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Friday, December 10, 2010

Leadership SECRETS( part 1)

How on earth did a slave from a foreign land wind up as prime minister? If we can unravel this mystery then we would finally understand the concept of Leadership.

Joseph was a man of like passions, his journey from home to a strange land and then to the prison is quite conventional, save for the fact that we don’t end up as prime ministers. I have had course to meditate on the rise to power of Joseph, and how someone who ordinarily should have a slave mentality or at least be somewhat bitter and resentful could emerge as one of the greatest administrators of his time. Now, there is a school of thought that Joseph attained his height of success because he had a peculiar dream and destiny, my question then is…who doesn’t? we are all born with peculiar destinies and we all nurse our distinct dreams.
Again, having acknowledged that it took more than two dreams to land Joseph at his desired and pre ordained destination, I had to admit that it was not just the dream, it was the life and habits of the dreamer. Leadership is therefore not a position, but a state of existence that is reflected in the daily and deliberate practice of a man.

The second question then is, what was the daily and deliberate practice of Joseph that landed him at the Palace?
1. Joseph had a Dream; we already established this right? We also agreed that it’s not so strange to us. Most of us are already good at this, infact we are a little too good at dreaming,
2. He knew the source of his Dream. The source of your dream determines the cost of your dream. Right from inception, he knew that he had a divine God ordained call to lead and he pursued this call not out of selfish ambition or pride but rather out of a desire to fulfill God’s purpose for his life.
3. He was confident; he didn’t allow his position in his family to affect his dream life, the limitations imposed on him by virtue of his birth position was merely biological and it did not affect his mindset. He was a second to last child but he definitely had a second to none mentality.
4. He was obedient and serviceable: he willingly took food to his brothers even though he knew they were his No. 1 dream killers
5. He was humble; he immediately adapted to the role of a slave rather than being rebellious and resentful.
6. He feared, loved and walked with God; this reflected in his high moral values and principles, the fact that he said no to pharaoh’s wife even though it would have landed him a promotion
7. He was optimistic; he knew the prison was not his last point of call
8. He was industrious; he employed his gifts even among his prison guards and wards.
9. He had a forgiving heart: in that he readily forgave and took back his brothers who dealt him the highest form of betrayal, that in itself was an unusual test of character and landed him the liberation to truly break out from the chains of the past hurts.
There is indeed no doubt in my mind, that if one can carefully study these habits and practices of Joseph, his Greatness will not only be inevitable but will also be uncompromisable!

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