EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIP (PART 2)

Today, I would continue from the point I stopped in the last write-up. I mentioned that there are a lot of attribute that helps one to daily strive towards excellence in whatever leadership position we find ourselves in and I dealt with two out of the points I discovered. I would advice that as we read, we pick out points that are useful to sharpen our leadership skills.

In the first part of this topic, I talked on:-
- Discipline and Leading one’s self
- Maturity and Sincerity.

These two points discussed (refer to the last write-up),were discussed extensively and no matter what I say on them again, they can never be over emphasized, but for the sake of time and other points to be discussed, I would advice that before going through this second part, you take time to go through the first.

CONTINUATION

- VISION (ABILITY TO SEE BEYOND)
A leader should be able to see beyond points everybody sees, he should be able to create pathways and think of solutions either individually or collectively with the people he leads. He should never be shortsighted or blind towards possibilities (possibility mentality) that can be achieved. He should on a daily basis set standards that would always allow his people see beyond the ordinary even though they must be realistic. As we know, what we see determines our actions.

-STRIVING TO BECOME HEROS
As a leader, your presence should always uplift the mood, spirit and tempo of people around you. A leader should daily improve himself to a point where his people sees his presence means possibilities and ideas that would bring solution to whatever issue they have to tackle. This alone makes you understand that as a leader, a lot of responsibility is placed on us to daily invest our time and effort in meaningful ventures that are educative and inspiring and also give ourselves the needed exposure to get things done.

- BEING APPRECIATIVE AND APOLOGETIC WHEN NEEDED
A proverb from my tribe (YORUBA) says “a good word brings out Kola nut from ones pocket”. Literarily, this means when good appreciative words are said to people, naturally they are receptive towards you.

This alone has explained the point. Simple words like “Thankyou, Welldone” go a long way in boosting one’s moral and increasing performance in ones duty. This tells us that the more a leader truthfully appreciates, the more his people lives no stone untouched in actualizing their collective task.

Also, he should learn to apologize in situations where he goes wrong. This makes his people understand that he is human and he also needs their support and understanding in solving issues. It also makes them see him as a reasonable person with qualities of a human being.

No matter what we do, we should seek first understanding for ourselves before we seek to be understood. Making sure that these few principles are imbibed is a step towards striving for EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIP.
Fakeye, Olaniyi Olatunde
President,
Neff Business Concept

EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIP (PART 1)

In some of my previous writings, I talked at one time on EXCELLENCE and also on LEADERSHIP. Today, the combination of both attribute to give one quality or to create a class in my concern. It is said that when we do not know what we want, we do not know who carries it. This is why we have always made mistakes in putting the wrong people in leadership position. The ability to know what quality to actually expect from a leader is the first step towards picking a credible one.

As I have said in my previous writing that excellence is working to achieve quality, I have also stated that it is a continuous process we have to improve on daily which is based on knowledge and exposure, the level of this helps to in determining our standards.

I have also said that leadership is an opportunity to serve, put people right and provide solutions to their problems. It is a position to effect change based on whatever it is that we generally perceive or see as wrong.

As human beings, the first thing we all have to understand is that as long as you have an influence on someone, you are a leader, by this I mean when your actions affect a person, you are a leader, but how do you perform this task to the best of your capability and strive towards excellence?, it only takes you working with certain principles and then making them defining factors in decision making when it concerns issues around you. It also involves you understanding some simple truths and then living your life to reflect the truth.

Note that as a leader, people look out more for your examples than your principles and they use it as guiding factors on issues concerning them. This is why it is your duty to digest these principles and bring them into real life application so that people will easily imitate and learn from them.

Today, I would only take two points that makes one an excellent leader, in my next update, I would discuss others.

DISCIPLINE AND LEAD YOURSELF FIRST
This is a major point in that you cannot give what you do not have. The ability to curb your excesses makes you justified when talking to others on the same issue, and also makes you not to appear as an hypocrite when it comes to issues of daily life.
Learn to put yourself right and naturally, others would follow. They would follow because they know that you are actually truthful to yourself and have set standards that has helped you greatly and would still continuously do.

BE MATURED AND SINCERE
Maturity is simply the art of breaking and forming oneself (Character) so as to suit a particular form. In the case of leadership, this quality should naturally set in; people should be able to rely on you, your actions and your words. This is basically what maturity is all about.

Sincerity is you being truthful and plain, nobody is saying a leader should be perfect, he should only be sincere, admit his mistakes and make daily effort towards making them right. He should discuss with his people, consult them and inform them on major happenings and guide them in making the right decision which would be implemented as fast as possible.

