How Can We Become Great Leaders?

Hello, dear friends. I am so happy to resume writing to you on Mondays.

Last year, we ended with an interesting and stimulating topic: emotional intelligence.

You can start reading here if you haven’t read it.

I am also excited to inform you we will be compiling the articles into a small booklet to make it easy for you to read.

It will be simple and contain the fundamental principles of emotional intelligence.

Once it’s ready, we will send it directly to our community through our Substack newsletter.

If you’re not yet with us on Substack, kindly join us now.

We’re starting the year with an exciting and popular topic—leadership.

I know you think you know a lot about leadership.

Well, a few months ago, I had the same thought.

I thought I knew a lot about leadership until I began to research, study and write about it—then, I realised that I didn’t know much about it and that what I knew about it was just the surface and wasn’t deep enough.

I also realised that many of us don’t know much about leadership. Our understanding of leadership is shallow and brief.

We will discuss how we can become great leaders in the next few weeks.

It’s not going to be anything complex and bogus. It’s just simple, plain stuff we can all understand and relate to.

When I hear great leaders with global impact and influence say they have much to learn in leadership, I am greatly humbled and inspired to keep learning.

It’s humbling and, at the same time, exciting to know that we can never come to know everything that there is.

Leadership is for everybody as long as you’re human.

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are.

Even if you’re not actively leading anyone, you are indeed leading yourself, and leadership is not always about being in front; it’s also largely about how you interact with people around you. So, you see, we all have serious business with leadership.

The wisdom I share with you comes from:

• My experience as a healthcare professional (registered nurse), leader, entrepreneur, father and husband.
• My exposure in life.
• The things I read and study (I love reading, and I read a lot).
• My observation and study of the lives of people around me (great and small).

We are not born naturally with wisdom, knowledge or understanding. We must learn it all. In the same way, we’re not born naturally with leadership skills. We’ve to learn how to become great leaders.

Contrary to popular belief—nobody is born a great leader.

We just have people who may have certain pleasant characteristics. Maybe they are more patient or kind. That doesn’t make them leaders. They become leaders when they successfully do what leaders do.

In fact, if we lead naturally, we would likely do more harm than good because our instincts are selfish and look out for our own good before others, going against the core principle of leadership, which puts the needs of others in front.

We will break our leadership lessons into the following major parts:

• What Is Leadership?
• Leading Yourself First.
• The Path To Emotional Intelligence.
• Listen And Learn.
• Determination And Resilience.
• The Power Of Effective Communication.
• Servant Leadership. Leading 360 Degrees.
• Humility Is The Sauce Of Great Leadership.
• The Solid Cord Of Integrity.

In 10 or 11 weeks, we should have covered each lesson. As usual, these are just quick lessons, nothing complex or detailed, so you can understand leadership and apply the principles to your life as a healthcare professional or anyone interested in becoming a great leader.

To stay updated, follow or subscribe to Substack, where we regularly send updates. You can also find us on social media.

Before leaving, I want to tell you about our upcoming “Maiden Healthcare Leadership And Innovation Webinar” on January 18th. It’s free, and we will be exploring the role of artificial intelligence in expanding access to quality, safe and affordable care in Africa. You don’t want to miss it for anything. If you’re a healthcare professional interested in artificial intelligence in healthcare, this is the right way and place to start. Happily, we’re focusing on AI in healthcare throughout January.

Register here and invite colleagues and friends.