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