By Sunny Ozi-Akande
Oftentimes you use power or authority in a way that is more forceful than is needed without thinking about the feelings or wishes of other people.
You are so high-handed in nature that you treat people so badly as if you no longer see them as human beings.
Just because of your privileged position in your family or place of work, every body is in trouble.
Whenever you’re around, nobody can be at ease.
At home, the children and even your Wife or Husband can hardly sneeze until you leave the house.
At your place of work, no mercy.
Your staff stand the risk of severe disciplinary action at every slight provocation. This is not good enough.
I know that in your own opinion, you do this, to ensure full Control of your family or Loyalty of your followers at work or your community, but may I let you know that you may hardly achieve your desired quality of followership and influence, if you keep thinking that your power belongs to you and the people have no say.
Now, let me even ask you..
Are you a RULER or a LEADER ?
RULERS are those who give orders
~They command and impose their authority
~Their strategies are tainted with more of coercion than affectionate influence.
On the other hand, LEADERS don’t impose authorities on the people, rather, they earn their authorities through healthy and affectionate influence on the people for their willing and voluntry followership
~A leader is someone who stands by his fellows, empathise and bears the difficulties with them.
As the Head in any privileged position, the most effective way to win genuine influence and sustainable followership is Never to toe the path of RULERSHIP but rather, the path of LEADERSHIP.
Power belongs to the people, not you
Does anyone really have any power of his own ?
No, if you ask me.
The Power of one person is the Loyalty of other people
No single individual has any power of his own; Not even the People in Power !
A true life story
During my days in the banking industry, I witnessed an industrial dispute where I saw a group of very junior staff drag a top executive out of his office and made to treck a long distance barefooted as they kept kicking and hitting him from every angle. Sad you’ll say ?
The interesting aspect of the story is that, at the end of the dispute days afterwards, the said executive resumed back quietly to duties, with total loyalty restored back unto him by the said junior staffs, even without need of fishing anyone out for purnishment so as to allow the sleeping dog lie without giving room for fresh crises; We’re talking of Power to the people here !
Around the world, we have all seen a couple of great but high-handed leaders including heads of state, whose powers did not only crashed as nobody, but also, had their lives terminated like chickens in the hands of ordinary citizens.
The Power in your hand is not your property
~No matter how hardworking you are in any organization, you can not promote yourself
~Until you have the Loyalty and total Acceptance of the people, you may hardly get their mandate to lead them in any capacity of political leadership
~Even your child… !
For any reason, If your child decides not to see you as his father or mother any more, your influence or power over him or her is gone !
I mean the moment a child calls the bluff and say “wait a minute what are we talking about here” Goes ahead and invokes his/her self-soverign powers and become the exclusive controller of his or her own body and life, He/she has thus withdrawn his/her power in your hand, I mean The power you hitherto had over him or her as a parent !
~Your biological relationship with him as a father or mother becomes immaterial !
~Your power over him may have as well gone forever !
~If you like, begin to quote the position of Holy scriptures on disobedience; That’s if he cares !
~The reality here is that your poor leadership approach has pushed the child to exercise his power of self sovereignty and Power has changed hands !
The POWER of the-People, is actually, the POWER of the-People-in-Power
The message I’m bringing to your attention here is simple; _The Power of the people in power flows from the Loyalty of the people._
Once the Loyalty of the people goes off, the power ends.
It is the Loyalty of people to the person they accept as their leader that translates into the powers of the said leader.
As a Leader, you actually don’t have powers of your own because your power flows from the people you’re leading
It is so sad to see that many leaders are yet to realise that most issues and disappointments they suffer in their staff performance and conduct at work, efficiency of their government and administration, quality of followership in the community and even conduct of their Children and wives at home, are all Leadership challenges which are consequent upon their failure to appreciate the fact that powers belong to the people !
To whom much is given, much is expected.
In case you are wondering what steps to take in enhancing your leadership efficiency, here are a few of them..
1. Appreciate the fact that LEADING is by SERVING
To be a good Leader you must see yourself as a servant to the people
Stop seeing yourself as if you’re doing the people a favour, rather, see your service as payback to them for offering you their loyalty and accepting you as their head or leader..
2. Go all out to build their Trust and Confidence in you..
Ensure transparency, don’t be seen to be deceptive in nature
Don’t be partial. Avoid selective treatment; be seen to be fair to everyone
3. Let your WORD be your BOND
Never promise what you can’t do
Never promise what you won’t do
If you have Said it, Do it !
4. Be sincere
You can’t hide under one finger
If you’re not truly sincere, people will know
So, stop cutting corners; Don’t be cunning
Avoid actions that will make them doubt the genuinness of your intentions,
5. Go all out to show them love
Be open; Don’t be selfish
6. Accord people their due Recognition
Recognise their entitlement to Respect for self dignity
7. Handle their issues with enthusiasm
Be seen to be passionate about every issue concerning them
Whenever you fail; let them see that it’s due to human error and that you really tried your best
8. Make the people’s voice count
Freedom of expression is a natural right to self dignity, consequently, any mortal being, even our children will go all out to resist any threat to their voices.
Taking off the voices of the people is rather oppressive, unfair, disrespectful and draconic !
All things being equal, extreme care should be taken not to take off the voices of the people we’re leading.
Let us stop limiting their freedom of self expression
Never look down on people’s ideas
Encourage freedom of expression as much as possible
Nothing strengthens one’s Trust and Confidence as respect for one’s voice
No one knows as much as he thinks
To lead effectively, we need to keep bouncing with ideas and information
On our own, we can’t know it all, Abeit we are leaders.
Every system can only be made strong with limitless generation of ideas to the centre..
~I contribute,
~You contribute,
~They Contribute,
~We all Contribute.
9. Empathise
For sure, practically, you cannot solve all their problems, but at all cost, make them see that you’re ready to stand and bear their difficulties all through their challenges with them .
As much as possible, show that their Comfort, Joy and Happiness is worth your attention and time
*10. Endeavour to motivate the people*
Never feel they don’t have choice than to accept you the way you are
Consciously adopt strategies to reinforce positive response in their conduct
As said earlier, _No one knows as much as he thinks_; consequently, any effort deployed in ensuring good leadership as itemised above is worth the while because the hazard of our inactions as leaders can be very devastating…
When the people are so dissatisfied with a leadership to the point of Frustration, automatically, The leader is _sitting on a keg of gunpowder.._
~Open hatred sets in
~Conspiracy to pull down the system looms
~Progress of the system is impeded
~People won’t be ready to work for the progress of the system anymore
~Threat to safety of life holds sway
~Tenure of office gets shortlived
Where the leadership challenge is of Family..
~Gross indiscipline in the home sets in
~A case of total broken home may arise
If it’s of Government or Political leadership..
~People may withdraw their loyalty
~Breakdown of Law and Order may arise
~The system becomes tense
~Security becomes a big issue
~Collapse of the entire system becomes inevitable
Birds don’t need University studies to fly, but Pilots do
Similarly;
Fish don’t embark on studies to swim but Athletes do
It is important to learn from the bitter lessons of leaders who failed to pay attention to the above facts
For sure, many of us must have seen how the inactions of some high-handed leaders played out badly on the plights of their Families, Staffs, Subjects and by extension, the tragic end of their leadership and in extreme cases, their lives,.
Be careful of everyone that identifies Negativity in everything..
Your Greatness is assured as you THINK POSITIVE and commit your ways to God !
HAPPY NEW MONTH !
