By Dr Lazarus Zaka Gaza,
Leadership is a universal phenomenon. And so are the challenges of leadership. All across the world, mankind is faced with the consequences of either good or bad leadership across the board. The only difference is the peculiarities of each society.
So, while challenges of leadership are worldwide, wise men say that charity begins at home. Therefore, I congratulate the author and also commend him for daring to address the leadership question as it affects the Gbagyi people. For, when we put our own house in order, then we can have the confidence, knowledge and wisdom to put the world around us in order. When we are able to do that, then we can make the world a better place for all of God’s children.
When we talk about challenges of leadership in Gbagyi land, we’re simply saying that we have certain poor qualities that inhibit effective leadership amongst us as a people. And, before I continue, I’ll like to define leadership in a most simplistic term so that we all can understand the issues that we’re trying to address here today, and going forward.
Leadership means service to God and mankind. It means being responsible for whatever work God has placed in our hands and delivering such diligently, transparently, selflessly, passionately and courageously. Too many times so many of us think of leadership only as it concerns people occupying certain offices as the heads of such. That is the reason today we are faced with so many leadership challenges that we should have out-grown. We look at the people occupying certain offices as the leaders. Meanwhile, so many of us are also leaders but remain dormant, because we do not occupy certain offices or the headship of certain organizations. The result? Our own quota of contributions suffers, thereby leaving those other individuals we consider as leaders overwhelmed in a way that jeopardizes their performances to the chagrin of us all.
When we understand our own leadership responsibilities, not positions, I repeat, not positions, then we will be alive to pick out true servants that do not only have the capacity to deliver quality services or leadership to our people, but those who also have the integrity to do so sincerely, effectively and selflessly.
In his book, “The 360 degree Leader” John C. Maxwell dwells on the possibility of each of us developing our influences from anywhere in any given organization. He pointed out that we can make effective contributions from wherever we are towards developing our organizations, societies or nations. Therefore, in leadership, the position is nothing but a myth. Don’t say, “I can’t lead, if I’m not at the top.” You can lead from anywhere you are if you develop relevant capacity and discipline to serve. So, I challenge us today, not to look at our leadership challenges as though they were something peculiar to our political, religious, traditional and other leaders of organizations or societies. We need to look at it as our general shortcomings as a people. That way, we can begin to address the issues the way they should be addressed from the very foundation and holistically too.
Or have we not seen it before, where certain individuals pontificate and criticize those at the helm of affairs only to become worse than those they were criticizing when they finally happened to be the ones in charge? Why is that so? It’s because people don’t develop their capacities to serve because they think that leadership is a position. They imagine that when they were appointed to certain positions they would serve, only to be appointed or promoted to their positions of incompetence. And society suffers.
Today my assignment is simple. I have no time to complain about how bad our leaders are. Because we either chose them or allowed them to get away with whatever it is that they should not be doing. I want to challenge us today, to look at ourselves as leaders in all our various places of work and families. I want to challenge us to be very proactive. If we see anything going wrong anywhere and it’s in our power to correct it, let’s stand up and do so without fear or favour. If it’s not in our power to correct it, we can call the attention of those who are in a position to correct it. Both ways are leadership. And when we always do so, it will become very glaring when someone occupying a certain office is failing to carry his own responsibility. That way we will have the moral right to ask them to adjust or leave for someone who’s more capable and willing to deliver.
I want to challenge us to reach out to those occupying certain offices whenever we have some ideas that we believe can make a difference for our people or add value to what they are doing. And we should do so respectfully, but confidently too. They will either accept it or reject it. Both ways will give us a signal as to what we need to do with such people. We can actually lead from the backseat by showing those in the front seat the way to go for the benefit of our people. It’s not all about the people occupying leadership positions. It’s about all of us. They are not the ones failing. We are.
Our leadership challenges can be addressed when all of us are awake. When all of us are awake, the atmosphere would be too hot for any cold opportunist to survive while parading themselves as leaders.
I tell you the truth if we have bad or incompetent leaders, it is our fault. Let’s all take responsibility for genuine service wherever we are. When we do so, we shall automatically rid our society of charlatans parading themselves as leaders. That’s about the only way to address our leadership challenges. I hope we take home this message and act upon it. When we can do this, then we can change the narratives about our leadership, because leadership is everyone’s responsibility.
Dr Gaza, a former member House of Representatives, was a retired director, human resources management, FCTA. He writes from Abuja.