Elvis C. Umez

Anyone who begins the journey of following a Pioneer Leader in moving from point A to B must realise that the goal is transformation into becoming a leader, nothing more or less. And to be the leader, he must first be a disciple and then a collaborator. Every follower is motivated by two things because of their drive to meet their needs, which the Pioneer Leader must help them redirect: 1. The need to have what the pioneer leader has and 2. The need to become their ideal selves. What is the motivation of your followers: filling their stomachs or being something bigger themselves? Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

The stages of growth and development of the leadership cycle could be parallel to that of human. The Pioneer Leader is to understand their corresponding observable indicators in order to keep track of their transformation within a record time. The first stage are the followers, characterized by their incessant gratifications for every single moment for their needs. They seek the attention of the Pioneer Leader and will do everything within their power to sustain that because they are controlled by their id. They are like babes in the leadership cycle. Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

As the Pioneer Leader continues to raise his followers, there appears to be four stages of growth and development in the leadership cycle: followers, disciples, collaborators, and leaders. He must take care in order to adjust his attitude towards them in moving them from point A to B. Each of these stages are characterized by significant indicators that must be observed if he is to guarantee transformation: the leadership becomes transactional, points of Influence become pronounced for each of the stages, and the demand for the nature of food changes. What marked changes have you observed amongst the people you are leading that is indicative of growth and development? Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) iDB Consult

Pioneer Leaders who are more concerned about themselves and inclined towards using people for their self goals will end up having malnourished followers who cannot stand for themselves because they are deficient in wisdom, knowledge and understanding. In this condition, transformation is impossible. Every parent knows that growth and development is directly proportional to the quality of food given, which could either hasten or delay the child's ability to crawl, stand, walk and run. Hence, they persevere to make provision for the right kind of meal. Are you feeding your followers the right kind of meal? Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

Growth and development is one of the miracles of life such that all a mother needs to do to her baby is provide the basic the meals needed for growth and development, and the miracle begins. And of course she does not have to prayer about it. In leadership, all the pioneer leader needs to provide for the followers to grow and develop is wisdom, knowledge and understanding in the right quantities, and the miracle of leadership begins. The quality of the food is directly proportional to growth and development occur. What quality of food are you delivering to your followers? Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

Growth and development is expected to occur at three levels of the followers' life: spiritual, Intellectual and physical, which must be wholistic. When a child grows and develops into an adult on the physical aspect without the corresponding effect on the spiritual and Intellectual, he is refered to as BIG FOR NOTHING. The Pioneer Leader must take care to ensure that the growth and development of his followers transverse their physical, intellectual and spiritual life in such a way that they are not found wanting in any wise. Until growth and development become wholistic, the followers could only be refered to as BIG FOR NOTHING. Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

Growth and development are two undeniable factors that guarantees the transformation of every follower under the Pioneer Leader. The leader feeds them with the appropriate quantities of wisdom, knowledge, and understand within time and space to ensure growth and development. Like the joy that fills the hearts of a parent watching their wards grow, the Pioneer Leader is further motivated to ensure that he completes his assignment is ensuring the maturity of his followers within a record time. What kind of food are you feeding your followers? Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

A dog will reproduce a dog; a lion, lion; a goat, goat; and a sheep, sheep. The list goes on and on. The Pioneer Leader, by all means, is to reproduce who he is, nothing more or less. The challenge of leadership is not in who your followers are when they join your leadership but in who they become when you're through with them. And the closest person they can become is who you know they are to be -- their ideal selves, which is not far from who you are. Who are you reproducing? Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

In leadership, the prosperity of the Pioneer Leader is contingent upon his ability to create who he is from what is not -- the followers. If he is the leader, then he is obliged to create leaders, nothing more or less. If in the end the followers do not emerge as leaders, it is a clearer indication that the individual pioneering the leadership cycle is not a leader. You cannot not create who you are in leadership. Who are you really? Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

I n leadership, success is not only tied to winning but sometimes losing. Also, failing is not always tied to losing but winning. This complex could make one to think that every successful leader is a perpetual winner, but no, that isn't true. What could be the excuse for winning in leadership? Many times people win because they are afraid to lose not because they love to win. While other fail because they are afraid to win, not because they love to lose. What's your drive? Fear or love? Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development IDB Consult

