Leadership and the Social Contract Theory; One Driver, Many Passengers

The idea of leadership emerged from the state of nature where life was solitary, short, brutish and nasty. Then the eventual social contract theory where individuals consented to relinquishing their freedom and liberty to the rule of a man or a few men in exchange for representation, security and order.

The totality and generality of man cannot make all the decisions as a collective. Decision making and progress will be daunting and near impossible. Leadership then became a necessity in order to guide the affairs of men, protect them and give them a better life. A few are saddled with the responsibility of driving the rest. One driver, many passengers.

A leader has two primary duties: make decisions for his people and protect his people.

Decision making by a few for the collective and protection of the collective by a few using the instrumentalities of legitimacy are the cruxes of leadership. They are exactly what make leadership both a delicate and powerful endeavour.

Leadership platforms ought to be manned by people who, with tact and empathy, understand the intricacies and potentialities of decision making and looking out for others.

So, a leader has two primary duties: make decisions for his people and protect his people. Consequently, in every sphere of life, leadership platforms ought to be manned by people who, with tact and empathy, understand the intricacies and potentialities of decision making and looking out for others.

The idea of giving up freedom for protection may no longer be present in every form of leadership. But the concept behind leadership remains immutable.

Political leaders must understand that power is transient and the inherent purpose of power is to better the lot of the people rather than for personal aggrandisement and overlordship.

Families must have fathers and mothers who know not to live their lives vicariously through their children. Employers must know that employees are humans and not instruments to be used, abused and replaced at the tap of a finger. Political leaders must understand that power is transient and the inherent purpose of power is to better the lot of the people rather than for personal aggrandisement and overlordship.

This is leadership!

Delegation of Tasks: The Leader’s Headache

One of the greatest challenges of many leaders is the delegation of responsibilities and tasks. Many leaders have the apprehension that people are incapable of performing tasks like they (the leaders) are. This is the mindset of perfectionists. It is hard to succeed as a leader with rigid and perfectionist tendencies.

However, there’s a difference between succeeding as a person and succeeding as a leader. With a rigid and perfectionist outlook, you can succeed as a person but you would have difficulties succeeding as a leader.

As a leader, you must be flexible and trusting enough to share responsibilities with your people. By doing so, you empower them to grow and become leaders themselves. The more leaders there are in an organisation, the greater the capacity to scale and grow larger.

Sunday Fadipe

The Irony of Investing in Your Workforce

“Most of what an organization possesses goes down in value. Facilities deteriorate. Equipment becomes out of date. Supplies get used up. What asset has the greatest potential for actually going up in value? People! But only if they are valued, challenged, and developed by someone capable of investing in them and helping them grow. Otherwise, they are like money put on deposit without interest. Their potential is high, but they aren’t actually growing.”

~ John Maxwell

It is laughable when organisational leaders refrain from investing in their workforce because of the potential possibility of leaving the employment. The truth is, whether you do it or not, they will eventually leave. But when you do, it turns 360 degrees and comes back to you. If they don’t leave, they get to contribute to and make the organisation scale. If they leave, you secure for yourself life loyalty for your unquantifiable contribution to their lives and careers. John Maxwell said, “if you invest in people, they will never be the same again. And neither will you. It is impossible to help people without helping yourself.”

Mostly, what we do not realise is that people can be very loyal and only a fool will burn the bridge he climbed to the top. Investing in the people that work for you gives them a sense of ownership and belonging in the organisation. That’s the most important assurance anybody requires to function at the optimal level. Nobody will treat as trash what he feels invested in.

People are an organisation’s best asset and investment. One of your primary duties as a leader is to make them appreciate in value and worth.

Zedekiah and Jeremiah; The Leadership Lessons (II)

Leadership is a very important endeavour to me because I have come to terms with the indispensability of great leaders in shaping a business, organisation or country.

Sometime ago, I shared the first part of the leadership lessons from the interaction between King Zedekiah and Prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 38. If you missed it, you can check it here.

If you read it, the concluding part of the lesson is here. Read further.

• The leader’s truthfulness
Verses 14-18

One of the basic challenges of emerging and fledgling leaders in this present age is being true to one’s words. We are seeing in all spheres of life the emergence of leaders whose words cannot be reconciled with their actions.

