Trust issues, ineffective leadership bane of nation’s devt — Robert Bennin
The lack of trust, ineffective leadership and the arrogance to be served and not to serve have been identified as virtues which were missing in the country’s development process.
“Leadership is about taking responsibility, listening, showing signs of success and communicating effectively,” a leadership development facilitator and strategy consultant, Robert Bennin, said.
He cautioned that the prevailing economic conditions in the country might not be resolved anytime soon and, therefore, urged politicians to work towards addressing the challenges expeditiously.
Taking his turn at the Graphic Business Twitter Dialogue Series in Accra yesterday, which was hosted by the Assistant Editor of the Graphic Business, Charles Benoni Okine, Mr Bennin further said that leadership in the country must not shift blame but own up to their mistakes.
“Picking the roses without taking responsibility is a leadership challenge; we often celebrate victory too early, we need to sit back and ask some important questions and also do a thorough self-introspection,” he said.
Accepting responsibility
Speaking on the theme: “Leading in times of crisis or challenges”, Mr Bennin also said that leaders must be able to accept responsibility for their decisions that had led to the country’s current economic downturn with humility, while acknowledging their inadequacies.
“We must navigate and take up the mantle in difficult times, leadership is about relationship, we must relate with members of the public, be calm and seek opportunities in this trying times,” he added.
The Learning Strategist at Temple Advisory, a research-based talent development firm, challenged leaders to set clear directions for citizens to follow, create morale amid the current economic crisis, set up a team to interpret the crisis to the people and recognise and communicate the challenges in a candid manner.
“Crisis magnifies some of the underlying problems and conditions we have swept under the carpet for a long time,” he said.
Mr Bennin further entreated leaders to build their capacity, learn and take time to reflect on what they were capable of doing since self-introspection could help them in their daily duties.
“Great leaders have the vision of the people as stakeholders and not their personal vision, a behaviour of a leader is different from his capabilities, and leaders must recognise that,” he added.
The consultant said when managed well, the country could return to macroeconomic stability, but if leadership failed to live up to expectation, the situation could get worse in the coming years.