Finding nine (9) African countries amongst the Global ranked countries is an encouraging sign that things do change. But it is far from being a good situation or a desired one. It can change much faster for the better. The pace of change is the critical element - for the lives of millions, as it dictates the country's economic development, people's livelihood, and their hope. The pace will also have a personal impact on you, which in turn will strengthen or weaken your leadership position. YOU MUST EXCEL The leaders of emerging economies must be better off than their counterparts in rich countries. Why? Because they have to advance their countries into the future by making great leaps. They cannot waste time or spend another generation in poverty and without hope. They must also be bold when crafting their Vision and setting Goals and timeline. Still, that is not enough. Many leaders present a spectacular Vision, which is, unfortunately, not backed by a roadmap with clear Goals and Targets to be achieved within a prescheduled timeframe. Therefore, their Vision becomes more like a faraway dream, and people start thinking that they are disconnected from reality and don’t have the real capacity of leadership. That is a pity, as everybody loses, and the economy of the country remains bleak. Hence, you must be - AN EFFECTIVE RESULTS ORIENTED LEADER. WHEN YOU ARE A LEADER Google dictionary definition for LEADER is – the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. Note that it doesn’t say anything about 'knowing the way' or the number of followers. That is because as a LEADER you need to know WHY you act and WHERE you want to get - you don't need to know precisely HOW to get there. With the motivated followers the HOW will present itself and the path to the “promised land” will be open. And what about the number of followers? Famous leaders started with a handful of followers. It didn't stop people from joining them later or diminish their achievements. Can you think of such a leader? So the number of people that follow you doesn't indicate your leadership, nor is the path to your Goals. In my opinion, there are many MANAGERS, but few world-class LEADERS, and here is why. You become a LEADER only when you set a clear Vision and Goals that really INSPIRES peoples' minds to the point they can identify with your Vision. You are a LEADER when people are ready to follow you although the hardships. Think of Moses and the Israelites in the desert. You are a LEADER when you spark hope in hearts who have long ago forgotten what hope is. When this happens, and you become THE LEADER then your followers would expect you to lead them toward a better brighter future. It is not easy to be a LEADER, and even a LEADER needs a guiding light. Having a Vision, engraved in your heart and mind, will guide you through turbulent times and help you set the right Goals and Targets, at the right pace. What is your Vision, and how do you set your Goals? SETTING GOALS I always considered Setting Goals to be the most important activity, because this is how you present your Vision horizon, and the benefit it will bring. Clear Goals are critical in focusing and motivating everybody towards a well-defined future. This is also when your followers see how focused and serious you are in reaching your Vision and making their lives better. Without a clear and well-defined Goals you will never fail, but also never succeed, never bring your dream results, and never get any exiting achievement. When you don’t know where you are going to, every road will take you there. When you have a VISION, the GOALS and TARGETS are the signs on your road to reaching your destination. When you set Goals, you encounter two types of potential mistakes: Type 1: Placing the Goal too low. For example, when you turn your first Target on the road into your Goal. Type 2: Placing the Goal way too high. In your opinion, which Type is more common? Which Type is more dangerous to the company/organization? Which Type will bring you the desired results and achievements or even overachievements? THE MECHANISMS OF GOALS In most organizations, employees and managers are measured and evaluated according to how well they achieved their personal TARGETS and the company's GOALS. No wonder their motivation is to set the level of Goals and Targets low to medium difficulty. That will ensure they will achieve their Targets and help to achieve company Goals and receive their bonus/promotion. However, organizations get better not because of employees getting bonuses or promotions, but when something Meaningful is taking place. For something Meaningful to take place, LEADERS have to set challenging Goals, maybe even risky ones or ones that seem to be unattainable. Think of John F. Kennedy - he will be remembered thanks to his visionary plan of: "we will land a man on the moon…", although it happened six years after his assassination. J.F. Kennedy did so many other things that no one