An insincere word is an empty word. An insincere leader is a dangerous person.

In verses 14-18 of this chapter, King Zedekiah inquired from the prophet what God wanted the people of Judah to do. Jeremiah, probably with the conviction that the King was not to be trusted to let him leave and live after giving him the instruction from God, told the King to first give his word that he would spare the prophet after delivering the message.

One of the most treasured resources of a leader is his words. An insincere word is an empty word. An insincere leader is a dangerous person. Whenever you speak, be true to your words.

• The leader’s humanness
Verses 19-20

One of the major challenges a leader encounters and the followers always overlook is that a leader is also a human. Leadership does not confer superhuman status on the leader. A leader can be confused, lost and bereft of ideas, like every other human.

In these verses, King Zedekiah opened up to Jeremiah that he was scared of his own people handing him over to the Chaldeans. Leadership can be a lonely endeavour at times. A leader is prone to loneliness and fear in critical times. This is why it’s necessary for a leader to surround himself with trusted people and partners he can share his burdens with and offer unconditional support and strength when the weight of leadership becomes overwhelming.

However, for the King to be afraid of his own people delivering him to the enemy, it probably meant he was not doing some things right. He was a ruler, not a leader. He was far from his people. He had no human face to his government. So the people did not see him as one of their own in the time of turmoil. Any successful leadership has to be a participatory one in which the people have a sense of belonging and security in the leadership.

• The anticipatory leader
Verses 24-27

An anticipatory leader is ahead. A reactive leader is always behind!

When Jeremiah had told the King about the mind of the Lord, the King foresaw that the men of influence could approach the prophet and inquire about the agenda of his meeting with the King which might have spelt disaster for both the prophet and the King. They both had an arrangement about the response Jeremiah would give them.

Craig Groeschel said, “the difference between a good and great leader is one who learns to anticipate rather than react.” It is necessary for a leader to be a step ahead of the pack with his mind. Anticipatory leadership helps you consider the future possibilities and drives proper planning just like King Zedekiah did.

Develop your mind to be forward-looking and probing. You may not be able to anticipate all possibilities but it puts you ahead of the game and makes you less susceptible to being caught pants down. An anticipatory leader is ahead. A reactive leader is always behind!

Sunday Fadipe

LOVE AND LEADERSHIP

Apart from sports, love is another universal language the world understands and preaches.

But, what is the point of convergence between love and leadership?

No matter the description anybody ascribes to it, true leadership involves making people in your web of influence better. It involves driving people from where they are to where they should be. It involves helping people achieve individual and organisational goals without losing their motivation and identity in the process.

We can go and on. However, the recurring themes from the above are selflessness and love.

The era of people staying on a job with the mindset of “managing” is fading away. Our parents could do that in order to be loyal and feed the family. Millennials are throwing both jobs and loyalty away in a place they do not feel free, loved and appreciated.

The era of people staying on a job with the mindset of “managing” is fading away. Our parents could do that in order to be loyal and feed the family. Millennials are throwing both jobs and loyalty away in a place they do not feel free, loved and appreciated.

Picture Credit: Google

Being loved is not pampering. Being loved is not acting like one’s mother or father. Being loved is giving people under your influence (as an employer, a leader, CEO, whatsoever) a sense of belonging, an enabling environment to thrive and grow, a reason to want to always come back to work every day aside from the pay. In the long run, you’re the first beneficiary.

It is becoming obvious and notorious that many employers are grappling with retaining exceptional talents. The old rules are not applicable to the new order. The core of leadership is love.

Be not just an employer. Be human. Be a leader. Love your people!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Zedekiah and Jeremiah; The Leadership Lessons (I)

My curiosity on why some nations are light years ahead of others or why some organisations succeed and others don’t, has deepened my enthusiasm and interest in leadership. The reason is in the words of John Maxwell, “everything rises and falls on leadership”.

The difference between a successful country, business or organisation and a failed or failing one is most times not the availability of good resources but the availability of good leadership. Take a look at Nigeria.

The interaction between King Zedekiah of Judah and Prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 38 is quite profound for my leadership and life journey that I couldn’t help but make a note when I came across the passage.

