DURING our school days, we enjoyed music played from cassettes and then came CD/ DVDs.
Now, those are no longer popular.
When Facebook and Twitter (now X) came onto the stage, we thought this was the pinnacle the world of social media and internet had reached.
The best thing we thought had revolutionised the world was Google or search engines.
Now, we are talking about artificial intelligence (AI) that seems to have answers to everything.
For all the above examples all this change was within the last two decades.
I am happy because I was able to see the transition from analogue to digital.
The speed of change is so much, it’s either you are trying to catch up, you are being choked or you have been drowned. So, we no longer need slow leaders
Leadership carries the future of any country, company or consortium.
Whatever the leader excels in as an individual it is reflected in the results and its effects spill into the future.
The future will not change as long as we are using the same concepts in trying to make it better.
In fact, as a country, if we do not change the way we tackle our situations, we will either stagnate or retrogress.
The situation may worsen, or remain the same as long as we do not want to change and that is what most leaders don’t want to hear.
The question is: What cripples the future? Its leadership! John C Maxwell always says: “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”
Let’s Let us focus on things that cripple the future which must be avoided at all cost by every leader:
The future is now
The future is replete with possibilities as long as we put our thoughts to it, plan and work towards its success.
We must not wait for the future to bring us better results, but we must work today to change our tomorrow.
We must put greater interest in the future because that is where we will spend the rest of our lives.
We should not wait for tomorrow, but work wittingly today to leave a legacy.
Youths carry the future
The structures of mentorship should be accommodative enough to train future leaders.
This pertains to any individual, nation or organisation. If we fail to groom and grow the next leader, we fail our future.
It’s time to leave
Being on the top is always comfortable and when most leaders get there, they fail to accept the fact that someone has to take their position one day.
It’s like the drug of power hunger and obsession blurs them from the reality of the future.
We free the future if we accept the fact that we are not permanent and that someone should come and lead in our place one day.
Leadership insecurity
The greatest tragedy is to be led by insecure leaders.
They think that someone somewhere could be plotting their downfall or want to take over their position.
The leader has to be ready to be replaced one day.
How does he do that? He prepares for an exit strategy as soon as he gets into a leadership position.
Make it a good exit, by preparing other people to take over when you have finished your tenure.
Change at your doorstep
Change always comes, whether you are prepared for it or not.
It’s either you are an agent of change or you are merely following change or you are just being tossed by winds of change.
Great leaders love change, they anticipate change.
It is very unfortunate that we might find ourselves using old and irrelevant instruments in trying to improve the future.
Trying to cure a new ailment using not only old but expired drugs is equally dangerous; death is imminent.
Do not let the future die in your hands.
In reality the issue is not about curing the symptoms but dealing with the root cause using the right principles and apparatus.
John Maynard Kynes, one of the most influential economists of modern times, once said: “The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.”
Learn from mistakes
Leaders have to learn from their mistakes and most importantly from the mistakes of others.
What hurts other leaders should not hurt you.
Wisdom calls leaders to learn from others not to do the same thing that hurts others.
Leaders fighting other leaders
In Africa we say when two elephants fight, the grass suffers the most.
There is a Chinese saying that goes: “People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes”.
Fighting leaders cripple the future. How do you learn from a person you are fighting with?
Lack of responsibility
Leaders should be responsible and accountable. Leaders should dwell much on the Why part, than the What part?
The reason why you are doing a thing will determine your motive.
The motive could be individualistic and insatiability, that cripples corporate development.
We have seen leaders who sanitise their ugly actions, because there was a gain for them; this is very unacceptable.
Parting point: Confucius once said: “To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.”