Volume 65 December 2026-January 2026 : Mokanoki
Leadership is about continuity
Author : Russ Molosiwa
In this issue we conclude our examination of the word succession. Remember we are talking about mentorship. The definition of this word should assist us to become real leaders who are not afraid to pass our knowledge to others.
Success is not what happens while you are still alive. Success is what happens after you have left. This is why the word successive is so important. The terms successive or succeeding generations suggest continuity.
We want to be successful, so we accomplish a project.
We are proud that we did it and want everyone to remember what we produced in our lifetime. That is not success. Success is knowing someone will continue the work after you have left.
In my village there is a company that has been in business since 1890. The company owns a chain of shops in a number of villages in the Central District.
The people who started the business have long died but the business still continues. The founder members of the company made sure that their accomplishments and achievements were preserved and perpetuated for posterity.
You are successful if your vision outlives you through another person.
If we forget you after you have died, no matter how great your accomplishments were, you are a failure. You measure your success by the people you leave behind. Someone who comes after you can destroy every goal that you achieved.
If you are sixty, seventy or eighty years old and you have done wonderful things, will they outlast you? The only way to guarantee they will is through succession. True leadership is about continuity.
Succession is not just achieving success. Succession is preserving success. What you achieve, you need someone to preserve.
Can you imagine building your business all your life and then some untrained son sells it after you die for half the price, just so he can buy a new car?
All your life you worked hard, invested and built a business, or built this massive empire.
Then a son, daughter, cousin, or wife’s next husband sells it on the market for half the price to buy something that provides immediate gratification. We have seen this happen very often.
When it is time for leaders to effect transition, many have not prepared a successor, so there is a conflict, a fight, or a scuffle for leadership.
When a new leader emerges, the winner may be committed to destroying everything you have built to prove that he is different or better.
This has been the modus operandi for many leaders. Re bone batho ba lwela boswa and at the end of the day le jone boswa ja teng ba bo ja jaaka manoko (We have see people fighting over inheritance, only to squander it like peanuts).
They were not trained to transfer their deposit to the next generation.
As Myles Munroe explains, it takes courage to train your replacement. It takes courage to make yourself unnecessary.