the question, “How shall we know that we’re making progress or that we’ve now achieved our objectives?”

vi.        A budget is then made, clearly explaining how each item thereon contributes to mission accomplishment. This answers the question, “How much money is needed to accomplish the mission?”

vii.       Thereafter, the sources of income can then be identified and funds looked for. This answers the question, “From where shall this needed money come?”

After all the above questions have been answered, the organization swings into action to address the need.

Transactional Organizations

On the other hand, however, Transactional organizations are just that – transactional! They are simply in business. They exist simply to make money. They’re all eyes wide open looking here and there for the next source of funds to plan for! They’ll thus do all they can to squeeze and “underutilize” the money they get in the name of leveraging. They’ll avail wrong accountabilities to their funders. To them, financial accountability is not about explaining how the money was used. To them, it means explaining how the money was supposed to be used, giving the explanation a language that makes it look like it was how the money was actually used! If it means forging receipts and signatures, they’ll do so. If it is overestimating the costs of different services and purchases, they won’t hesitate to do so. Anything that will add a penny into their personal pockets will be given the highest priority ever. That’s why they look for funds and then plan what to use them for. They do not identify what needs to be done, and then go to look for funds to do it. The reverse is true.

Bottom Line

First, excellent leaders should look at the need before the fund. Their whole zeal is dedicated towards addressing a dire need. Because of the compassionate attachment they feel in their hearts towards the identified need, they go out of their way to look for funds that can fulfill the unselfish dream. They do not camouflage under the organization to enrich themselves. They rather give the organization a chance to address the needs of the society vis-à-vis the organization’s vision, mission, objectives, and scope of operation.

Second, our organizational visions should not be limited by money. Our visions should limit the money needed. We should not say, “How much is available so that we can plan for it?” We should instead say, “How much is needed for this vision to come to pass?” There, the remaining task would be how to get the required money. While the former restrains us from reaching the highest point we can ever reach and be the best we can ever be, the latter liberates our minds to be stretched to our highest potential and swings us out of our comfort zones to reach out and physically paint our mental picture.

Third, leaders of organizations must work at achieving their visions and not doing things out of the blue – things that even do not help to achieve the organization’s vision. They should not do things because there’s money specifically voted to undertake those things. They should do them because they’re a need that should be addressed. We should not cry when money is there but can’t be used; we rather should cry when needs are numerous but can’t be met!

 

Let Real Leadership Enter the Real World

Situation:

There are many people who have studied and have abundant skills in construction and engineering. But why is it that we still have bridges that collapse at the passing of a bicycle, many buildings collapsing, roads that develop grave-deep potholes within 2 months of their construction, among others?

There are many people who have studied public administration and management more than ever before. But why is it that administration in public offices and management of public resources is still poor and a very enormous challenge in this century?

There are many people who have studied law. They are known by various names: lawyer, advocate, judge, chief justice, legal assistant, magistrate, and other names. But why is it that justice and fairness still elude us in our society today? Why do the guilty continue to be exonerated while the innocent are being victimized?

There are many people who have studied ethics and integrity. Some are doctors of ethics! Others sit on various ethics, integrity, and disciplinary committees and councils. But why is it that we’re still plagued with high levels of unethical living and immorality in our communities, from top to bottom? Why is it that even the supposed moral advocates are the ones becoming morally corrupted?

There are many management capacity building seminars and leadership development workshops that have been held all around us, now and again. There are many people who have studied leadership and related courses in management. There are many people who boast of many years of practice as leaders, managers, administrators, directors, officers, among others. But why is it still true that we have a seriously acute leadership deficiency in our institutions and organizations? Why is it that we have so many leaders but so little leadership?

Diagnosis:

One of the most realistic answers is that we have continued to have real leadership taking place in theoretical and imaginary arenas. We can speak out every leadership style and lecture people on how each one of them works. We can authoritatively boast of first class degrees in Leadership and Management. We can be called Professors of Leadership. We can even come from families that have always produced leaders in our communities over decades.

 Medication:

But until we start relaying good leadership practices in our daily work, all this is vanity for vanity! Until we remove real leadership from theory to practice, we’ll remain ineffective. Until we stop travelling with great and voluminous leadership manuals in our hands and start putting in practice what’s therein, we’ll never make an impact.

