at the top are never very comfortable
with people directly under them who
can become threats to them. There is a
level of suppression that exists in some
organizations that are designed to keep
the level two officers at bay. They are not
empowered to make strategic decisions
and as such will not really fully understand
how certain things are done. The result is
that they cannot replace their bosses in the
event that boss is no more there.
The ultimate aim of leadership is to train
and raise your replacement. It does take a
level of confidence and security to be able
to do this. As a leader if you are defined
by your position and if your identity
comes from the office you hold then you
are not in a good place. The result is that
you will do everything to hold on to that
office including silencing and keeping all
potential successors at bay. This trait has
been perfected by political office holders
for ages and now it has also found its way
into corporate leadership.
The same people that criticized people
like the late Robert Mugabe do the same
thing every day in their offices. This
behavior sets in because people want to
preserve their positions. Someone asked
a former Nigerian president about youth
empowerment and the fact that the youth
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had been left with nothing more than
promises. His response was... who will
fight for us? I could not believe it. Keeping
people down was a deliberate measure to
meet the needs of the led.
Many are so insecure that they don't
believe anyone can do it as well as them. I
once had this notion and as a result I was
doing much more that I should have been
doing. The truth is that the people that I
have trained and raised know much more
today at their level than what I knew
when I was at that level. Besides they can
bring a very fresh flavor to our operations.
Many founders are scared to empower
people who will outshine them. In the
corporate setting it is not too different.
After all Robert Greene in the book,
48 Laws of Power says that law number
one is that we should never outshine the
master. We however need to remember
that the highest point of leadership is
succession.
In reality, if you are going to last and if
your legacy is going to be great, you must
raise people who will outshine you. You
need to have people who are deliberately
being groomed to outshine you. Few
things give you the clarity of mind like
seeing a dream you birthed being grown
by other competent hands.
What if they mess things up? First, if
you have trained them well enough they
should not and even if they do, your
hands will be clean. One way that helps
to prepare people for succession is that
before you give them power out rightly,
you need to loan them power. Build them
on a task by task basis before you fully
give them power.
This process must look at their conduct
under pressure, their relationships with
other people and their ability to inspire.
It is not enough to just get a person who
can deliver the job. They are more likely to
destroy things. There are four parameters
you need to look for.
First there are those people who can
deliver - great performers who have a
great attitude and culture. Next are the
great performers but who do not have the
right culture and attitude. Thirdly there
are those who are not great performers
where delivering is concerned but they
have a great attitude, and then you have
those who are not great performers when
it comes to delivery and have a terrible
attitude.
The first category (great performers with
great attitudes) and the last category