Volume 50 Issue 2 - February 2012 : Mokanoki
Life is a relay Pass it on
Author : Russ Molosiwa
Reading through arguments of people such as Myles Munroe and Joel Osteen I realise that no matter how much you and I may learn, achieve, accumulate, or accomplish, if it all dies with us, then we are a generational failure.
Yes my dear friend, the act and art of mentoring are manifestations of the highest level of maturing and self confidence. The spirit of insecurity, low self-esteem, poor self-conception, and devalued self-worth always focus on self-preservation and self-protection – a defensive mechanism in life.
This spirit of insecurity breeds an attitude of fear, suspicion, and distrust. These words describe the mindset of many of us serving in our governments - political parties, corporations, departments, religious organizations, churches, families, and civic organizations.
When many people rise to positions of power, influence, notoriety, and celebrity in our society, because they lack the character and maturity necessary to manage that power effectively, their first order of business is to secure their positions, extinguish any opposition, and erect a defense mechanism that others would not dare violate.
They see colleagues as enemies and partners as competitors. Such creates an atmosphere of schism, friction, suspicion, distrust, and low productivity. Boloi bo simologa gone fa. Fa o bona batho ba tshega fa pele gago, o kgaoga pelo. O a kanya gore go jewa wena setshego.
Individuals with this attitude towards power and position never mentor and actually see the prospect of mentoring as personally unwise and threatening to their own survival. Such lack of willingness, desire, understanding, and interest in mentoring is the greatest curse and weakness of our 21st century leaders.
The majority of leaders at the controls of our political machinery, economic empires, and massive social or religious structures all seem to be preoccupied with protecting their occupational lives and not their generational legacies. We need people who think more of the next generation and not merely of the next position in the organization.
We need people who feel they owe a debt to the future and who are committed and willing to securing it by intentionally preparing the future stewards of our world. We need people who are more dedicated to history than they are to money.
We need leaders who are more interested in investing in people than in pursuing private ambition. Are you one of the people that this country need? The highest manifestation of true leadership is to identify one’s replacement and to begin mentoring him or her.
Life is really a generational relay with each succeeding generation responsible for passing the baton safely to the next with all the distilled knowledge, experience, and wisdom intact. All leaders should strive to execute their duties, reach milestones, achieve major progress, and fulfill the vision for their families, businesses, corporations, ministries, and nations.
However, they also should work to produce the next generation of leaders who will value, protect, preserve, and build on those achievements. Allow me to stop here for today in the next issue I try to bring this mentoring school of thought much closer to you.