Until we work towards being transformational, active, and proactive leaders in our society, our titles won’t help anything. Until we can display practical expertise in our leadership positions, we won’t justify our occupancy of such positions of responsibility.

All our leadership endeavors will be for self aggrandizement and never helpful to those we assume we’re leading well, until we do the following:

• truly care,
• sincerely love,
• effectively communicate,
• strategically network with others,
• ably see and help others to see the big picture,
• set goals and pursue their achievement,
• mentor those to succeed us,
• restrain ourselves from being greedy,
• work with honesty and
• transact business with integrity,

We’d rather have so few leaders with a lot of leadership than having so many leaders with so little leadership. Remove real leadership from theory. Bring it into the real world. Let it do and/or address the real issues. Live the principles you’ve known. Only then shall our leadership create the real impact and justify its existence.

 

AN ECONOMICAL PEOPLE DESERVE AN ECONOMICAL LEADERSHIP

I have realized how many people in the world today squeeze their pockets to make sure they economize. When it comes to poor economies especially in Africa, it is taken to another pinching level. People fight hard to minimize their expenditure so that they can be able to have something to survive on the next day. They discipline themselves and deliberately deal with their bad financial habits.

• They monitor their expenditure on feeding, the wardrobe, home utensils, and electronic gadgets. They minimize their usage of utilities like electricity, water, among others.
• They economize the expenditure on leisure and relaxation which is supposed to give them a good and comfortable life.
• When it comes to basic necessities of life, they crimp and save something. Instead of buying the comfortable 5kg of food for the whole family, they opt for 3kg so they can save the rest for another day.
• When it comes to education, they sacrifice the very best of schools and take their children to the relatively good schools so they can spend less on a relatively good education.
• While shopping clothes, they go for something simply decent but not expensive so as to cut down the spending. They do this on almost each and everything in their lives.

 Wrong People in Right Places:

In a harsh paradox, however, most leaders of such people do exactly the opposite.

• They take their children to the world class schools and attain the very best education that the world has to offer.
• They treat their family members from the biggest hospitals abroad, leaving their own hospitals at home not stocked and not equipped with medicine and medical personnel.
• They import and drive the most expensive, latest car models. Some have acquired fleets of such cars for themselves, lying idle in their spacious, well kept compounds.
• Others lavishly shop each and everything and end up throwing away the leftovers in the compost pit. Other leaders have become ‘shopaholics’ who only shop and shop and shop for the sake of being seen as expensive shoppers. They only want to please someone somewhere. Using the little money that belongs to the population, they buy the things that they even do not need so as to please the people that they do not even love at all.

There’s too much money in their pockets that they are very uncomfortable when they do not spend it quickly. They do all this at the perilous expense of the miserable people they lead. They have proved to be wrong people who are occupying in right places (or should I call them right people occupying wrong places?).

 Tightening the Grip:

In the midst of all this, there are the wretched poor who remain poor. Some become poorer and poorer by the day.

• The street kids get hungrier and many of them die of hunger.
• The terminally ill remain with no medicine because the line minister has swindled the money. I may not need to remind someone that these are the people whose burial arrangements we hear being announced daily on the local radio stations.
• Those who have no shelters due to abject poverty keep living in dilapidated, leaking small structures because the leader does not care about getting markets for these poor people’s little agricultural produce – their only source of income.
• The uneducated remain ignorant with no one to help them out.
• The school dropouts, who usually are the youths, remain uneducated and end up in drugs, alcohol and theft.

The situations of all these people above continue to get a firmer grip on them on a daily basis.

 Unbelievable Gluttony!

Meanwhile, the stunningly rich leader continues to ask for more and more taxes.

• The extreme hunger for money continues to drive him to do extreme evils only to acquire another dollar to add onto his account.
• He hikes the costs of education and all utility bills.
• He eats more and more money – even the money meant for the unfortunate of this world.
• He treats himself to expensive saunas, massages, and tremendously expensive meals in five-star hotels.
• He belches the more as more and more people under his leadership die of hunger and malnourishment.

It’s ironical how millions of helpless people are dying of starvation, while such heartless leaders are dying of overeating! The people are kept both poor and ignorant because after all, these types of people are easier to rule and toss around in any direction as one wants!

