CLASSIK BLOG

Even though there are many ways to finish the sentence ‘Leadership is….’, today, I want to focus on one profound definition – “Leadership is Influence”, nothing more, nothing less!  I am learning that “everyone is (created with natural abilities to be) an influencer of other people” and if we want to accomplish our goals in life, be better leaders and make an impact in our world, we “can do so faster, be more effective, and the contribution we make can be longer lasting if we learn how to ‘be a person of influence’”.   

The fourth quarter presents a new challenge to me.  I am already looking into the future and making commitments to invest in self-development to take my ‘influence’ and ultimately my ‘leadership’ to higher heights.  But wait! did I just say “invest”?  Yes, I sure did; because I received revelation knowledge that “The road to successful leadership (becoming a person of influence) has several toll booths.  People who keep depositing, sacrificing and paying at this toll road get the reward of great leadership skills”.

It is such a divine coincidence that three weeks following the major certification seminar I attended in Orlando, Florida and being so inspired about including Youth Leadership Training into our service menu, I was invited by Global Youth Innovation Network (GYIN) President to a Youth Summit in Washington D.C.  It happens that while in Orlando, I heard John Maxwell and most of the speakers at the seminar repeatedly stating the viewpoint that “everything rises and falls on leadership”.  There could not have been a better time for this summit because in this very season, my heart was focused on Youth Leadership Development and the agenda for the three-day event zeroed in on “Promoting Youth-inclusive Policies for Growth/Youth Livelihoods and Learning Program”.    

During presentations on the first day, I had the opportunity to be surrounded and educated by influential leaders from the continent of Africa and the United States.  These instrumental leaders have captured the revelation that “leadership is a process” and a country’s quality of leaders is dependent on how early and how much those in power begin or are willing to invest to develop the population targeted to navigate the country in the future. 

When I was growing up as a child, I was always inspired by people who teach, speak or who seemed to have the guts to stand on a platform with several eyes watching them.  I cannot explain how being inspired by their bravery led me to my own path of dreaming to become like them some day.  My dream was ignited when I heard the opening address from my high school principal – Mrs. Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta.  She sounded eloquent, intelligent, poise and such a graceful ambassador of her country.  This lady was distinctive, dignified and appeared to be lifted from the “bogs” and “stereotypes” of women in our society at the time.  I listened to her with every fiber of my being and deep inside of me, I murmured: “one day, one day, I will be like you”.

My journey of becoming a teacher, speaker and now a coach started in primary school and maybe it is worth mentioning that following my graduation from high school, the same principal who motivated me also mentored me into becoming a teacher in the same school.  Even though the career was short lived, it was the most rewarding first job I could have ever had.