Saturday, July 16, 2022

LEADERSHIP IS NOT A POSITION/TITLE

Just finished reading a book on 'Lesdership' written by two brilliant #1 Bestselling Book authors: James M. Kouzes and Barry N. Posner and came away with startling revelation that leadership is a relationship not a title, rank or position. Cast my mind back to my early days as a civil society rights conscious lawyer. Not only am I a membe of Nigerian Bar Association, NBA I joined Law Society of England and Wales, Amnesty International, Civil Liberties Organization, Human Rights Lawyers, Concerned Professionals etc. All these were in a bid to be referred to as one of the "leading" lawyers. Just titles! I was making at least weekly published comments on the national dailies, excluding those comments censored or lost. I also participated in numerous Radio phone-in programs. In the process I also got invitations from some TV stations but I honoured at least 11 invitations from a total of 3 Lagos-based TV stations. In my mind I had acquired the enviable status of "leader" in my profession. Even after the acquisition of these titles they were not an end for me because they were not paid assignments. At the end of every program the anchor usually say: "thank you for stopping by". Sure, you go to find ways to make ends meet although you've added a few more friends to your profile. On the flip side through my comments during those media programs I became either 'pro-establishment or radical lawyer' depending on which comment/program the person calling me such names is reacting to. Therefore, life became 'one week, one trouble' for me. On one such occasion I was detained at 'Area F' Police station on the orders of Justice Akande, Ikeja High court pending charge of contempt of court. Just as Philemon met St. Paul in prison, I met accused persons who came in connection with more serious allegations than contempt. But that is not the reason for this discourse. The officer who made inquiries about the new inmates and why we came in displayed exemplary leadership when he ordered that I should be allowed out to stay at the frontline office. Prior to the order I had spent nearly two sleepless days inside the dungeon. At the police frontline office, I met a lady sergeant who was on duty and she acknowledged that their Oga ordered me to remain there until they forward my charge to court. Later, on siting her name tag, I realized she was Christiana Thompson. During my detention I shouted a few times because of my conviction that my arrest was unnecessary in the circumstances and I was eager to appear in court. The seargent was offended at that. The rest is now history. After my acquital, in the same year I read that Christiana Thompson had been promoted and sent on training. It was probably the 'Oga' displaying yet again exemplary leadership. I boarded an Abuja-bound Okada airline. Few minutes before take-off two of their staff came on board to check our tickets. On confirming my departure ticket, rather than leave me with return ticket, he asked that within few minutes he wanted to check the ticket with their records at the their office. I never thought about his whereabout when the plane took off. On arrival at Abuja I inquired about him they said that ticket checkers were not part of the crew. I was totally dumbfounded and embarrassed as I narrated to them that the checker didn't hand me my return ticket to Lagos after 'checking'. Was he exercising competences of leadership he would have realized that boarded passengers are not allowed to disembark until the journey ended. I wasted time thinking about solution and appropriate steps to take, because leadership is about finding solutions as quickly as challenges occur. Around business district I sited 'Bussinessmen's Fellowship meeting centre' and noticed that they were at the service that evening. Since I belonged to Airport Road Chapter Lagos, I joined the service. It was after the service that I spoke to the leader, Ifeanyi Odi and he in company with his wife drove me to "Sunny Guesthouse", unfortunately their accommodation had exhausted. I thought yet another challenge staring me in the face. This was getting late in the night and not mobile phone time, so I moved around and located the nearest police station and walked in. It did not take much time before they gave me a seat till morning. That was exemplary leadership exercised by the officers on duty that night. That challenge could have turned worse if they wanted. A lady on duty at this Abuja police station gave me wrapper to cover after she watched as I battle mosquitoes while passing the night. It was exceptional because Nigerian security outfits are over-stretched and there's limit to what you expect them to provide in terms of services to citizens as enshrined in the constitution. According to the authors of the leadership book in review, the summary of leadership behavior is 'caring'. The book is worth more than million times the monetary value. That comparison is actually an understatement considering the achievements of exemplary leadership globally. Finding and savouring the book would be a feat you'd always be proud of. Ikechukwu Odoemelam Esq Corporate Attorney/Consultant Legal Practitioners Corporate Attorney/Consultant IKECHUKWU O. ODOEMELAM & CO https://tapestri.io/members/join/now/ideaworkshop http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0075RXXLE COMPANY SECRETARIES HANDBOOK http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005783S6SDIRECTORS http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MKCESY MEETINGS: Dynamics and Legality

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