 Time for Resolve:

I vastly believe that it is high time leaders begun “looking like” the people they lead. The leaders need to be on the same planet with those that God has mercifully and undeservedly put under their care. They are supposed to be shepherds, and not slaughterers.

 Leaders that have concern for the people don’t need to be strangers among their very own, living a kind of life that suggests that they have been imported from mars or Venus. They need to show this concern for those they lead by being concerned about their own usage of resources that their people should have access to. Otherwise, adverts may need to be run in the media, for example, inviting applications for presidents, ministers, chairmen, or directors, whereby only foreign applicants who are truly competent, caring and know what to do, shall be allowed to apply and be hired for these positions!

 For the right thing to be done, therefore, the leaders must learn to economize as they execute their daily leadership duties. They must leverage: try to do much with less. In a poor economy, for example:

• very huge parliaments and cabinets may not be called for;
• unnecessarily huge administrative expenditures are close to unforgivable;
• giving posh cars to every government worker may not be an act of wisdom;
• Awarding exceptionally lots of privileges to the leader may be safely called greed and self-indulgence.

 Sincerely, an economical people deserve an economical leadership. A people who cut down their spending on each and everything deserve a similar leader who restrains himself from overspending on each and everything. A people who spend with a thought of the future deserve a leader who does not spend with the here-and-now mentality. A people who struggle to have something to eat deserve a leader who eats relatively less so as to feed more and more of the people he/she leads.

 An economical people deserve an economical leadership. Shall you therefore, solemnly swear that you shall provide this kind of leadership to those you lead, God being your helper?

 

A BAD DECISION WITH A GOOD INTENTION REMAINS BAD

I have often seen, heard, and heard about leaders who have pleaded not guilty for certain mistakes because they did what they did with a good intention. They claim that what they did was in “good faith” and thus excusable even if something went wrong.

Decision Making:

This brings a very important leadership aspect in focus: decision making. One of the chief, if not most important, roles of a leader is to make decisions. An excellent leader is expected to make excellent decisions; to make right choices. This is regardless of the intentions.

 As you know, someone’s intentions are not seen. They are only expressed or talked about, and people decide to believe them or not. What is evidently clear is the decision made – whether good or bad. The intention may be discovered later.

 Excellent leaders must therefore endeavor to make right choices – make good decisions. A bad decision made with a good intention remains bad. Good intentions are indeed good. But when they are coupled with bad decisions, the union is incompatibly suicidal. Whether the intention was to help millions of people, a bad decision when made with a good intention, remains a bad decision. 

Decision Determines Destiny.

Leaders must remember that the decisions they make as leaders will determine the destiny of the organization they lead, the people they show direction, and the activities they manage. 

Don’t put the destiny of that organization and the people that work under you in jeopardy. Take good time to know the decisions you make. Ensure they are the right decisions. Consult others so that you have a balanced view of your thinking and resolution.

Remember that once a decision has been made, a choice has been made. And it works like this: you have a liberty to make your choice, but you do not have the liberty to choose the consequences of your choice. Only what you have to do is to make sure that you make the right choice, which will automatically yield the right consequence.

With good intentions, make good decisions. The destiny of your organization and those you lead will then be secure. Keep reminding yourself: a bad decision made with a good intention remains bad! Good intentions must be accompanied by good decisions for your leadership to be fruitful, constructive, and productive.

 

7 REASONS WHY A LEADER MUST BE TALL TO BE EXCELLENT!

You can’t say no. Just hold your breath, and wait! If you’re to laugh yourself into learning, that’s fine. I am simply trying to think aloud so as to give you a rare chance to eavesdrop in my mind. And here are my thoughts: A leader must be tall to be excellent.

1 – Delegation:

A time will come when some items needed to prosper the organization are at the lower levels close to the ground. Given his height, he may not be able to access them quickly. It takes more time for a tall man to pick something from the ground than the shorter one. This means that those things down will be done by those shorter ones under him by default. And this automatically makes him very excellent at delegation – an important component in excellent leadership.

2 – Vision:

Short men see near. They can’t see beyond that short hill in front of them. But the tall ones can easily see the direction the team is taking because their height can allow them to see far beyond the horizon. This enables them to have the overall bigger picture of where the organization is going to because they can see that bigger picture – and this is what many have called vision. Without a vision, people perish. If you don’t know where you’re going, you even won’t realize when you reach there. You’ll continue moving! The tall leader is at an advantage here!

