- By Khodijat Akeusola
When I was much younger or do I say when I was still naive, I used to think that all what leadership could be referred to is having someone holding a particular political position.
I had the notion of the people they call “our leaders” to be anyone who is either a governor, a president or
just an occupant of a particular political post in the state or country. Being just a young girl with big dreams, it almost used to scare the hell out of me as I couldn’t imagine myself playing the game they call “politics”; not really present even in my daydream (never can tell what tomorrow holds however).
But then, the thought of how to handle the fierce and burning desire to make a big difference in the world keeps on finding its way into my little mind and relentlessly engages itself in my question of the reality even in my own small world of exploration as a teenager.
This, I continued to nurture as I age. Not just in number, but in wisdom. Not just in height but in insight. Not just in weight but in experience and as thus, life goes on.
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Growing into my early adulthood, I attended numerous seminars, webinars, discussions thematically on
leadership building and innovation. From there, I started to feel the glimpse of an initiation into a particular point of realisation.
And I began, a step after the other, to escape from thinking that leadership only means holding a political
post to knowing that you may not even have to occupy an office to lead greatness. This, I understood after attending a summit organised by JCIN UNILORIN titled: Leadership Summit’24 and I wasn’t even a member then. This aligns with Henry Ford; the founder of the Ford Motor company, who said: “You don’t have to hold a position in order to be a leader”.
Then came my escape from thinking that leadership is a quality that is only meant for some set of people to knowing that everyone as an individual, has a unique personality carrying each of the earth’s great treasure which contributes to a successful leadership even in ways they may not realise. Just as Ronald Reagan said : “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”
Another is my escape from thinking that leadership is a height that one assumes to knowing that it is a development that builds overtime. From thinking that a leader is someone who leads the followers to knowing that a leader is an instrument used in raising more successful leaders. And the biggest of my escape is from thinking that leadership is a place to enter and enjoy to knowing that it is a huge placement of an ASAP agenda on two shoulders regardless of the strength or weakness.
ASAP because I’ve learnt in my little journey so far that to lead greatness is to imbibe but not limited to; A- Accountability S- Sacrifice A-Accessibility P- Productivity Yet, if there’s something I’ll always hold unto as a learner of what leadership entails, it is doing a timely assignment on upgrading my humility and emotional intelligence. For the position of leadership, in all fact, requires a great deal of learning, unlearning and relearning. “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” Reading these words by Bill Gates who is a co-founder of Microsoft deepens my understanding that the place of leadership is more than just the positions and it is indeed beyond the titles.
- Akeusola contributed this piece from the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN)