By MKPE ABANG
Ministerial assignment unfortunately is not like being the chief executive officer of a profit making company, whether owned by yourself or appointed by the promoters to run the affairs of the company. In the case of the company, the motif and motive are one and the same: profit! Thus, targets are set that must be met, achieving them which leads to profit; and failure, which in turn leads to loss – the worst friend of any investor.
And, a CEO may decide to take well-meant advice of others, for his and his business’s own good; or he may ignore such pieces of advice; it is his business.
For the minister however, whereas in some climes, his or her boss – the president who appoints him or her – would already have programmes, political in nature deriving from the campaign promises or party manifesto, therefore ideally populist or people-oriented, in some other environments, a really politically savvy and forward-looking minister can design programmes for his or her ministry and advise the president, indeed can so design such programmes that they will already enhance the president’s deliverables to the people.
But whichever be the case, a successful minister is one who so harnesses the resources available at his disposal – human and material resources – such that the end result is the overall overflowing benefit to the people.
Barrister Abdul-Raheem Adebayo Shittu, wait a minute: there is Adebayo among those names! Well, the last time Nigeria had someone named Adebayo (although that is his surname) as minister of communication, the country had and still has good stories to tell, sweet memories still linger, of him as minister that supervised the enthronement of what we savour today as the Nigerian telecom revolution. He read English; and was a teacher.
Interestingly, ever since he served, the ministry has undergone series of transformations in name changes: from ministry of communication as it originally was, General Olusegun Obasanjo in whose government Chief Cornelius Adebayo served as minister of communications, merged it with Information ministry.
Then, during President Goodluck Jonathan’s time, this was split back into two ministries; but communication became ministry of communication technology. Well, now it is given back its original name: ministry of communications with just the letter ‘s’ being the addition. And someone with Adebayo in his names is the minister; that, if we go by the other Adebayo, portends a good omen – hopefully we have a listening ear in wait.
One of the main reasons Chief Adebayo was very successful as minister of the communication ministry was his ability a political leader to present the father-figure approach, giving all necessary support to all those he supervised which enabled them to bring out the best in them for the country. He listened; and encouraged the experts to work and deliver. He never played the ‘expert’ as minister, rather, he challenged and supported the experts to deliver in line with the government’s agenda.
A recipe for failure as a minister is where the minister, seeing that he or she is an expert in the field he or she has been appointed to superintend, always pushes forward his or her own expertise alone while either ignoring the expertise, skills and experiences of several others who are stakeholders as well as direct staff, or suppressing them altogether. Or, worse, never listening to anyone; but being the only one speaking, and whose word is final.
Thus, although Mr. Shittu may be a lawyer, as a politician, it is his ability in humility and without being too personal, to call up from the entire stakeholders, expert advice, opinions, contributions and how he harnesses all these contributions with the goal in mind, that will help deliver him on the agenda set by the president for the ministry.
But the time to begin is now, not tomorrow; to activate the sector into action. For, indeed, there is very little time left, although it appears like there is much time before the campaign songs begin to hit the airwaves; and with them, attention changes from implementing programmes to winning votes.
For instance, one of the most important characteristics that a leader should, or must have to succeed is: talking less and listening more. So, the key point in all this is simple: there are many experts at your beck and call; listen to them, use their expertise, their skills and their experience. You will take the credit for succeeding.
I had to put these thoughts through to you on paper as I worry about how you may lead this ministry. And, while thinking about it, and reading as I usually do, I stumbled on the following, which I must share with you. I stumbled on these thoughts by Mike Myatt, a leadership adviser, writing on leadership in Forbes, and he wrote:
“Want to become a better leader? Stop talking and start listening. Being a leader should not be viewed as a licence to increase the volume of rhetoric. Rather astute leaders know there is far more to be gained by surrendering the floor than by dominating it. In this age of instant communication everyone seems to be in such a rush to communicate what’s on their mind, they fail to realise the value of everything that can be gleaned from the minds of others. Show me a leader who doesn’t recognise the value of listening to others and I’ll show you a train-wreck in the making…
“It is simply not possible to be a great leader without being a great communicator. This partially accounts for why we don’t encounter great leadership more often. The big miss for most leaders is that they fail to understand that the purpose of communication is not to message, but to engage – THIS REQUIRES LISTENING.”
A very blunt writer whose pieces of advice you should also take seriously, he titled the piece from which I took out those lines ‘Why Most Leaders Need to Shut Up and Listen’, and he went further to give six tips on becoming a better listener:
It’s not about you: Stop worrying about what you’re going to say and focus on what’s being said. Don’t listen to have your opinions validated or your ego stroked, listen to be challenged and to learn something new. You’re not always right, so stop pretending you know everything and humble yourself to others. If you desire to be listened to, then give others the courtesy of listening to them.
You should never be too busy to listen: Anyone can add value to your world if you’re willing to listen. How many times have you dismissed someone because of their station or title when what you should have done was listen? Wisdom doesn’t just come from peers and those above you – it can come from anywhere at any time, but only if you’re willing to listen. Expand your sphere of influence and learn from those with different perspectives and experiences – you’ll be glad you did.
Listen to non-verbals: People say as much (if not more) with their actions, inactions, body language, facial expressions, etc., as they do with their verbal communications. Don’t be lulled into thinking that because someone is not saying something they’re not communicating. In fact, most people won’t overtly verbalize opposition or disagreement, but they will almost always deliver a very clear message with their non-verbals.
Listen for opportunity: Intuitive listeners are looking for the story behind the message, and the opportunity beyond the issue. Listening is about discovery, and discovery doesn’t only impact the present, but it can also influence the future.
Let listening be your calling card: One of the best compliments you can be paid is to be known as a good listener. Being recognised in this fashion will open doors, surface opportunities, and take you places that talking never could. Listening demonstrates that you respect others, and is the first step in building trust and rapport.
Recognise the contributions of others: One of the most often overlooked aspects of listening is thanking others for their contributions. If you glean benefits from listening to someone, thank them. Even if no value is perceived, thank them for their time and input. Never forget to acknowledge those who contribute energy, ideas, actions or results. Few things go as far in building good will as recognising others.
Well, just thinking aloud; after all, this concerns the communications ministry; and, it concerns Nigeria, so I’m sharing these frank thoughts with you already from the beginning; because I want you to succeed; it will be the joy of everyone connected with communication. And, who isn’t?