A true Pioneer Leader is not the one with the most followers, but one who creates the most leaders, which is the hallmark of success in every leadership. People follow the leader because of the need to be transformed into their ideal selves. Leadership fails when the Pioneer Leader refuses to transform followers and reproduce himself into leaders because of the fear of losing control. Keeping perpetual followers is a mark of mediocrity on the long run. Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

Excusitis is a disease condition that guarantees failure, characterized by a marked increase in telling a story to justify why you failed in order not to try again. Great leaders are immune to this disease, because they rather die trying than live doing nothing.  It is better that your story is told to be you died trying to succeed as a leader than that you lived doing nothing to solve problems and face challenges of leadership, thereby setting a good example of a typical mediocre. Rise up to the task and kick against the brick with an iron shoe. Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

In leadership, the value of the Pioneer Leader is contingent upon his experiential knowledge, which is directly proportional to his mastery in navigating the path of solving problems and dealing with challenges. The leader is able to do this by his ability to fail forward. Failing forward is identifying the actual reasons that made you fail and a resolve to master them and move forward until the problems and challenges are resolved. No matter how often a child falls, he continues to persist till he is able to stand, walk, and then run. Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

The fear of failure is the main reason why a lot of Pioneer Leaders fail in leadership. A child who falls in an attempt to walk did not fall because he is afraid of walking, rather it is because he is still mastering the act of maneuvering the influence gravity. Learning the act of maneuvering the influence of problems and challenges in leadership is very paramount in the scheme of things. Let your greatest fear be that you will do nothing than in doing something and failing at it. Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

Doubling your rate of failure opens you to broaden your understanding on the dynamics of how leadership work in real time as a Pioneer Leader. While many will disdain to hear the word, failure in their leadership, it is only because they do not have a proper definition of what it is, really. First, failing and being a failure are two different things. You are a failure when you quit trying because you have made the verdict that "it is impossible to continue trying,"  while failing is only discovering new ways on how not to do a thing. Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

Failure is an inevitable and non-negotiable part of leadership designed to afford the Pioneer Leader experiential knowledge in order to teach others. Those who wish they never fail at anything will never learn something new. Those who understand the value of failure in their leadership experience will always learn a new way on how not to do a thing when they thought they had known how to do it. To embrace failure you must constantly be ready to unlearn, relearn, and learn how not to do a thing in leadership. Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

If anything will go wrong in leadership, it surely will go wrong because the leaders did nothing. Providing leadership goes beyond being at the helm of affairs, having a job description that stipulates what to do and what not, being the point man or occupying a leadership position. It is the ability to lead in order to provide assurance and trust that you know what to do, when to do it, why to do it and how to do it, even when that duty is not part of your stipulated job description. Those who play leadership roles who are not leaders will shy away from responsibilities that they believe are outside of their job descriptions, while leaders will by that situation create a new outline to their job descriptions. Put in other words, providing leadership is something that are meant  for leaders not for those who by virtue of availability find themselves in the place of leadership but with little knowledge on the dynamics of how things work in leadership. Elvis C. Umez Leadership Cons...

Providing leadership is one of the most difficult tasks associated with being the Pioneer Leader, especially, when communication is ineffective. While this is true, the leader should never make the assumption that the players of the leadership cycle understand his intentions. It is like concluding that a child with malaria will understand why you to have force the bitter pill down his throat. To the child, it is an act of wickedness, but for the parents, they don't want him to die. But where effective communication exists, assumptions are cleared even before they arise in the hearts of the people being led, whereas when it is absent, the people are allowed to make judgements based on the body language of the leader. Pioneer leaders should understand that providing leadership can be painful for the players, just like the crying of the child resisting the bitter pill does not stop the parents from forcing it down the throat. The goal is to save life and not to kill. In a bid to pro...

While we may have concerns over the way and manner the Pioneer Leaders run the organization, it is important to note that complains never really help them get things done properly. They are leaders because they know what to do, when to do it, why to do it and how to do it. Suggestions in themselves are only deserving when given through an organised route that does not bring about distractions. The truth is, what you complain about the pioneer leaders are actually things within your sphere of abilities. It is often the case that the pioneer leaders will pay less attention to matters when they are certain they are not important and urgent. Before you begin to complain, ask yourself whether what you're complaining about is something you have the capacity to deal with. Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

While we may have concerns over the way and manner the Pioneer Leaders run the organization, it is important to note that complains never really help them get things done properly. They are leaders because they know what to do, when to do it, why to do it and how to do it. Suggestions in themselves are only deserving when given through an organised route that does not bring about distractions. The truth is, what you complain about the pioneer leaders are actually things within your sphere of abilities. It is often the case that the pioneer leaders will pay less attention to matters when they are certain they are not important and urgent. Before you begin to complain, ask yourself whether what you're complaining about is something you have the capacity to deal with. Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