3 – Kindness:

Of course, with the tall height comes the big heart! And the bigger the leader’s heart, the luckier the people he leads are! He won’t find difficulty in forgiving those who make human mistakes at work because his heart is big enough to accommodate them too. He may even be able to give a piece of his heart to any who needs encouragement. With the big heart, he won’t struggle with giving and giving and giving: his time, his wisdom, his finances, and even his life! What a wonderful leader to have!

4 – Scapegoat:

Imagine the short leader who gets lost in the crowd, among those he leads! Even when trouble comes, those he leads face it rough. It comes to them direct. But my friend, the tall leader, is easily seen before those he leads. He “stands out” of the crowd, far above any other. And so if any danger is to come to the organization, it hits him first and the rest are saved. Isn’t this a good quality of an excellent leader – being a scapegoat of those he leads?!

5 – Listening:

Tall people usually have relatively bigger ears than short people. In most cases, the body height is in direct proportion to the ear size. With this ample endowment of the sizeable ears, the leader will be better positioned to receive more sounds than he produces. And this will enable him to be more of a listener than a talker! While others talk and talk, he takes time to listen and listen. God was wise enough to give us two ears and one mouth: more listening and less talking! A listening leader can be approachable.

6 – Security:

When people are not sure of their fate in any organized group, their hearts can never be at rest. This fear freezes them into poor performance. But given a tall leader, the height of a giant, those led are sure of protection. He can ably subdue any force that invades them. He is like a strong gun before his people! With this security assured, employee retention becomes higher because no one is running away from anything. The giant has assured them of safety!

7 – Discipline and Respect:

Have you ever heard about the center of gravity? It can be defined as the balance point of an object; the point through which a force will cause pure translation; or the point about which gravity moments are balanced. This explains why it is not easy to pull down a short man. You see, he is already down there, close to the ground. Scientifically speaking, his center of gravity is closer to the ground and so he cannot fall even when he is pushed. But for the tall leader, the center of gravity is higher, far off from the ground, making him very vulnerable to falling down at the slightest push. Such a leader, therefore, will be disciplined, respecting everyone he works with, aware that the moment he misbehaves, it’ll be easier for those under him to push him out of office!

Can I drive the point home?

Well, this tallness is not about the physical height. It is about the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes that the leader has. An excellent leader should have more height in his knowledge of the tasks to be accomplished. He should be tall in the necessary skills. His value height should be taller than those he leads. That’s what makes him a leader – someone ahead of others, someone being followed.

How I wish the generation of “tall leaders” may increase in our time! These would display more grace, compassion, care, and kindness. They would show good discipline, and respect for all. Those they lead would be secure, safe, and protected by their own leader. The whole team would move in the right direction due to the effect of a visionary leader. There would be no sour relations that come out of the blame game, because the leader would be willing to take responsibility – even on behalf of the team members. “Tall leaders” offer excellent leadership. Shall you be one?

 

TACKLE LEADERSHIP ISSUES FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION TO GROW.

Through working with organizations, speaking to their leaders, training workers in conferences, reading reports about organizational performances, and observation of many others, I have found out that good and effective leadership is the main factor in the success of excellent organizations. Similarly, ineffective leadership is the chief cause of crippled organizations. True to say, everything rises and falls on leadership. I have come to the conclusion that if any organization is to grow and be successful in achieving its goals and objectives, then the starting point must be on its leadership.

Compassion and Care:

If the leaders are compassionate and caring, the workers will enjoy a safe and secure working environment wherein individual effectiveness thrives. The caring and compassionate hand of the leader hides the nakedness of the workers. They are not afraid to put in their best as one does to a close, caring friend. But if the leaders are rude and care less about anyone else apart from themselves, the workers are left to languish in stress, distress, and perpetual fear. And under such emotions and conditions, excellent performance is only a dream that will never be realized.

Vision and Purpose:

Go to an organization in which the leaders are visionary and purpose driven. The organization will have a clear direction, with every member of the organization aware of where they are going to as a team. But if the leader is a person who sees not beyond his nose, the organization suffers from managerial and operational myopia. The workforce itself remains blind to the direction the organization is taking. Needless to say, the blind man leading blind men, the whole organization falls in a ditch.

