Therefore encourage one another
and build one another up, just as you are doing –
1 Thessalonians 5:11
One of the greatest
survival stories in human history occurred in December 1914. Ernest Shackleton,
a British explorer, had led 28 men on an expedition toward Antarctica in the
South Pole. Somewhere in the course of their journey, the frozen sea trapped and
crushed their ship, leaving the men stranded in freezing temperature and
darkness for two years, without food or water in sight. They trudged through
miles and miles of deep snow, dragging their 30 foot life boat with them.
Drinking water was hard to find because every liquid they found froze quickly.
And when they ran out of food, they were forced to shoot and eat the sled dogs
they loved so much. But the men survived, 28 of them. A miracle they attributed
to the leadership of Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton, they reported, remained
optimistic, cheerful, consistent and caring all through the ordeal. “I knew how
important it was to keep the men cheerful,” he said. But what was really
noteworthy, was that the men, in spite of the seemingly hopeless situation they
were faced with, became the best cooks, hunters, navigators, meteorologist,
oarsmen and friends they had ever been. Shackleton, it was said, brought out
the best in his men in the worst conditions. And this is one of the most
precious characteristics of quality leadership – bringing out the best in the
people. “As a leader your number one priority is to bring out the best in
others,” says Richard S. Wellins, co-author of the bestselling bookYour
First Leadership Job.
Bringing out the best in
others is a deliberate art. It requires a clear understanding of the people and
their situations, inspiring hope and provoking a collective drive for
solutions. The leadership of the late Thomas Sankara was a shining example of
this. Sankara believed the people of Burkina Faso had what it took to solve
their own problems, and that with hard work and collective social mobilisation,
they could produce enough food to feed themselves and locally made goods to
stave off import reliance. He inspired the best in his people and a sense of
patriotism previously unknown to them. They built numerous schools, health
centres, water reservoirs, and nearly 100 kilometres of rail within his short
tenure, with little or no foreign assistance. Under Sankara’s leadership,
production of locally made cereal grew by 75 percent between 1983 and 1986. “I
think the most important thing is to bring the people to a point where they
have self-confidence, and understand that they can, at last be the authors of
their own wellbeing,” he said.
Leaders, no matter how gifted, cannot singlehandedly solve the people’s problems. What they can do is empower the people by creating an enabling environment for them to be the best they can be, with incentives, rewards and recognition, for achieving results. As someone said, “A leader’s role is to raise people’s expectations for what they can become and to release their energies so they will try to get there.”
Leaders, no matter how gifted, cannot singlehandedly solve the people’s problems. What they can do is empower the people by creating an enabling environment for them to be the best they can be, with incentives, rewards and recognition, for achieving results. As someone said, “A leader’s role is to raise people’s expectations for what they can become and to release their energies so they will try to get there.”
The truth is, there will always be challenges. And this is what
leaders are made for. As we continue, therefore, to consider and engage with
issues on how to move Nigeria forward, it is important to remind ourselves that
the potential of Nigeria and of Nigerians has never been in doubt. Everything
we need to fix what is broken in our society is within us and within our reach.
We have to trust ourselves. We have to look across from one another, the
leaders and the led, through ethnic and religious divides, and see brothers and
sisters, invested in the same dream of a better and just society, knowing that
we possess the range of skill we need to lift us up from where we are. We have
to look at what unites us rather than what divides us. Let the leadership make
this commitment. Let the people make this commitment: That whatever we have to
do, wherever we are, we will do all we can to inspire the next person to see
the best in themselves, to give the best of themselves, and to be an example of
that great Nigerian we know they have the potential to be.
NIGERIA HAS A GREAT FUTURE.
Taiwo Odukoya, a leadership and
relationship expert, is the Senior Pastor of The Fountain of Life Church.
Source: premiumtimesng.com
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