The background picture of this chapter is that Jeremiah preached the sort of message Jesus Christ preached in his days (Matthew 16:25, Luke 17:33, Mark 8:35) that “whoever will save his life shall lose it and whoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it”.

Jeremiah preached at a time Judah was under siege of the Chaldeans. He said if the people would go out to surrender to the Chaldeans, they would live. But if they would remain in the city, they would “die by the sword, by the famine and by the pestilence“.

This message was viewed by some highly placed people in government as counterproductive and demoralising to the people at the forefront of the war. They set out to exert their influence. These men of influence approached the King and demanded that the prophet is put to death for “ruining the resolve of the soldiers“. In the Nigerian context, we’d refer to them as “cabals“.

The following ensued after the demand. They are instructive as leadership lessons.

• The leader’s powerlessness

Verse 5

“King Zedekiah caved in: “If you say so. Go ahead, handle it your way. You’re too much for me.” (TMB)

This was the response of the King to their demand. However, Jeremiah was not killed. He was rather thrown into a muddy cistern. The king’s response showed the powerlessness of the King. The King had little or no control over his territory. This is bad for leadership. It reminds me of Yar’adua’s tenure as President of Nigeria, most especially when he was sick and rumours were rife that the First Lady was the one running the show in the company of a few other people.

King Zedekiah was reigning but the men of influence were ruling. In as much as leaders can and should listen to their people, they should be wary of the leadership being hijacked. Such leaders will be mere puppets.

In fact, Jeremiah 37:1 says:“King Zedekiah son of Josiah, a puppet king set on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the land of Judah, was now king in place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim.”

This description settles everything. As a leader, listen to your people but never lose your control.

• The leader’s indecisiveness

Verses 7-10

In these verses, an Ethiopian and a eunuch, Ebed-melech, approached the King and convinced him that if Jeremiah is not released, he would die of hunger. The King told him to get a few men with him and get the prophet out of the dungeon.

In as much as this is a good move by the King to defy the men of influence and retrace his steps, I noticed another leadership defect in the King. King Zedekiah was prone to being moved by every convincing and argument. This is a personal challenge for many leaders.

A leader who is easily swayed by every opinion and argument will always find himself in bed with indecision!

A leader who is easily swayed by every opinion and argument will always find himself in bed with indecision. Decisiveness is a needed trait for every leader. One of the core responsibilities of leaders is decision making. A leader who fails at it or always finds it a herculean task betrays his calling.

There are three (3) more lessons in this series. Kindly click the “follow” button to be notified as soon as they are published.

Sunday Fadipe

Millennials in the Workplace: The Right Kind of Leadership

When assigning a task to an employee or a subordinate, “focus on the positive consequences of success rather than what might happen if the person fails; the latter is a surefire way to demotivate others pretty damn quickly”. ~ Dr Rob Yeung, Entrepreneurship: The New Rules

I once worked in a law firm where anytime a task is assigned to the Associates, one of the following is guaranteed to follow:

• “If you don’t get it done, I’ll do it myself”; or
• “There will be problem if we don’t file on time”; or
• “If you don’t deliver it on time, you’ll get a query.”

Like Dr Yeung predicted above, we were easily demotivated hearing it endlessly. In fact, we worked to avoid trouble more than working to learn and build capacity.

Leaders and employers need to understand that remuneration is no longer enough to motivate employees. Your work as a leader and employer transcends payment of salary. It includes but not limited to treating your employees well, refraining from talking them down, empathizing with them, treating them as humans. Your employees are as important as your customers.

People are the backbone of every business. Treat them well and your business gets a chance of growth. Continuously treat them badly and experience a downward slope.

In the article “Traditional Leadership Models are Losing Relevance: Four Areas to Focus on in 2019”, Rose Cartolari says: “millennials have entered the workforce and, through their influence, are changing the dynamics and meaning of work for many. This generation is seeking more than pure financial success; they are looking for personal growth and purpose both from the type of work as well as the people they are working with.”

Unemployment may be rife but millennials would rather be unemployed than stay in a toxic environment. The baby boomers could do it but not millennials. Conversely, millennials are prepared to go to any length for a selfless leader.

Autocracy is a sure way to run a business down. Selfless and empathetic leadership will give you an edge.