LEADERSHIP IN CHALLENGING TIMES

It is easy for anyone to lead in good times: that is, when the circumstances are right and everything appears to be in good conditions. Some people may argue that there is no time that is right, meaning that there is not a time when leaders don’t face challenges, and therefore, solve problems and, perhaps take difficult decisions. To some extent, they are right. Leaders are elected or appointed to solve or resolve difficult issues of their time. However, there are different circumstances creating different scenarios. For instance, there was a Nigerian leader who was reported to have said that the problem of Nigeria was not a lack of money, but how to spend it. At the time that this leader made this statement, the Lagos – Ibadan express road was just four lanes, although it appeared adequate for the time. The total energy generated was less than eight thousand megawatts, although it appeared adequate at the time because many communities had not been connected to the National Grid. The National Transmission Lines only serviced the major cities across the country. I can go on and on listing the limitations of the vision of that administration. Yet, the leader is still regarded as one of the most successful in the history of this country. There was another who went to the United States on a bilateral visit and threatened the United States with an oil blockade if the US did not withdraw its support for the apartheid regime in South Africa at the time. Nigeria was making huge amount of money from selling crude oil to the US and other countries in the world at the time.  The fact is that some times and seasons are more favourable than at other times; and leaders who have the uncanny privilege of emerging at when times are not so good have opportunities to make names for themselves and solve lifetime problems.

Who, then is a leader? Leadership is a sacred position; although many people often find themselves in position of influence and authority, not everybody can be a leader. I am speaking at a forum of tax practitioners, so it is fit and proper for me to pick examples from the practice of the profession. For instance, the Head of Road Taxes at a Tax Authority Centre is a leader by virtue of his position; so is the Head of Withholding Tax; the Director of Tax Audit. Similarly, the M.D./CEO of Cadbury, Dangote Group, and so on and so forth are all leaders. Leadership, simply defined is the exertion of influence and authority. Leaders create vision; they maintain an intense focus on outcome and results, a realistic strategy to carry out the vision and the ability to communicate the vision and rally support of others. They have a strong ability to pass their intensity along to others. Leaders are there to coach, direct, and nudge members in the direction of goals. A leader guides a team; he charts a course, gives direction and develops the social and psychological environment.

What makes a challenging time and environment? I do not have to go far. A couple of days ago, my wife told me that almost everybody had deserted Nigeria. I responded by saying it was not true. It’s not as if I am not worried or concerned about the rate of migration from the country, but the truth is that even though many people are leaving the country, we do not have to create an alarm around and over it. We should only see it in terms of asking ourselves pertinent questions: are we in an emergency? What are the fundamental issues creating the situation? Are they solvable? What is the immediate impact? What is the long-term impact? Are there any positive side to it? How do we permanently address the Issues?

Our country, and indeed the world are facing multiple issues on different fronts. The world has experienced a global pandemic creating dramatic changes to how we conduct our daily lives; there are economic downturns and uncertainties; political and social turmoil, terrorism, kidnappings as well as an array of human made disasters. Then there are personal traumas that people are also dealing with, unemployment, family crisis of different sorts, violent crime, or tragic accidents. For many of us, this is a time of unprecedented struggle and upheaval. There are several families who do not know when and where their next meal will come from. Whether the source of disruption in our lives is a global emergency or a personal tragedy—or both—living through difficult times can take a heavy toll on one’s mood, health, and outlook. It can leave the person feeling helpless and overwhelmed by stress and anxiety. People could be flooded by a slew of difficult, conflicting emotions, or uncertain about how to move on with their lives. They may even feel that their lives are totally out of control and they are powerless to affect whatever may happen next.

Let me, however observe that many of our challenges in this country are self-inflicted. I spoke earlier on about “human made disasters”; yes, that is absolutely true and we are mostly responsible in different ways. How have we taken our responsibilities? How do we play our roles as leaders in our own rights, and as employees in different organisations? Are we a problem or a solution? All these are important! The Director of Finance in a multinational conglomerate whose responsibility it is to remit taxes of the employees of the organisation: do you do it faithfully? Are you not involved in tax racketeering, understating the number of expatriates in your organisation and colluding with tax officials to defraud the state? How about the Head of Road Taxes? How are the people saddled with various responsibilities across the country? How are you facing them? Some people go about telling anyone who cares to listen that nobody could fix Nigeria. That way, they hope to enlist and recruit many more unwary citizens to their sordid assignment, so that collectively, they would have more people to bring the country completely to its knees. And I can go on and on.

How then is leadership important in a time like this? As stated earlier, leaders create the vision and show direction; they motivate and inspire others to achieve organisational goals and help to create an environment where employees can flourish. Compassionate and supportive leadership is vital in inspiring confidence in employees and reassuring them in difficult and uncertain times. Concerted efforts to support and maintain employee wellbeing is crucial to morale and achieving organisational goals. What kind of virtues, therefore, should a leader manifest in such challenging times?

First, as stated over and over again, a leader should have a vision. A visionless leader is a rudderless leader. Each unit, department and/or agency must create a vision which encompass the organisational goals and communicate this vision to the employees. This ensures clarity and sincerity of purpose. Employees need clarity in a period of turmoil.

Secondly, a leader should show a lot of resilience and optimism in difficult times. He should exude confidence and courage. Don’t minister fear to your subordinates; they are looking at you. If you show yourself defeated, they may all lose hope and give up. The last thing you want to see is a group of employees who believe it is over.

Thirdly, leaders should be transparent at all times, but more importantly in challenging times. Leaders must not be opaque. Transparency allows the leader to build teams and engender trust. You cannot build a team if there is no trust. Two or three employees should be able to explain unit, departmental or organisational decisions when the leader is not there. Team members need one another to pull through challenging times and they may not be able to do this where there is no trust.

Finally, leaders should show empathy in challenging times. The times are hard enough; don’t let us compound the misery of the employees or the citizens. Leaders who demonstrate empathy tend to foster greater commitment and effort from team members. Empathy can be either cognitive (imagining what others must be thinking) or emotional (imagining what others must be feeling). Either way, empathy is critical to supporting people through tough times.

Leaders with vision, passion, energy, enthusiasm and real engagement with their staff are the real drivers of performance and productivity in organisations. They are also the leaders whose organisations and agencies will survive through challenging times. Stay focused on the big picture and manage to the best of your abilities. Take care of yourself – your health and your wellbeing -; respect your own feelings and emotions during challenging times and remain an optimist.

Thank you so much for listening.

By

Dahunsi Ogunleye

B.A. (Hons), MPP, MCIPM

(Text of a lecture delivered on Saturday, October 21st, 2023 at the Investiture of Mrs. Oluyomi Aderonke Dawodu, FCTI as the 9th Chairman of CITN Abeokuta & District Society & Inauguration of Members of the District’s Executive Committee for 2023 – 2025)