Grooming Human
Qualities to Excel and Rise above the Challenges of Life
The purpose of this think piece emanated from the deep conviction that
an African renaissance can only happen with the development of each and every
African and the collective skills, aptitudes and visions of our citizens. It is
indeed timely and apposite to discourse on the subject of empowered
professional self-development. The piece hence seeks to explore the changing nature
of international debates about empowered self-development and its implications
for national development. Part II will dwell on the practical requirement of
human empowerment to achieve our declared goals for the next five years and the
MDGs.
Do human qualities and meritocracy spur development?
Yes they do; but… On the
global arena, a consensus has emerged that a concerted massive action over a
sustained period, on the development and utilization of a pool of critical
human qualities at all levels and spectrum of society would provide the
foundation and engine for gaining a respectable and beneficial place within the
process of self-development and self-management. A disciplined, healthy,
nourished, and motivated labor force is required to produce and distribute the
goods and services needed for sustained human development. Leadership teams
that are committed and willing with positive attitude to facilitate the process
of opening up greater opportunities for every citizen are needed.
With the groundswell of political consciousness and
opportunities for political change that has emerged in Africa, the discourse on
cultural democracy can and must take place to ensure the sustainability of
democracy. It is also a challenge, because, for a third time in a generation,
we are faced with the daunting task of building up new and equitable
relationships; and hence the litmus test to our ability to participate in
reshaping the future of a nation. It is also an opportunity for Africans to
marshal their experience and knowledge to play a constructive role in national
development. As the march of meritocracy has now slowed to a crawl in Africa,
and, on some fronts, has even turned into a retreat, the real threat to
merit-based career development comes not from within the private sector but
from society at large. The biggest risk to our development is the erosion of
the competitive principle.
Which world are we
living in?
Amid
the turbulence of the divisions that marked the debate in the Cold War period, which
was dominated by the great ideological differences between liberal-capitalism
and socialism, and in which the contest was seen to lie in the competing claims
of the primacy of civil and political rights on the one hand and economic and
social rights on the other. At the heart of the controversy in self-development
was the role of the market in the organization of economy and the well-known
critique by Marx that established a better framework for rights in which
economic and social rights were ensured to all people, enabling them to live a
life of dignity and hence nations analyzed rights in class terms. Leaders hovered uneasily between these
opposed views, reluctant to disengage from the rhetoric which had been invoked
extensively in the seventies, but also conscious of the difficulties of
establishing political authority, especially in multiethnic societies, and
increasingly driven to restrictions of rights.
The end of the Cold War changed dramatically the context for the
discourse of self-development widely represented as the victory of human right
and Western (Mainly American) democracy. The discourse achieved a high
salience. The west defined its mission
the extension of rights and democracy to other parts of the world... followed
by its dominance of Western culture. Soon Coca Cola and Hollywood became the
icons of the new ‘cultural revolution’.
On our end, throughout African history, activists have worked in
socially broad-based movements to challenge social injustice in oppressive
eras, regimes and faith aristocracies that challenged the very idealism of
humanness and human dignity. The ethic that has brought about this change has
been manifested in more ways than one; by emancipation-spirituality that
inspired widespread grassroots renewal all over the world. The contemporaneous
forms of inspirited social-change masterpieces that it brought deserve
considerable attention in any discourse of human development, distribution of
wealth and well-being; especially when it comes to building robust communities
of faith.
Good enough never is - do
a little more: No matter how common the task, it should be done uncommonly
well. Such a choice is always wise; after all, the path of excellence is never
crowded and is a highway that leads to the top. We can all benefit from
aspiring to excellence. Excellence is not a destination we reach, but is an
unending process of constant improvement. What better way to live than by
growing better each day? Those who pursue excellence aren’t in direct
competition with others, for they measure themselves against their own
accomplishments. The real contest is always between what you’ve done and what
you’re capable of doing. You measure yourself against yourself and nobody
else."
Excellence is not a coincidence:
Excellence is deliberate,
not an accident that we stumble upon. It is about asking of ourselves more than
others do; it is about harboring thoughts of excellence in our breast. As long
as we aim for a more ideal self, success will naturally follow. And the good
news is excellence is within the grasp of all, for it is merely about doing our
best at every moment. It is not about perfection, which is an unattainable
goal, but about becoming what we are capable of being. Those who stand by the
sidelines and watch others succeed, know what is necessary, but are unwilling
to devote the time and effort to bettering themselves. So, each of us have to
make a decision.
To
do the right thing, at the right time, in the right way; to do some things
better than they were ever done before; to eliminate errors; to know both sides
of the question; to be courteous; to be an example; to work for the love of
work; to anticipate requirements; to develop resources; to recognize no
impediments; to master circumstances; to act from reason rather than rule; to
be satisfied with nothing short of perfection. Those who are successful in
their quest for excellence simply do what they do better and do more of it.
They go about life always alert for better ways of doing things. Every endeavor
they engage in is imprinted with their mark of excellence. They understand that
if you do a job quickly, people will forget about it. But if you do it well,
people will remember. Founder of IBM, Thomas J. Watson (1874 ~ 1956), in his
work the Path to Excellence said that: Care more than others think is wise.
Risk more than others think is safe. Dream more than others think is practical.
Expect more than others think is possible. Strive more than others think is
worthwhile. Do more than others think is necessary. Be more than others think
is sufficient.
As asserted earlier, no
matter how common the task, it should be done uncommonly well. Such a choice is
always wise; after all, the path of excellence is never crowded and is a
highway that leads to the top. We can all benefit from aspiring to excellence.
Excellence is not a destination we reach, but is an unending process of
constant improvement. What better way to live than by growing better each day?
Those who pursue excellence aren’t in direct competition with others, for they
measure themselves against their own accomplishments. The real contest is
always between what you’ve done and what you’re capable of doing. You measure
yourself against yourself and nobody else.
Greatness
is not power, wealth, fame, beauty, or talent. "Greatness is not found in
possessions, power, position or prestige. It is discovered in goodness,
humility, service and character." (William Arthur) In other words, it is
becoming someone you admire. Not because of egoism, but because of the innate
desire to be and do one’s best. Why not add greatness of character to our
lives? For when we do so, we add value to them. And when we have value, our
life has meaning. We need great people. This is the single most powerful
investment we can ever make in life - investment in ourselves; in the only
instrument we have with which to deal with life and to contribute. We are the
instruments of our own performance, and to be effective, we need to recognize
the importance of taking time regularly to sharpen the saw in all four ways.
The more proactive you are, the more effectively you can exercise personal
leadership and management in your life. The more effective you manage your life
is the more renewing activities you can do. The more you seek first to
understand, the more effectively you can go for synergetic win/win solutions.
The more you improve in any of the habits that lead to independence the more
effective you will be in interdependent situation. And renewal is the process
of renewing all the habits
The main reason for
America's success lies in organization asserts The Economist. “This is
something other countries can copy. But they will not find it easy—particularly
if they are developing countries that are bent on state-driven modernization.
The first principle is that the federal government plays a limited part.
America does not have a central plan for its universities. It does not treat
its academics as civil servants. Instead, universities have a wide range of
patrons, from state governments to religious bodies, from fee-paying students
to generous philanthropists. The academic landscape has been shaped by rich
benefactors such as Ezra Cornell, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins and John
D. Rockefeller”. This is something that can be emulated by our private sector
however nascent or underdeveloped.
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