Challenge of leadership: The 3c approach as way forward (2)

Continued from Friday (19-6-2015)
IN my humble view, I will suggest a 3C approach to dealing with this challenge most especially from the plane of perception of the youths. The 3Cs stand for Character, Competence and Charisma.

These three ingredients, if properly imbibed, will make up a sound and credible leader. I shall presently discuss them in seriatim.

Character: It is high time people holding positions imbibed the right character. Most of the challenge we have in leadership in this country is a result of the absence of strong character in our leaders.

Most of them mess up big time whenever they mount public offices. Character is the overall mental, moral and spiritual qualities that distinguish a person.

Character is the real nature of a person. It is what he is truly from his inside. It is what he is when others are not there. It is what he is when it comes to critical and delicate issues such as when he is confronted with whether to take bribes or not.

The poor track-record of our leaders in respect of character is rubbing on our youths. It is no new thing that the defective character of our leaders in moral and financial matters is reflecting in the youths.

Most youths have chosen for emulation and as role models leaders with a poor character make-up. This is inadvertently showing in their lives and lifestyles. This may sadly be the state of affairs. As a way out, I suggest youths should go all out to develop very strong character.

Build a strong leadership character that can stand the test and tides of moral and financial issues. Develop the right character today. Do not delay because such character will be needed one day from you.

Character here includes integrity, strong reputation, prudence, probity, accountability, perseverance, good human relations, fear of God and other right values. Consciously, develop these qualities and I can be rest assured that you will be the next model leader.

Competence: Gone are the days when companies employ people who are not so competent for reason of paucity of trained and competent hands.

The competition in the labour market is real these days. Few employment opportunities are being chased by many qualified candidates who are products of higher institutions. Even in politics, there is now an influx of competent personality with relevant academic qualifications and requisite professional experience.

To survive in this tense, competitive environment, one has to be so competent to the point of being indispensable. The competence as used here consists in the acquisition and possession of requisite skills, qualifications and experience for the accomplishment of a particular assignment.

Only competent persons will be able to survive the heat of the competitive environment. Even within internal corporate environment, there is competition for higher positions and only persons of value will eventually occupy them.

In simple, forcible terms, the world out there needs competent people. Thus, do not play with time. Invest your time in improving yourselves and making yourselves a person of value. Invest in books and informational materials. Go all out for knowledge.

Be a compulsive and avid reader. Leave your comfort zones and break your fallow ground. Seize opportunities to attend conferences, trainings and seminars.

Stimulate and engage in intellectual discussions. Sit down and write down your ideas in a tablet form (most times, they become useful in the future).Improve your writing skills. Hone your speaking skills. No doubt, all these play significant roles in developing and improving one’s level of competence.

Charisma: Charisma is simply the ability to convince others of what you are convinced of. It is the ability to effect a change of behaviour in others through one’s strong power of conviction.

The world has churned out some well known charismatic leaders such as Napoleon Bonaparte, Niccollo Machiavelli, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, to mention a few, who were able to shape the behaviours of their followers (either positively or negatively) through their charisma.

Do not just possess character and competence but also be charismatic. You should be able to persuade people in believing and following your line of thinking through the power of persuasion by words of mouth or by exemplary behaviour.

Crave for opportunity to be able to speak before people as this will enhance your public speaking or presentation skills as practice makes perfect. Seize every opportunity to talk and challenge people. Do not wait for a big opportunity; create one by engaging other youths in your environment.

Do not despise those little beginnings. Form the habit of smart dressing. Be smart all the time. You do not know who you can meet. This also forms part of your charisma. The crux of it all is that you build the right charisma.

The foregoing represents what can be encapsulated in what may be referred to as the 3C approach in tackling the leadership challenge being faced in Nigeria especially as it relates to the youths. They are Strong Character, Competence and Charisma.

If this is put in place, we can be sure that the present vacuum of leadership will be filled and largely narrowed as there will be a large pool of competent and charismatic youths with a strong character to take over the ship of the nation and corporate organisations.

• Concluded.
• Viyon is a prospective lawyer and wrote from Lagos. He blogs at viyonlawblog.wordpress.com.