Wealthy Friends: LEADERSHIP by Prof. Wole Akinyemi Plus FOREX UPDATE

Leadership

By

Prof Wole Akinyemi

LEADERSHIP is man's greatest need for advancement. Civilizations rise and fall on Leadership. Leadership vacuum is crying to be filled in all spheres of life especially in Nigeria and Africa. Political leaders, Corporate Leaders, Academic and Intellectual leaders, Moral Leaders,Family Leaders,Religious Leaders,Youth Leaders etc.

In light of the importance of LEADERSHIP, my inaugural paper on this platform is "HOW GREAT LEADERS BREED OTHER LEADERS".

This paper is largely Inspired by the work of an eminent Leader and mentor, JOHN C MAXWELL).

INTRODUCTION

People often ask me if Leaders are born or groomed! My answer is always YES, Leaders are born!

There is no other way they would have come into the world! But talking seriously over 80% of Leadership skills are learnt and acquired through study, mentor-ship and personal application.

Nations, Societies, organizations and families rise and fall on Leadership.

The Bible stresses that anointing falls from the head down. Like fish, if society will get bad and rotten it often starts at the head. That is why I have taken it upon me to study extensively on Leadership and teach the subject passionately especially to the oncoming generation.

So, essentially, when the scripture says “We shall be the head and not the tail”, the word of God is talking essentially about Leadership; spiritual and physical Leadership!

Hence, the true measure of a successful Leader is the quality of his Successor. Great Leaders have the propensity not just to replicate themselves in others but to develop even better Leaders. Let us therefore carefully examine the intricate process of raising Leaders; that is turning followers to become Leaders in their own right!

Researchers have found out that we remember 10% of what we HEAR, 50% of what we SEE, 70% of what we SAY and 90% of what we hear, see, say and DO.The best approach to train must involve;

Hearing, Seeing, Saying and Doing. It is against this background we need to consider the following 5 step process.

Step 1. (I Model).

The process begins with my doing the task while the potential leader being trained watches. I create the opportunity for the trainee to see me go through the whole process. The trainee sees the process performed correctly and completely. That gives him/her something to duplicate or replicate. This process is applicable in all life situations from the boardroom to the dinning room. In Child Training, Politics, Religion, Entertainment, Academics, Media, Science and Technology etc.

Step 2 (I Mentor).

This stage, I continue to perform the task while the trainee assist me where necessary. I take time to

explain the HOW and WHY of each step of the process. Trainee must be very observant, attentive and retentive. This stage is very critical in family situations. Parents provide the first strong influence on their kids and what they do and undo go a long way in moulding their wards personality. Alexander the Great had awesome parents and in addition he was tutored by one of the greatest philosophers of his age Aristotle.

Step 3 (I Monitor).

At this stage I exchange place with the trainee; He/She does the task while I assist and correct. I need

to be very positive and encouraging at this stage to motivate the trainee. My words of encouragement will keep him trying harder and improve. I must continue to work with him till he/she develops confidence and consistency. This is where mentorship is key. The Bible spoke about this in the concept of relating our spiritual growth to our nutitional growth. We must first be fed with milk before we can begin to take solid spiritual food in order not to suffer spiritual malnutrition!

Step 4 (I Motivate).

At this stage I take myself out of the task and let the trainee go. My task is to ensure he/she knows how

to do it without help and to keep encouraging him so he will continue to improve. I must remain with him until he experiences success; which is a great motivator. At this stage the trainee may want to improve the process. I must encourage him to do it, and at the same time learn from him.

It takes humility on the part of the mentor to realise he can also learn from the protege! The first commission opportunity the great Leornardo da Vinci had was given him by his master Benini who allowed him to paint an angel in his mural. That angel stood out as the work of a genius even till today. It was much later Leonardo went on to paint some of the greatest masterpieces of all time including the popular “The Last Super”. What that tells us is that a good master must discover the talent in his protege and nurture it to prominence, not shooting it down to obscurity out of jealousy and insecurity.

Step 5 (I Multiply).

This is my favourite part of the process as a leader. When the new leader does the job well, it becomes his/her responsibility to train, teach and develop other leaders. The best way to learn something is to

teach it. When one teaches two learn. The beauty of it is that it frees me to do other more important things while others carry on the training.

Moses, one of the greatest Leaders identifies Joshua early and entrusted him with some awesome responsibility. For example young Joshua was the only soul that accompanied Moses to the top of Horeb to receive the 10 commandments.

Little wonder God told Joshua “Behold Moses my servant is now dead. Be strong and prove yourself a Man. Rise up and seize the land I have promised. No man would be able to stand before you, as I was with Moses so will I be with you”! What an awesome promise! What a herculean task!

I was not too surprised when the same Joshua while on a battle campaign went ahead to command the Sun to STOP in its course for wait a minute...a whole day!. What else can I say?

Like the greatest Leader known to mankind, Jesus the Christ would say “Go and do likewise”. Amen.