This qualities highlighted today are just some out of what a leader should work upon when striving towards excellence. In my next write-up, God willing, I would talk on others I have been able to discover and learn.

Remember, the strive for excellence is a must in whatever it is we find ourselves doing at any point in time. It is going the extra mile to ensure performance and quality in our daily endeavor.
Fakeye, Olaniyi Olatunde
President
Neff Business Concept

THE TRUE MEANING OF SUCCESS AND WHAT IT SHOULD BE DEFINED BY

SUCCESS to me can be defined as getting positive or desired results from whatever venture one engages in, be it business, education, daily life, generally in all aspect of man’s endeavor. Everybody on a daily basis put a lot of effort to get results in whatever they do, but I have noticed that the wrong evaluation of success and its meaning is the main cause of people’s extremism and misdeeds in the bid to achieve success.

People put themselves in compromising and degrading position when working towards attaining success. This at a time made me sit to find out what success answers to so as not to go through corny parts.

SUCCESS is a must have, if it is, what should be defined is the type of success one wants to achieve and what thirst is that level of success going to quench in us. Also, the true definition of the word “SUCCESS” should also be known. This would help us to know how to position ourselves to achieve this singular goal.

SUCCESS must never be measured by material things like properties, cars and aesthetics, they are only dividends or gifts gotten from being successful, in fact, these things can be gotten but it does not mean one is truly successful. SUCCESS is a process which when mastered; you can always duplicate or replicate the results wherever you find yourself at any point in time. This is the singular reason why people like Donald Trump can become bankrupt and rise again to wealth over and over again. It is because he has put himself in the refining process, but trust me, it takes time. It is like a fruit, it has to grow.

There are basic principles one has to imbibe, make his basic living principles and in a short time, would find out that success would come naturally.

HARDWORK AND SMARTWORK PUT TOGETHER
I put both of them together because being hardworking in a wrong field would not yield desired results. Take for example, a cleaner working in a place diligently, performing his duty would not attain success in it at least financial, doing this for a long number of years would only amount to a waste of time, strength and potentials. What such a person should have done is try to put things together to either have a cleaning outfit or get into other jobs more financially rewarding.
Smart work is looking out for a kind of venture/business that when engaged in diligently, would give one the success one anticipates and deserves. Conscious effort should be made to study a venture before one engages in it so as not to waste precious time and energy digging where there is no gold.

SINCERITY
This is another major point, in that it is based on being truthful first with one’s self, then people around you and also your disposition to whatever you put your effort in.

Somebody told me once that a sincere person doesn’t have to always remember things he said at one time or the other because whenever there is cause to repeat his stance or the story, he would always say the same thing.

Truth makes people believe in you, trust you and commit a lot to you. It puts you in a position of responsibility first to yourself and then to others. This is because you know whatever you do at any point in time is done to the best of your ability and everybody knows the same thing about you. This singular principle makes one respected and as we know with this comes great responsibility.

Other principles are good character, enviable skills which has being discussed earlier in previous writings. It is my suggestion that this should be taken to heart so as to part a good way towards attaining success.
Fakeye, Olaniyi Olatunde
President,
Neff Business Concept

CRITICISM; A MAJOR CATALYST TO SUCCESS

When we were young, our parents would caution, criticize and oppose us when we act based on instinct or basic feelings that gives us instant pleasure or makes us happy as supposed to the right step which would in the long run be to our advantage. The reason for these is because we need to understand that our opinions on issues are not always right and quick correction given puts us on the right part.

No matter who you are, you are always opened to criticisms. The point is then to find out if you are approachable or you just want to hear what pleases you. Though some are CONSTRUCTIVE, others are DESTRUCTIVE. It is your point of duty to know and check out for which of the criticisms is right and use the ideas you get as pathways towards achieving success.

In politics, we have political parties opposing the ideas and methods of each other, trying to criticize and correct even in cases where the ruling party acts right. This singular action puts whoever is in the leadership position on his toe and makes him understand that his every move is monitored and discussed, after which conclusions are used either as key points to criticize or praise him.

I carefully studied situations in my environment, interaction between people and also different factors in life, with that, I was able to put down these points as the best way to turn criticism into pathways to success.

BEING FLEXIBLE TO ACCOMMODATE AND ACCEPT NEW IDEAS
As a human being, your ability to be able to listen, judge and reason with people should be worked upon daily. By this I mean one should daily strive for the ability to be able to pick out truths and best ideas without sentiments, not minding the people, place or person the idea originated from and then easily integrating it with yours to achieve a common goal.

