LEADERSHIP-Youth Corner Galaxy

I once had a chance to be at Corner Stone Leadership Academy in Arusha- Tanzania, it was in the year 2018, when I went for the interviews to join the Academy. Unfortunately, I was not among the 25 selected male applicants. The first day I landed at the Academy I felt a difference in my life, it was a stunning encounter with different talented students from all over the country. It is a bona fide land of transformation as it is written at the entrance of the academy. It imparted in me the spirit of leadership that brought changes in my life; indeed, the mentors gave us a room to learn many things which sharpened and shaped my dreams. Through it I became a lover of leadership and mentorship.

I believe that personal success without leadership skills brings less effectiveness. A person’s ability to succeed is only a fraction of what it could be with good leadership skills. The far the miles you want to go, the more the leadership skills you need. The great the achievements you want to attain, the greater your leadership ability should grow. Whatever you are going to do, whatever you need to accomplish is restricted by your ability to lead yourself and others.

There is the greatest misunderstanding about leadership, that, many people think it is based on positions, but in fact, it is not. Stanley Huffty affirms that, “it is not the position that makes the leader; it is the leader that makes the position.”

No matter how gifted person you are, your gifts will never reach their maximum potential without applying leadership skills. Remember it is not how hard you work, it is how smarter you do, and being smarter requires the essence of leadership skills that brings self-growth and mastery. The genesis of success requires a clear understanding of your destination, knowing exactly where you are going, having a better understanding of where you are now, and taking right steps in the right direction. Avoid being in the right track but journeying through the wrong way and vice versa.

There is no any triumphant success without embracing some leadership elements. Good leadership is like a pencil in the hands of a talented artist, and a planned and targeted goal is like a paper before the sight of a gifted artist. Consequently, leadership skills become necessary for anyone who wants to attain efficacious success. There is no any richer person or a successful company and organization without the application of leadership skills. In fact, it is the same sea we are all diving into.

I affirm what John C. Maxwell says, “The true measure of leadership is influence-Nothing more, Nothing less.” Everyone has a desire to achieve something in life, and leadership skills help in influencing the attainment of our goals in an extraordinary way. We cannot deny the fact that, great goals need strong motivation, and it is always embarked on by leadership skills.

Every success and failure can be a source of your great achievement if you allow it to be. Success teaches you about yourself and what you are capable of doing with your particular gifts and opportunities. Failure teaches what kind of wrong assumptions you have made and where you need to prosper. If you fail to learn from your mistakes, you are going to fail again and over again. No matter how much you have learnt from the past, it will never tell you everything that you need for the present and future.  

Leadership is going to help you make more changes than ever before. Having such skills, you will be able to ascertain and understand better your past, present and future times as well. Leaders have the capacity to envision and anticipate the forthcoming times and prepare a commendatory sphere to comprehend and handle hard times.

The fact of life is that we will all hear more Nos than Yesses. You will have a thousand moments that will be occupied by someone telling you NO, indeed, you will have times addressing to you the Nos. in those moments that are challenging and discouraging, if you are not resilient enough you are going to withdraw and perish. Do not be afraid of Nos, they provide a bank of reasons to work harder, achieve goals and prove them wrong. Telling me just a single No is like fueling the fire. I challenge you to be faithful to yourself, honest to your aspirations and lead your direction.

“Sow a thought and reap an action;

Sow an act and reap a habit;

Sow a habit and reap a character;

Sow a character and reap a destiny”.

2 Corinthians 9:6

Maximilian Kikwembe, Swahili Apologist