What leaders do when ‘wine’ runs out

I would like to launch the subject that I am dissecting today by passing on to you an enduring and lasting life, business and leadership principle—on the clout and supremacy of vision as it affects you, your home and business as an individual. Do not forget this: those who are vision-driven will change as they age, but those who are not vision-driven will age without changing. And aging without changing makes one extraneous. Today, some people on this continent are aging without changing, because a number of them are climbing out of bed and going to bed every day without being vision-driven.

Remember, when he who is vision-driven meets with those who are not vision-driven after a period of time, he who is vision-driven will recognize those who are not vision-driven, but those who are not vision-driven will not be able to recognize him. When you start being vision-driven, everything about your life will change and your ‘foreground’ will be totally different from your background. This is a very deep truth that time and space would fail me to completely drain.

Buddy, the most terrible thing that can happen to anyone on earth is to live his or her life without being vision-driven. A home that is not vision-driven will never experience an enduring change. And a business that is not vision-driven will die unsurprisingly. Also, a nation that is not vision-driven will continue to move in circle and after a period of time, she will die. Remember, nations do die!

Furthermore, the more I write on leadership, the clearer it becomes to me that the major problem facing Africa has leadership undertone. We are rich in natural resources, but we are very poor in leadership. And being rich in natural resources is not alone to birth a continent that is economically strong. To make Africa great, we need natural resources to be in the hands of true and visionary leaders. This is not the issue before us today. Now, let us move to the issue before us today.

I remember a story I read about not long ago in the “good-book”. There was a wedding ceremony and it was a very lively and bubbly one, but all of a sudden, the “wine” they were using to entertain guests at the wedding ran out. And without wine, you know a wedding will be uninteresting and unexciting.

One, we were not told in the story what made the wine to run out. Two, we were not told in the story whether the guests drank more than they were supposed to drink or maybe the number of guests surpassed those who they did plan to host. And to find a solution to the problem, they took the challenge to the leader who was in attendance and within a split second, he told them what to do. They all listened to him and the problem got solved! Remember, true leaders are problem solvers.

The first thing I want you to learn in this story is that when true leaders speak, everyone listens. True leaders do not use money and political power to influence people to listen to them and do what they like. This is one of the laws of leadership: “when true leaders speak, people listen.” If you speak and people do not listen to you, you are actually not their leader. And if you are truly leading them, when you speak, they must listen to you. Not that you’d coerce them to listen and do what you desire, but they would listen and do what you say to them, because over the years—they have come to see you as their leader.

What makes people listen to you and do what you tell them to do? People will listen to you when you learn how to speak to their hearts and not their heads. When you speak to their hearts, you’d effortlessly move them to action. All the leaders who spoke in time past and moved people to action knew how to connect with people’s heart with their voice. You want to speak in the days to come and you want people to listen to you? Then you’d need to pay a rapt attention to this unavoidable and inescapable law of leadership.

The second thing I want to show you today is that true leaders do not put unbearable burden on the people to solve problems. When wine was running out, the leader in question did not increase the people’s suffering to proffer a solution to it. True leaders solve people’s problems, they do not add to them! When we increase the suffering of those within the circle of our influence, we definitely aren’t true leaders. For the umpteenth time, leaders solve problems for people; they do not increase their suffering.

The problem is not the ‘wine’ (resources) that is running out; the problem is the absence of problem solvers. The problem is not the problem, but the absence of problem solvers is the major problem. The economic crisis that is hitting the planet-earth is not the problem, but the real problem is the absence of those who can solve our myriad of economic problems and move the world forward.

It is a rare wisdom to always keep on your team or within your reach—someone who knows what you do not know and sees what you cannot see. In the days to come, this wisdom will save you from challenges that are beyond what you can handle alone. What happened in the story I earlier told you about is a clear symbol of some of the things that happen to us as we journey through life. Please understand that you cannot afford to be a lone ranger. When ‘wine’ runs out, you’d realize that it is not every problem that you can singlehandedly handle.

Lastly, what do leaders do when ‘wine’ runs out? If they cannot proffer solution to the problem, they’d humble themselves and consult someone who is capable of solving the problem and be modest enough to listen and do what he or she says.

See you where great people are found!