Dr Wilfred Isak April
THIS week I would like to conclude the discussion on God’s leading animals, which I borrow from the groundbreaking work of Dr Myles Munroe. To lead us into today’s discussion we will look at “the eagle and the lion”. The eagle is generally regarded as the leader with a vision; while the lion is the king with courage and confidence. Each of these animals possesses qualities and characteristics that signify leadership.
Let us closely look at these leading animals. The lion is definitely not the tallest, not the largest, not the heaviest and also not the smartest, but the lion is the “King” of the jungle – Why is that ladies and gentlemen? It is also important to remind our readers at this point in time that every follower has hidden leadership qualities. The distinctive leadership difference between the eagle and the lion is “attitude”. Namibians, at times leadership is like beauty. This implies that you must nurture you leadership potential, as beauty fades if not nurtured. As an aspiring businessperson you have to try and cultivate an attitude that influences behaviour. Be it a very small business or a multi-million business, if you have an attitude that draws people near to you and stand firm for what is right; you can certainly get your business off the ground.
Coming back to the essence of today’s discussion: The lion believes that it can reduce any problem to what it wants it to become. This is evident in the way through which the lion reduces the elephant into a meal. If we bring it closer to home: Look at our own “Chinese entrepreneurs” they see crisis as an opportunity; in their vocabulary there is no word called crisis. The whole world is complaining about crises – while the Chinese people only see opportunities. The true power of great leadership lies in attitude coupled with a strong belief system.
It is about time that we apply the leadership principles of Dr Myles Munroe in Namibia, not only in theory but in practice. This lecture also reminds us that we should stop living just to make a living and begin to live. We have to start manifesting ourselves and discover our true internal greatness, as the 21st century is in need of great inspirational leaders. We are only able to groom and produce the best leaders in this century if we decide to work on our character. Character is about what you are doing when no one else is watching. If you develop a great character you will also realize that “eyes that look are common – but eyes that see are rare.” This also refers to spotting entrepreneurial opportunities. It is also our responsibility as Namibians to help the weak to become stronger.
Before I conclude todays’ discussion I would like to leave a few important pointers which could be of great value to your personal life and organization: Namibians everything is what we call it to be. For example, Bahamas had an island called “Hog Island” meaning rubbish dump, but someone else spotted it with rare eyes and turned it into “Paradise Island”. Problems are just the manner in how we see things. On the other hand leadership is “about” how you see things.
The time has arrived to stop thinking outside the box and get out of the box and realize our dreams. In conclusion if you look at a flock of sheep they do not have a leader – but are followers. Whether we would like to believe it or not, an army of sheep led by a lion will always defeat an army of lions led by a sheep. Are you an “eagle or a lion”?
• Dr Wilfred Isak April holds a PhD (Entrepreneurship) and currently lectures in Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Organizational Psychology at the University of Namibia in the Department of Management Sciences.