For those of you who don’t know, when I’m not entertaining you fine folk, or other fine folk- I work in sales within a corporate organisation.
We are part of a listed group of companies and I wear a tie to work every single day. However when the work day ends, the ties (and sometimes the wheels) come off- I am a politicized, atheist, stoner party animal.
And its the politicized part of me that is pissed off.
I have been a ‘leader’ within my organisation for just over a year- and its fucking tough. The people in my team have different and unique motivators, dreams, ways of doing things, methods of thought and so forth- and as a leader I have to be cogniscent of these differences and create an environment that allows equality and for them to grow in the direction they want to. I cannot mould them to be carbon copies of me or to think and act the way I do, and I cannot scream and shout to get my way.
I have to allow my people the freedom to do things their way and to express their needs to me in an atmosphere that is conducive to openness and honesty- otherwise I will be left in the dark about their real needs and where they would like to take their careers.
Obviously this is not a free-for-all where no company objectives are met and everyone if just happy and warm and fluffy 24/7- we are all here for a purpose and commitment and achievement of goals is our driving force in my leadership style and the ethos of my company.
So it’s on me, as the leader to ensure:
1. My people are productive and meeting the needs of the organisation
2. My people are happy and are fulfilling their own needs
3. Upholding the values and goals of my department/team within the company as a whole.
The buck stops with me.
I’m not in a unique situation, the same structure and basic goals are repeated on different scales everywhere from the local supermarket to the highest level of government. Only its at these higher levels where we have a crucial key to success missing.
Leadership.
In South African politics in particular we have a huge, nay fucking MASSIVE, leadership vacuum.
I am hard pressed to think of anyone in our current political climate who I can actually look up to- and who is worthy of my respect.
Jacob Zuma is the 11th highest paid world leader. Can you just imagine if he was the 11th most effective?
Our government have a ‘me first’ attitude, with a mindset that seems to be one of self-enrichment and self-serving instead of looking out for those people they are meant to serve, and who put them in power in the first place.
Almost 20 years since they have come into power and they are still blaming the past. 20 years ago, Fourways was a few plots and a 4-way stop, hence the name. Now it takes me an hour to drive 18kms from Fourways to Sandton, because of all of the development. Yet people who have been waiting for a simple two bedroom house are still living in shacks, walking for kilometres to get clean water, and shitting in a communal longdrop.
We need a fundamental shift in the way we view our leaders, and how we hold them responsible. If they are not serving us, they need to be held accountable. Targets need to be set and achieved, and corruption, which is the cancer of South Africa, needs to be rooted out and annihilated.
I wish I had a solution as to how to do this, but all I can suggest is that each of us do our best to educate those who cannot see how South Africa and its people are being raped by a flawed system. Education is the key to emancipation, and we can all do our part.
Revolutionary Throwback 