A South African don, Dr Greg Mills, has urged African leaders to learn from the successes and failures of other continents, adopt best practices and avoid repeating historical mistakes.
He stressed the need for an urgent transformational leadership, to drive Africa’s progress.
This is contained in a statement by Prof. Elvis Otobo, Media Consultant, Olusegun Obasanjo Leadership Institute (OOLI) in Ogun, issued to newsmen on Sunday in Lagos.
Mills is a former Visiting Fellow at the University of Navarra and National Director, South Africa Institute of International Affairs.
He made the remarks during the institute’s session with its Executive Syndicate Class for top Chief Executive Officers (CEOs).
In his presentation, Mills drew insights from his acclaimed book, ‘The Essence of Success’ and other works to illustrate how leadership traits from sports, business, media and politics intersect.
According to him, transformational leadership is inextricably linked to governance and political environments.
“Being an effective manager does not guarantee visionary leadership.
“Leaders must motivate teams, articulate a clear vision, pursue bold policies and resist distractions of power or popularity.
“True leaders distinguish between tactical and strategic actions,” he explained.
He noted that at one moment, true leaders were passionate, prepared and patient and in the next, they demonstrated conviction, courage, communication and compassion through their vision and energy.
Mills then highlighted consistency in core leadership qualities as one of the four “threads of success” that every leader must weave into their approach.
The don also listed the relentless pursuit of excellence, the ability to envision, plan and communicate effectively, as well as the capacity to recognise the difference between being good and being great.
On his part, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Founder and Chairman of OOLI’s Governing Board, reinforced the message with a clarion call to the continent’s leaders.
“African countries stand the chance to benefit from quality transformational leadership. We need leaders who are committed to Africa’s infrastructural, human and capital development,” he said.
Prof. Samuel Daramola, Deputy Chief Executive of the institute and moderator of the session, praised the depth of the discussion and reiterated OOLI’s commitment to hosting world-class speakers.
“This event marks another milestone in our mission. OOLI will continue to facilitate strategic engagements that challenge conventional thinking and empower Africa’s next generation of ethical, transformational leaders,” Daramola said.