remembers. Human's nature to fear from personal failure, and its consequences, is directing most people to the safety of mediocrity. This comes at the expense of a breakthrough Vision and the ambition for excellence and over-achievement for a common brighter future. A QUESTION OF OPTIMUM A Vision is free to be as ambitious as one wish and as high as you can imagine. Unlike the Vision, Goals & Targets are set as a compromise between an Individual's abilities and the Organization's wish. This Compromise is called Local Optimum when we relate to Individuals or Global Optimum when we relate to the Organization. When an individual, e.g. a Minister in a government or a manager in a company, is setting Goals and Targets for himself, he will often set the Goals and Targets to be high enough to show he is doing a 'good job', but not too high, in fear that he will fail. Hence, the Local Optimum (for individuals) in this case is – take as little risk as you can, but not so little that you will be kicked out of the office/organization. In contrast, the Organization's first Goal is to survive. Economic success is a way of helping survival. In order to survive, it must be continuously better than or as good as other competing Organizations. To be better it needs to set high Goals, which will yield Meaningful Results. Hence, the Global Optimum (for Organizations) in this case is – we need to take risks or we will not survive and become history. In short, this is the conflict between the Local Optimum and the Global Optimum. There is always a tension between the two. As a LEADER what can you do about it? You should transfer the fear of the risk of failure from your team members or followers to yourself. When you backup your team/followers and encourage them to take greater risks, they will know that they are safe if things go sour, because you back them up. Thanks to that, finally they can think in and plan in a free of worries environment of how to achieve the Goals and Targets you set for them and yourself. BECOMING A TRUE LEADER A LEADER is one who we trust that he is able to bridge the tension between the Local (his) Optimum, and the Global (the organization's) Optimum, while setting challenging and clear Goals that will bring success to the organization. How does A LEADER bridge the tension between his own Optimum and the Global Optimum? He does it by intentionally carrying much of the risk upon himself. THE UNKNOWN HOW When we look at numerous renowned LEADERS, such as Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, J.F. Kennedy, Steve Jobs, etc., we find a pattern that repeats itself in their behavior – • WHY – they have a clear Vision of the future that represents why they do it.
• WHAT– they know what they want to achieve and they are confident of achieving it. • HOW – they are not clear about how they will arrive at their destination. You see!? Great leaders know WHY and WHAT they want because they have a vision! However, at the time of setting the Vision and Goals, they still don't know HOW to bridge the gap from the current reality to the future one, which represents their Vision. As a LEADER, you too should not worry about the HOW as it comes in time, mainly from your follower’s/team members. THE KIND OF LEADERS WE NEED When it comes to livelihood, agrarian countries are lagging far behind the industrial ones. The gap between Agrarian and Industrial countries can be closed, but not without dramatic, and often, drastic changes. Such changes require visionary LEADERS who will set challenging Goals for their nations. The same is true for the business sector in those countries. Political and business LEADERS should be courageous and aim for very high and challenging Goals. Small Visions and Goals are not satisfying for countries that need to swiftly bridge the economic development lagging of over a hundred years. The greatest LEADERS will put the benefit of the organization before their own good, and they will know how to bridge between their own Local Optimum and the Global Optimum of the organization. Such LEADERS exist in agrarian countries, and although a LEADER is always alone, we should support them and encourage them as much as we can. Based on my own field experience in such countries, and the World rank GDP per capita (2017), I believe we already see the impact of some of those LEADERS, and I am sure we will see much more in the near future. MY PERSONAL EXAMPLE I started my way as a farmer seeking to increase my income by marketing branded high quality produce to premium markets. In my mind, Quality Produce means thinking about the consumers' good; free of sprays, free of chemical residues, and free of pests. Note and never forget that we are all consumers. While Premium Markets means; getting higher income per Kg so I (and other farmers) can increase the total income. Increasing farmers' income also means more money for the country and more possibilities for further development at the farmer and country level. |