HAVING A HEALTHY SELF ESTEEM
Criticism could be CONSTRUCTIVE or DESTRUCTIVE as earlier stated. This is dependent on the kind of response the critic intends to get. Ability to stay calm and reason out facts either with the person or showing that the person is wrong without raising unnecessary issue is key. This singular point is based on your trust in yourself and also how healthy your self esteem is.

HAVING A STAND IS KEY
He who has no STAND stands for anything. As a person, we should have guiding principles on issues surrounding us. We should know what we want and what we want to achieve. When this is in place, every criticism received would only serve as a stimulant towards success.

In life, as long as we live, there would always be criticism. My sincere advice is to use them as stepping stones toward success. When this is done, there would not be tension or problem between people. That I am sure of.

Fakeye, Olaniyi Olatunde
President,
Neff Business Concept

GOOD CHARCTER AND ENVIABLE SKILLS, A SURE ROUTE TO SUCCESS

Over the years, I have asked questions from people older than I am about what one needs to put in place to be successful in life apart from beliefs from diverse religious teachings and general observations, but the only answer gotten from people asked is that good character coupled with undeniable skills is a sure ladder to success. They all made it a point of duty to highlight them in their level of importance which means good character first, then enviable skills.

They all pointed out the fact that CHARACTER should be the major quality to be sourced for in any equation before any other follows. This is because in the absence of this, we only have a “sophisticated crook” as one of my mentors would call it

GOOD CHARACTER
CHARACTER is defined by Oxford advanced learners Dictionary (7th Edition) as “all the qualities and features that make a person, groups of people and place different from others”. When we then say GOOD CHARACTER, we could define it as “the ACCEPTABLE QUALITY AND FEATURES that makes a person in the context of our discussion wanted by the general populace.

This feature includes HUMILITY, SINCERITY AND TRUST, DISCIPLINE AND MANNERS. When a man possesses these qualities, the other can be learnt or acquired through thorough study and long effective practice.

ENVIABLE SKILL
This is also defined from the same source above as “the ability to do well, a particular ability or type of ability”. Whichever definition we intend picking, it all interprets the same thing, which is equipping yourself so as to be able to perform excellently in your given task.

When skill is being developed to point where it becomes enviable, one becomes a wonder and model at what he does, naturally people would be interested in your service because the quality of service you render is spectacular and that touch can only be gotten from you.

Skill is first of all acquired then polished through constant practice which then makes it enviable and marketable.

It should be noted that all skills in the world would not mean much if character is questionable. By this I mean the qualities that make one accepted are missing. Nobody would be interested in doing business with someone who cannot be trusted, it is known that success is only gotten when true service is rendered and acknowledged accordingly.

I would strongly advice that wherever we find ourselves, or in whatever we do, we should try as much as possible to showcase these qualities we have taken time to discuss briefly because they would finally provide the stepping stone towards success.

Fakeye, Olaniyi Olatunde
President,
Neff Business Concept

EXCELLENCE, A DESTINATION

What is excellence: - Excellence is a state of goodness or when performance or appearance is at its best.

As human beings, excellence is what we drive for in our daily life through our inventions and innovations. Inventions and innovation to make performance better and easier and then improvement on invented or innovated apparatus or system so as to perfect or produce better results.

In our service to people through whatever means it is being rendered, conditions and systems are daily fine-tuned so as to continually strive for excellence. If performance is daily worked upon in general society to produce excellence, how do we as individuals strive to attain excellence on a personal note in our daily lives and our relationship with other people.

There are a lot of things, character and attitude one need to imbibe so as to actually get to the point of excellence, but today, I would only discuss on one of the points.

-BY BEING TOLERANT AND CONSIDERATE
These two qualities should be imbibed as long as we want to exude excellence from within.

As long as we are tolerant, we would accept people with their flaws and take time to find out their areas of strength, which we would then be able to channel towards the success of a common goal.

Also, being considerate makes us put ourselves in place of people in whatever situation to know how they feel and cope. This in turn makes one know how to treat people and manage them.

We all come from different upbringings, standards and exposure levels and these greatly affect our sense of judgment of issues, but as long as we are considerate and tolerating, we would be able to cope and relate efficiently with anybody no matter their standard of living.

The ability to be able to relate efficiently and act accordingly is a step towards attaining excellence.

In whatever we do, we should always note that striving for EXCELLENCE is key and a destination we should all strive to get to.