Everything rises and falls on leadership says the famous maxim. The success of every organization is completely hinged on how effective, connected and competent the leadership and management of such organization is. Our systems, structures, families, organizations and nation are failing not because of lack of expertise, competence or excellent hands in leadership but because the matrices and denominators of effective and exemplary leadership which are Character, Competence, Confidence and Connection are completely missing in the core of our leadership in this dispensation.

Most leaders in the 21 century are beclouded by the passion to occupy positions forgetting that positional leadership is at the bottom rung when talking about the levels of leadership. Leadership transcends coercing, dominating or controlling people so as to achieve a set of goals although all these are included, it is simply ability to impact and influence another person. It is what happens to people first and then the system organization you lead after a leader must have gone that determines how successful you are as a leader.

Leaders should also have it at the back of their minds that they are not intrinsically more important or valuable than their followers or the people they lead, it is the impact of their actions that is greater than that of the people they are leading, and having this understanding will definitely increase a leader’s empathy and vulnerability towards the people he is leading and this automatically increases people’s loyalty, dedication and commitment towards the leader.

Leadership is being able to plant trees that will not give shades to the planter in his time. It is about leaving enduring and indelible legacies for the coming generation. The whole essence of leadership is service to humanity. It’s so sad and precarious to know that most leaders will get to the end of life and
discover that they have not truly lived.

… Olawale Craig.