LEADERSHIP, PRESIDENCY AND SABWiL ALUMNI

Everyone wants to be a leader, but not everyone is willing to work the ground, endure the hardship that comes with leading and finally make the sacrifices and put in the long hours. To be a leader it means one must comprehend the responsibility that comes with leadership. Wikipedia defines leadership as ‘both a research area and a practical skill encompassing the ability of an individual or organization to ‘lead’ or guide other individuals, teams or entire organizations’.

This entails not only guidance to the organization, but as the definition explains research and a practical skill is necessary. At face value guidance or leading comes to mind. However, we realise that hard work is a critical component in leadership. There is work that needs to be done, and it needs to be done in a certain period of time.

A leader is in contrast to a boss. A boss tells you what to do, while a leader has to take inputs from his/her team into consideration. Firstly they must be at a position to grow. When one is at a position to grow, they understand and acknowledge that their ideas are not absolute. They are aware that conclusive ideas and constructive criticism will always be given by their team. This will result in a far richer output than as initially anticipated. This is the ideal leader which Martin Luther King, Jr refers to when he said ‘a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus’.

As the President, just like any of the alumni I had to go through the course of SABWiL Shadowing and SABWiL Human Rights Court. These are there two categories that realise one a SABWiL Alumni. When we speak of SS I know exactly what we are referring to. When we speak of SHRC I also know what the course entails. I am proud to have participated in both courses, as this has positioned me in a better place where I can advise our future alumni. 

As a leader of the organisation, I am aware that I have to put in more hours into the organisation. I have to step in and execute duties beyond my office. After all, it is well within my office to ascertain that the organisation is functioning properly and is not crippled. Like Nelson Mandela says: ‘it is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership’.

Perhaps those of us who are in leadership positions, need to critically evaluate ourselves. With that said; I would like to pose three questions to every leader out there.  Are we called leadership because we were elected? Are we called leadership because we are executing duties as per our offices? Or we called leadership because we have complied with all these criteria? Our answer needs to be yes to all three questions in the affirmative.

#Womandla

Madillo Mofokeng

President SABWiL ALUMNI.

06 March 2019