Wisdom of the ages

At an airport in Chicago last week, while looking for something to read between flights, I found an article entitled an “insider’s fast track to better management and effective leadership”. While reading the article, naturally, I thought about Ghana as I often do whenever I come across good information on leadership and management. As we all aware, one of the many challenges facing our beloved home land Ghana is incompetent and ineffective leadership as well as poor management especially in the public sector.

The article highlighted many good leadership qualities and offered good advice for managers. The irony is most of the qualities mentioned in the article can be readily seen in European, American and Asian managers and leaders. So, the sixty million dollar question is why is it that Ghanaian and African managers and leaders lack these basic leadership and managerial qualities? Could it be that we are wired wrongly? Could it also be that as a race, we are incapable of attaining superior leadership skills? What is wrong with us? Are we under some sort of cures by nature? But then, we have had such effective and competent leaders such as Yaa Asante Waa, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, and Dr. James Emmanuel Aggrey. So, where did we go wrong?

The article posed the age old question, are leaders born or made? Can you learn superior leadership skills? While no one is sure, but experts have noticed seventeen specific actions that successful leaders carry out, regardless of the organization or cause they lead. Below are the seventeen traits of effective leaders as highlighted in the article, and hopefully, some manager or leader somewhere in Ghana will find the information useful and put it into practice thereby becoming an effective leader and competent manager for the good of their organization and the country for that matter.

1) Effective leadership… makes others feel important. If your goal and decisions are self-centered, followers will lose their enthusiasm quickly. Emphasize their strengths and contributions, not your own.
2) Promote a vision. Followers need a clear idea of where you’re leading them, and they need to understand why that goal is valuable to them. Your job as a leader is to provide that vision.
3) Follow the Golden Rule. Treat your followers the way you enjoy being treated. An abusive leader attracts few loyal followers
4) Admit mistakes. If people suspect that you’re covering up your own errors, they’ll hide their mistakes too, and you’ll lack valuable information for making decisions.
5) Criticize others only in private. This is one area many managers in Ghana need to work on. Public praise encourages others to excel, but public criticism only embarrasses and alienates everyone.
6) Stay close to the action. You need to be visible to the members of your organization. Talk to people, visit other offices and work sites, ask questions, and observe how business is being handled. Often you will gain new insights into your work and find new opportunities for motivating your followers.
7) Make a game of competition. The competitive drive can be a valuable tool if you use it correctly. Set team goals, and reward members who meet or exceed them. Examine your failures and celebrate your group’s successes.
8) Don’t be afraid of the phrase “I don’t know” If you don’t know the answer, don’t try to bluff. If you’re at fault, take the blame. If you’re wrong, apologize. A wise person once said, “if you always tell the truth, you never have to remember anything”
9) Never gossip” And if someone wants to gossip with you, politely say you’re not interested. This corporate adage rings true: When someone gossips, two careers are hurt – the person being talked about, and the person doing the talking.
10) “No task is beneath you” Don’t think you are above anything. Be the good example and pitch in – especially if the job is one that nobody wants to do.
11) “Share the credit wherever possible” Managers who spread credit around look much stronger than those who take all the credit themselves.
12) “Ask for help” if you think you’re in over your head, you are. Before it gets out of hand, asks someone for help – most people enjoy giving a hand. Besides saving yourself from embarrassment, you’ll make a friend and an ally.
13) “Keep your salary to yourself” Discussing salary is a no-win proposition. Either you’ll be upset because someone is making more than you, or someone will be upset with you.
14) “When you don’t like someone, don’t let it show” Especially if you outrank them. Never burn bridges or offends others as you move ahead.
15) “Let it go” What shouldn’t happen often does. You weren’t given the project you wanted, you were passed over for the promotion you deserved. Be gracious and diplomatic …and move on. Harboring a grudge won’t advance your career.
16) “When you’re right, don’t gloat” The only time you should ever use the phrase “I told you so” is if someone says to you; “You were right. I really could succeed at that project.
17) The art of management often involves asking questions. Lots of them. Here’s a list of ten questions to ask as you travel throughout your organization. If you ask these questions as part of your routine, you’ll teach your people that their opinions matter.
• What made you mad today?
• What took too long?
• What caused complaints today?
• What was misunderstood today?
• What cost too much?
• What was wasted?
• What was too complicated?
• What was just plain silly?
• What job involved too many people?
• What job involved too many actions?

In the State of Maine, U.S.A, they tell of an old man walking along the beach with his grandson, who picked up each starfish they passed and threw it back into the sea. “If I left them up there,” the boy said, “they would dry up and die. I’m saving their lives.”

“But,” protested the old man, “the beach goes on for miles, and there are millions of starfish. What you are doing won’t make any difference”
The boy looked at the starfish in his hand, gently threw it into the ocean, and answered: “It makes a difference to this one.”

I hope the article has inspired some manager or leader somewhere in Ghana to step up to the plate and make a difference. “ You can make a difference”
God bless Ghana, and long live Ghana.

Komla – The Self Proclaimed Peace Broker
U.S.A