The spectator syndrome has the most devastating effect on any leadership whose pioneer leaders allow the crowd to tell them what to do and what not. This syndrome creates the same effect created by back seat drivers who believe they know how the driver should drive. They talk with so much proficiency that could make you consider their suggestions, which is rather a distraction in a kind. Pioneer leaders should understand that distractions only come because they are focused and should never allowed themselves to be diffused into the words of those suffering from the syndrome. Every leadership is navigated by a game plan that only the leaders see. While it could be suggested that they are not doing what they are supposed to, it is important to note that their perceptive in the field of play differ from those standing aside and observing. In the football field, there could be a million spectators, yet only 22 players touch the ball. The players who score the most goals understand how to...

Mentoring is an inevitable and non-negotiable part of  leadership that  makes a leader, the Pioneer Leader. Just like a man giving birth to a child and raising him into a son, so it is expected of the Pioneer Leader to raise the followers at the end of the leadership cycle into fellow leaders, which determines whether that leadership will be relevant in the next 2 generations. It is only impotent men who cannot reproduce them, likewise, impotent Pioneer Leaders will refuse to reproduce themselves and would rather prefer to have perpetual followers, little wonder their leadership never outlives them. Leadership without any deliberate effort to mentor the young is a step forward and two steps backward, and will never leave an indelible mark on the sands of time. Are your mentoring the young under you as the Pioneer Leader? Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

The beautiful thing about the use of systems in running your organization is that it makes leadership results predictable. Just the same way you can predict the age of puberty of a growing child, the body is run by composite systems, as such, you can also predict the greatness of your organisation within time and space when you employ the use of system instead of anything goes. It takes about 12-14 years for a growing child to reach age of puberty, the same way in leadership, it also takes time to produce authentic results. While it may appear that short cuts may yield instant results, but on the long run, it cuts the life of your organisation short. There is not short cut towards achieving great results in leadership. Everything is seeded in time. Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

A system is a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done through an organized scheme or method. It is a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting networks. Every outcome in leadership, whether good or bad, is contingent upon systems. Respect, loyalty, love, unity, etc are all predicated upon a system that makes them possible. In the same way you expect your body to digest food, but without digestive system that it would not be possible, so would it be required for you to achieve, say, respect within the members of your team. Because the African culture has been greatly influenced by the western culture, respect has become an earned commodity which each player of the team must endeavour to accumulate over a period of time. It is the responsibility of the Pioneer Leader to establish policies that ensure respect is never scarce. What systems are you putting in place to ensure loyalty, for example, in your organisation? Elvis C...

Systems and principles are two inevitable and non-negotiable aspects of leadership which whether the Pioneer Leader likes it or not would lead to either failure or success. The failure to create good principle-based-systems that afford success will inadvertently result into the development of bad systems with principles that ensure failure. Success and failure are systems-principles-based outcomes, which are mutually exclusive. The failure to succeed is a success in failure. Success and failure are a function of systems and principles. While you blame yourself or others for you failures to produce the right results, it is better you serve that energy and rather use it to assess the systems and principles you engage by. Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

The only way the successes of any leadership can be sustained for more than two generations is by using the same systems that produced the needed results. Anybody can drive the system when the dynamics of its operations are properly understood. That is because what makes the difference on the long run is the leaders resolve to follow the operational systems put in place in order the sustain the needed results even when it goes against their personal desires. Systems are developed from principles and foundational core values that ensure transparency and accountability, which are non-negotiable and must never be comprised for selfish gains. Nations and organizations with successes beyond two generations are pioneered by leaders who insist that things must be done by book. With what systems are you running your organization? Selah! Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult

In the leadership cycle, the pioneer leader is one who knows what to do, when to do it, why to do it, and how to do it in leading himself and others in moving from A to B in the direction of actualizing the leadership purpose within the record time. The failure of any society or organization is contingent upon having pioneer leaders, who by appointment or election, do not have what it takes to lead. Being elected or appointed into a leadership position is one thing and being the leader is another thing. Only those who are leaders by virtue of the above definition will be able to make the difference. Elvis C. Umez Leadership Consultant School of Leadership Development (SOLD) IDB Consult