Godliness and Integrity:

I have got a chance to visit and work with some organizations where the leaders are God fearing men and women of integrity. Not surprised, I have always witnessed righteous, open transactions and operation with accountability. But where the leadership is wicked in its way of doing things, expect the organization to suffer suppression, corruption, and every other evil thing that can ever happen in an organization. A good example is one organization where the Executive Director had a sexual relationship with the Administrative Assistant. At first, they were excused under the guise of work cooperation until a day when the Tea Boy bumped into them attending to the “carpet business” in the Director’s office in the morning hours! When the godly are in leadership, people rejoice; but when the wicked take charge, people go into hiding.

Consultation and Teamwork:

In some organizations, the leader consults other co-workers before taking major decisions that affect them and the organization in general. Under such circumstances, teamwork is enhanced and all team members solidly have a sense of ownership on the decisions taken. But where a leader does things alone in the air-conditioned corners of his room, workers have no sense of attachment to the organizational vision and mission. Performance is resultantly poor.

Humility and Respect:

I’ve met leaders who are humble and respectful to all other persons under them. In their organizations, the workers feel loved and treasured, prompting them to put in their best efforts to see the organizational goals achieved. This is due to the fact that they see the organization as a family to which they gladly belong and not just a naturally coincidental gathering of money-hunting beings. But in organizations where the leader is proud, arrogant, and has no respect for those that work under him, the workers feel betrayed, used, exploited, and just employed as money-making machines for the leader’s self enrichment. This automatically reduces their morale and commitment to excellent work.

Employee Development:

In organizations where the leaders encourage workers to develop themselves such as through in-service training, refresher courses, upgrading or going for further studies, the rate of employee retention and excellent performance is very high. The workers feel they are wished well. When work is delegated to them, they are given a chance to grow and be better people. They are given opportunities to be leaders too and so, they see no big reason to leave the organization for another. But in organizations where the leader does not care about the individual development of the workers, the rate of employee retention is miserably low. Workers do not see a future working with this organization. They have nothing to make them remain there. Their potential, when not utilized, compels them to look for a better ground from where they can utilize it to a relative maximum.

Nurturing Healthy Relationships:

In organizations where the leaders understand the importance of building and nurturing good and honest relations, the results are high. When relationships are redeemed, results are achieved. In such organizations, the level of concern for one another facilitates the bond that brings the entire workforce together to concentrate on the tasks at hand with love and singleness of purpose. But in organizations where the leader just cares more about results and less about who brings in the results, those anticipated results periodically dwindle into extinction. There’s no relational warmth that binds the team together.

Transparency and Accountability:

I’ve also come across organizations in which the leaders are honest, open, and accountable. Therein, a lot of resources are well used and put to right causes. The available money is transparently known by the concerned parties and allocation is done basing on honest standards. But where the leader is the only one who knows how much is in the organization’s treasury and none else, those organizations are marred with mistrust, uncertainty, resource misuse, and channeling of funds to wrong or personal causes. As a result, of course, each worker works to get his share of the remuneration and cares less about organizational growth and development.

Effective Communication:

Within organizations where the leaders frequently communicate to those other stakeholders, smooth running is witnessed. Every concerned party is kept informed and thus, all of them feel a sense of responsibility and importance in the organization. This enhances the level of each individual worker’s commitment to the efficiency and effectiveness of the organizational programs. But if the leader does not see the importance of communication and just keeps people in an information blackout, workers do everything mechanically, not knowing what’s happening within the organization. This increases the feelings of insecurity as workers fear the unknown! At the end of the day, they deliberately or otherwise, progress at a fairly slower pace for fear of coincidentally stepping on anyone’s shoes.

Conclusion:

Start with the leadership if your organization is to grow. Address the leadership issues in the organizations. Look at issues concerning leader-follower relations, accountability and honesty in the leadership corridors, and the existing communication systems or channels. Look at the salaries and non-financial benefits that the leader avails to the workers and at what time. Look at the leader’s character and how he treats the workers.

Straighten the leadership path, and the organization will grow and develop to achieve its vision, mission, and objectives.

I hope you now go to ensure excellent leadership in your organization.