It goes without saying that to whom much is given, much is expected. Most of the people bestowed with that responsibility are our leaders. Social media has lately been awash with comments on an incident where a whole professor, who happens to be Education Cabinet Secretary, insulted a County Director of Education.
This left a bitter taste and an apology has been demanded. Well, Prof. George Magoha is known to belittle people of a lower education class. This is not the first time we are seeing his display of arrogance in public. On many occasions, he has been heard insulting and even ridiculing public officers.
Pin Picking Leaders
What do we actually look for when appointing people to key dockets like cabinet secretary? Such a person should be a good role model, more so a sensitive ministry like education. The person who is appointed to this post is in charge of our children who are the future leaders. These kids learn by emulating what leaders do.
I reiterate that this is a sensitive docket with teachers in need of a good leader. What happens when the minister is crude in his words and in his ways to the very people who emulate him? Teachers will also be rudimentary to students. Students will pick that trait.
It is rumoured that the teachers are working under undue pressure from the Cabinet Secretary. The one thing we ought to learn is that being a leader does not mean you become rude or threaten people.
If you are a leader who is feared by people then you have failed. You are not worthy of being a leader. If you are a leader who insults and abuses employees, you are a pathetic excuse of a leader. Leaders who abuse their subjects are lacking in some aspects and make up for the deficiency by being mean and evil.
There are many leadership theories but, behavioral tops the list. An individual can become a leader through acquired skills, unlike the Great Man Theory of leadership which is based on the assumption that leaders are born rather than made.
Anything is possible in this world. There are those who are born to be leaders and those who learn. But in most cases those who learn always end up being cautious unlike those who think leadership is their birth right. Made leaders learn to be respectable. They learn to be charismatic, to lead by example, to be kind, to be honourable, to propagate equality and not to be biased.
Pride Comes Before a fall
The worst kind of leaders are those pin-picked and hence imagine everything in this world is just given on a silver platter. That is why they are rude and do not give a damn. These are the kind of leaders who issue threats even in Whatsapp groups and in all their modes of communication. They lead by threatening employees and by blackmailing them with getting fired if they do not obey.
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This is the worst kind of way to lead because people become rebellious and work recklessly. They work with the ‘what will you do’ kind of mentality. That is how you find a workplace where leaders issue threats but workers just roll their eyes in disgust because they are used to such threats
Once you issue a threat and never act on it people will believe that all you do is issue empty threats. Some people are so poor in their leadership people just avoid them. A leader who invokes fear in people shouldn’t be a leader in the first place.
Do No Harm
Leaders, born or made, should lead by example. We are all human and feel belittled when people don’t obey us. But that does not give you the authority to abuse people in the full glare of cameras. There are a million ways of reprimanding disobedient employees but calling them stupid or ‘mjinga’ is uncouth.
In fact, it shows that you have no regard for people. Do not go around calling them stupid on Whatsapp or in front of other employees. Call them and have a talk on what could be the problem.
Good leaders sit down to talk to their employees calmly; not engaging in a shouting match. It is better to talk when you are calm and not let anger take the better of you.
Treat people right. Treat everyone the way you would want to be treated. In all, you do let people see an emulation of Christ’s teachings in your leadership style.
