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Home / Take Some Tips on Leadership from Ou Carlos
Take Some Tips on Leadership from Ou Carlos
2006-11-10Staff Report 2 "Shooting From The Hip Carlos Kambaekwa It has been a crazy week in Namibian sport with accusations of well-orchestrated cheating and counter-accusations of sour grapes dominating the back pages in recent days in the post-mortem of the ill-fated NFA Extraordinary Congress. Leading today's article, I would like to look at the role of Leadership ""Beyond the Manifestos"", and analyze leadership qualities in some detail, including the characteristics of a true leader. Leaders are not necessarily born despite the fact that some studied evidence suggests that heredity and childhood experiences are valuable organs in the creation of leaders, since an individual with an early exposure in life to self-responsibility and dealing with setbacks is more likely to develop into a capable leader than those brought up in an otherwise environment. However, we need to guard against good Manifestos in the hands of incapable leaders because even the best Manifestos count for naught if those entrusted with their execution are still in dire need of refinement. Real leaders are those with morals, substance and possessed of a will to serve their subjects with courage and humility, while they should also have a national mission to inspire their subjects so that they reciprocate their objectives and, if necessary, sacrifice for its attainment. A true leader must possess specific knowledge and depth in the issues critical to his or her subjects and the attainment of the mission with the assistance of wisely-chosen technocrats from the widest spectrum of the realm. However, many in positions of authority are hell-bent on surrounding themselves with their henchmen in the belief of not compromising on loyalty, which naturally make them miss out on broad knowledge with catastrophic consequences. A leader is driven by a desire to win and achieve, and must consider setbacks as a challenge and perhaps a pointer to alternative strategies, whilst he must avoid being governed by the fear of past errors. Unfortunately, there appears to be no culture of good reasoning in Namibian football; for example, the average understanding of most local football pundits regarding the state of domestic football is neither logical nor rational. More than often, those in desperate search for power develop a habit of promising things they can academically explain but cannot actually get their hands on because these are just not within the confines of their mandate. Clubs are becoming gatvol of long-term promises which never materialize. Is it not perhaps time for teams to become directly involved in organizing structures and allocating resources to fulfill their desires which have a direct consequence on their togetherness? All affiliates must be able to control the forces of power which they have assisted to put in motion, and the era of few individuals sitting at Soccer House trying to run football like a spaza shop must be done away with. The Directorate should only be there to implement what the teams want implemented - nothing more. and nothing less. There is an incessant desire by football leaders, just like most politicians in general, to hold onto power and make life as intolerable as possible for those who dare have the courage to unseat them when their time in office is up. What many authorities really fail to digest is that most of their subjects are only interested in CHANGE, and that's exactly what they have elected with very little emphasis placed on the quality of candidates. I just hope and trust my own observation on the towering Brrra J, aka ""Tobie Cronje"" being an arrogant and reluctant leader is proven otherwise for the sake of progress. In the meantime, I learned with utter shock that one of the country's unsung heroes and greatest writers, Fritz Maretha, has gone to meet his Maker - Brrra Fritz was, without doubt, among those who contributed immensely to the author's decision to bid farewell to his treasured yellowish Ibanez Six String Guitar in pursuit of becoming a self-taught journo. Brrra Fritz was a street-wise pen-pusher from the ekasie in years gone by and a great deal of yours truly's writing style is a result of Brrra Fritz's immeasurable sense of humour and strong belief in addressing his subjects in the variety of their linguistics, including the ""Victims of Society"" who rather preferred to be spoken to in their own brand of township slang, better known as Tsotsi taal. Ag, my broer, I wish one could roll back the years and confront each and every Tuesday from the early Eighties in the company of Joernaal, the sister publication of the then Afrikaans daily ""Die Suidwester"" so that those from yesteryear could go down Memory Lane with Brrra Fritz's tales on the Koola Boys in real township lingo. Finally, I wish to sign off with the words of Mahatma Ghandi when he refused point-blank to apologize for what the pale-skinned British termed impolite witties when he said, ""If you think I seem to transgress the limits that courtesy imposes on me, pardon me for the liberty I may be taking"". Dear readers, I thank you for devoting a portion of your valuable time to running an eye over the above comments which are primarily aimed at provoking your minds in an effort to pull our fragile sports setup out of the quagmire. Sharp, enjoy a trouble-free weekend, and may the Almighty bless you." 2006-11-10Staff Report 2
