We live in a globe which is uncertain, fast, culturally diverse and volatile. As a result that seeks competitive, capable and versatile corporate leaders. I was inspired to write this article by the International Business Driving Licence (IBDL) team which was in Zimbabwe this week to train and certify business trainers in our country.
Success life with Jonah Nyoni
According to the IBDL Work Book, IBDL is a “certifying authority of the leading international business skills program. This idea of certification was initiated as a result of the demand for a recognized quality measurement of proficiency in business skills and knowledge in order to join and excel in the business world”
As a leader, to find yourself on the forefront of change and success, there are things that you should embrace. This applies to both corporate leaders and entrepreneurs.
- The leader is more than just a managers
As business grows in global markets, we have seen the emergence of unlikely leaders. In the past they might have been called psychopaths, but now they lead in their own right even if they have not been designated. You talk of Mark Zuckerberg of the Facebook, Bill Gates of the Microsoft and Richard Branson of the Virgin Airlines. They don’t stand our ordinary managers, but news making leaders.
In almost two decades now, Warren Bennis (1989: 45) in his book, On Becoming a Leader, gave significant juxtapositions between leadership and management.“The manager administers; the leader innovates. The manager is a copy; the leader is original. The manager maintains; the leader develops. The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people. The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust. The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. The manager has his eyes always on the bottom line; the leader has his eyes on the horizon. The manager initiates; the leader originates. The manager accepts the status quo, the leader challenges it. The manager does things right; the leaders does the right thing”
- The leader keeps ahead of the game
Being pro-active is one characteristic that keeps the leader upbeat and leading the game. The leader evades being irrelevant by growing himself especially through learning, listening, looking and linking. As a leader you should bring remedies to new plights! Be innovative and creative to keep yourself competitive!
- The leader gets ready for the future
The IBDL has study specifically on Information Technology (IT) in Business and for any leader to be trendy in our times he has to be knowledgeable with I.T. The information and technology industry will prove to us that what was useful yesterday, could wake up obsolete today. As leaders we should be amenable to change. To every traditional leader the frank truth is that change is inevitable. An all-time classic quote by Eric Hoffer (1898-1983) says, “In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists”.
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- The leader values the law of cause and effect
Your results as a leader can never lie. Results don’t come coincidentally but by a conscious action. To start off a great destiny, plan your work, and then work your plan. To every effect there is a cause, whether good or bad. The most failures or problems we see today are in most cases caused by a human phenomenon that is what we normally called a “leadership crisis”. For me, that’s the worst disease that could ever infect any company, church or country.
- The leader embraces the law of integrative complexity
The law of integrative complexity says that an individual (despite the background and the circumstantial surroundings), that “integrates” and “uses” the greatest amount of information in any field soon rises to the top of that field. According to Brian Tracy in his book 21 Success Secrets Of Self-Made Millionaires, when you read for an hour every day, it translates to a book a week.One book a week translates to 50 plus books a year. 50 books a year adds up to 500 books in 10 years. This makes you gain a competitive edge over all others who are living by. As a leader you become a pro in any field of your choosing. Most people hardly finish reading just a significant book in a year.
- The leader must love the law of learning agility
The times are turbulent, treacherous, tough, trying and taunting to those who don’t want to adopt and adapt. The leader has to be willing to quickly adopt new tools, techniques that are relevant in solving complex problems, in confronting new hurdles, and facing new challenges of our times. The leader has to constantly and continually be developing, growing, and using emerging tools.
- The leader welcomes the law of seasons
Every leader should learn trends in seasons. Some corporates thought business would always be a boom for them, but forgetting that new season are coming; season that will change the consumption taste of the consumers. Great leaders don’t only wear jerseys in winter and stay indoors, but they see an opportunity to go skating and snowboarding and receive their rewards thereby. Producing a product whose season has passed is not only bad, but it’s a shear waste of resources and time. In seasons of harsh and hard times leaders derive lessons. In every obstruction they choose to see and instruction. In times of plenty, they stock-up for the dry times ahead. They are enormously ready to embrace any situation with a positive attitude.
- The leader appreciates the law of succession
A transformed leader is not afraid to be succeeded. Leadership success is possible when we appreciate that the word ‘success’ is inseparable from the word ‘successor’. Read that again! A leadership and management guru, Peter Drucker said, “There is no success without a successor”. But why are some leaders afraid to surrender the reigns to the other people? They think they are irreplaceable. They also suffer from insecurity, ego, and they think they are the only ones able to do it best. Allow others to lead in your place and that happens when you have empowered that. Empowerment does not end with passing skill and mindsets. IBDL says, “Empowerment is a newer, recent concept and buzzword — if truly carried out, it is a great way to motivate employees. Empowerment of employees means trusting them to make the right decisions” (IBDL Work Book: Understanding Business, 2011: 100)
- Jonah Nyoni is an author, success coach and leadership trainer. He is the author of Inspiration for Success and Success Within Reach. Email: [email protected]. Twitter @jonahnyoni
