Where I come from, leadership is of utmost importance and embedded into everyday life. All members of the society learn its scope and breadth as if it were a school course. After the battle of Kirina in 1235 C.E., the Manding Charter was created, which lead to the formation of one of the greatest empires in West Africa: The Mali Empire. The Mandinka Empire, satellite kingdoms, and chiefdoms followed the “Kurgan-Fouga” (the Manding Charter on human rights), one of the first created human rights charters worldwide. It was used as a source of guidance and road map to distribute leadership, but more importantly, to treat everyone with dignity and respect, thus fairness and equality for all.
During the meeting to draft the “Kurgan-Fouga,” the empire’s authorities divided the leadership amongst clans. Various clans and families were tasked to become leaders in different domains of the empire. For example, the Keita clan was the princely clan tasked with governing. The Jobateh, Kuyateh, and other griots clans’ tasks were to make sure that the history of the empire never dies. From an early age, anyone born of these families, including future generations, had to learn about the people’s history from their parents. Since there exist very few written texts about the Malian Empire, its history was passed down from one generation to the other, keeping the relevance alive over the years.
Additionally, security was the task of the warrior clans. The trades clan was tasked with trade and the rest of the tasks were equally divided among clans to take leadership in different aspects of the community’s social and political life wherein they find themselves. So it is as a young child that education with experience to becoming a leader starts. It matters not what kind of family you are born in; leadership means much more to our people. And with the configuration of our society, every member has an important role to play.
In an average class Mandingo family, the head of the family is usually the eldest surviving family member, whether male or female. That head of the family — usually the grandparents — always has the final say on decision making and other matters, including what may be trivial in the eyes of an outsider. In making decisions, they (for the sake of this article, let’s say the grandparents) consult with their children who are allowed to opine and even appeal their case if required. The grandchildren are not primarily present when decisions are being made on critical family issues but they are influencers of their grandparents’ final decisions.
Consequently, the role of a father is to provide food and shelter. He must use the available resources to ensure that he maximizes and efficiently produces required food and other family needs. The mother controls what happens at home and monitors daily food portion sizes while keeping an inventory of food stockpiles. Any decision concerning children and other family issues must be filtered to them for approval before implementation.
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Firstborns are conditioned to follow the footsteps of their parents, especially the father. For example, if your father is a griot, the child must learn the art of storytelling from a young age to carry the legacy when the father has transitioned. Other children are trained on the skill, however, they are not expected to shoulder the weight of the tradition. To train the younger children to be responsible, they’re entrusted with the care of plants, trees, or small animals. While these tasks may seem menial, they are held in high regard by the elders as this role comes with accountability, and going before the matriarchs and patriarchs is akin to going before the judge.
My people believe that leadership positions show outsiders and the world who we are and what we are made of. We believe that you will not know man’s true character until you give them a sense of power over something. What differentiates leaders is how they carry themselves when they have power, how they execute that power, and how those around them feel about them in private. To elaborate further, if people do not think (opinionated) their leader is trustworthy, they will perceive that the leader is not doing what is right. We know and understand that not everyone will like you, but if one is being called to task and has shortcomings, they need to check the modus operandi, go back to the drawing board, and revise their course. To my people, a great leader:
1. Helps followers grow: As a leader, you should have that natural charisma to speak wholesome words to people with the intention that they will follow. As a result, it is incumbent upon you to help them and lead them into things that will help them grow their talents. You should make sure to delegate and decentralize power to your followers so they would be able to learn the functions and essence of executing power. This way, your influence causes them to continue without supervision. Growth includes initiating plans that will improve skills wherein there is an interest, and not relying majorly on the leader for socio-economics needs.
2. Knows what motivates others: As a leader, you must understand what motives your constituents. You should discover your constituents’ strengths and weaknesses and work on elevating or training where needed. There is no cookie-cutter approach to this task, as everyone is different with varying needs. However, the leader will show excellent leadership skills by learning of the needs of his people and addressing them.
3. Is available: A great leader should be available when needed. When people see the leader involved, things are likely to remain calm, though not always. One of the leader’s purposes is to remove barriers between the leadership and the people. When barriers exist, the people feel disconnected and rejected, as if they do not belong. They see this as distancing and that the leader is not making enough effort to know them and their needs. When distancing takes effect, the people will not carry out authoritative orders.
4. Is disciplined: Unruly people can’t have good behaviour. As a result, people in leadership positions will learn to manifest degrees of discipline, humility, and self-restraint. Leaders are under the scrutiny of everyone, and behaviour unbecoming to the role can cause uprisings, leading even to revolting and anarchism.
5. Is trustworthy and honest: A leader’s subjects should find him/her trustworthy. Trust is earned through honesty, consistency, fairness, and equality. So, it is paramount to be honest in all dealings and manifest the highest amount of integrity in words and actions, whether in public or private. There is a common saying that anything done in the dark will come to light one day; history has proven this repeatedly. An analogy of trust is that it’s like a sheet of paper, when folded several times, it cannot be straightened.
6. Is reliable: Leaders who show dedication and commitment will undoubtedly have devout followers who will follow them on every path. Loyalty has a price, and the currency is being there for others. When people feel respected and valued, there is a reciprocal effect that they will do the same for the leader. Good leaders show that they are servants first, and therefore gain the trust and respect of the people.
7. Manages conflict effectively: Leaders never stop learning and growing in knowledge, wisdom, and experience. Leaders must be adaptable to the needs of the people which change continuously. Since no one knows everything, the leader must rely on professionals to guide them in ways they’ve not ventured before. The effects of learning will be evident in their use of the knowledge pertaining to the constituents. Consideration to be fair when making judgments will be at the forefront of meted-out decisions, policies, and laws. In the end, the efficacy of the role is under scrutiny, and the leader should ensure that he/she is qualified to make judgments from a learned position and not an emotional one. When laws are in place and a leader exercises its effects without prejudice, the people will respect the leader’s role to manage conflict effectively through the written rules.
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While the above are essential qualities and skills a leader should possess, they should also encourage people to take risks, especially in today’s business world. The higher the risk, the higher the reward. One has to get out of their comfort zone and explore creative and innovative ways beneficial to themselves and others. Leaders who overlook feedback are making one of the most prominent mistakes. Feedback reveals what’s in the mind of the people. When the leader acts upon the input, the people will feel that their needs are being met and hence motivate them to work even harder. Change in any aspect of life is inevitable, so leadership should strive for changes to meet the demand and the reality of current happenings. Leadership is not all about leading, managing activities, or giving a command. Leadership is a process where you serve as a reference point for the constituents and still remain humble enough to learn from them daily.
