By Horst Simon, The Risk Culture Builder

LEADERSHIP

Let us practice Transformational Leadership. Let us motivate others to do more than they originally intended to do and this will evolve so they often will do more than they thought was possible.

The challenge of leadership today is a challenge of opportunity, not crisis. New leaders can prepare themselves for the challenges facing them by adopting the seven lessons of leadership (Tom Brown, Leader Lines)

1. Leadership starts from within: A leader must have a deep well of integrity “Character is destiny”
2. A central compelling purpose: A leader must have a clear purpose and make sure that purpose is rooted in the core values of the organisation.
3. A capacity to persuade: A leader must be able to effectively use every medium to argue for the purpose and direction that is right.
4. An ability to work within the system: A leader must harmonise all the partnerships in his network to optimum performance.
5. A sure, quick start: Leaders must “hit the ground running”, set a progressive pace and keep to it.
6. Strong, prudent advisors: The best leaders are the ones that surround themselves with the best advisors. A leader need quality people close at hand who can both support his thinking—or challenge it.
7. Inspiring others to carry on with the mission: The leaders, who will set forth a clear, steady path into the future…. Will also be the next to have a living legacy.

Servant Leadership

In the East, a philosopher named Chanakya wrote in his 4th century book Arthashastra:

“The King shall consider as good, not what pleases himself but what pleases his subjects.”

In the West, the concept goes back to Jesus:

“Those that are rulers are taught to lord it over others. Not so with you. If you want to be great, you must be a servant, and slave to all. Even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve”.

(Mark 10:42-45)

• The servant leader knows that his/her own growth is facilitated by the growth of others.
• Servant leadership is a reaction: the most important job being to find out what the needs of the community are and fulfilling them.
• Servant leadership overcomes opposites, and works towards reconciliation. Opposites exist to be combined, and seen as not what separates people, but what brings them together.
• Servant leadership does not see cultural differences as a problem. It is seen as opportunities to create something together that is stronger than two parts.
• Servant leadership focuses on what you share and ways that resemble each other leads to a sense of connection, humanity, and compassion.

There is nothing new or even sophisticated about my points above. Your job is to take the initiative to ensure all members of staff understand these points. It is essential to agree on how we want to manage our business. Agreement will make your jobs, and mine, a lot easier, our company a better, more stable place to work, our shareholders more supportive and our families and communities more secure.

Siphumelele—“We ARE Successful!”