Words are powerful. ‘A promising boy’, she wrote.

At the time of our birth we don’t know just yet what school is or what purpose it will serve in our lives, we do not know the meanings behind the numerous expressions on the faces and sounds of people surrounding us, we do not have a sense of limits or boundaries. For us, the world is a fascinating sea of possibility, constantly feeding our curious minds.

Soon we start school; we meet a new world with its own rules and processes. We learn to see our teachers like our parents. Their approval can bring us smiles, praises and tight hugs from adults at home and from our peers. They seem to know more about what we are capable of and what we should and shouldn’t do. Their words get to echo throughout our lives, shaping our thoughts and choices in ways we can't imagine. When they show up, they can either give us a sense of possibility or a sense of limit. Their words and emotions become the foundation upon which our self-esteem and self-image are built.

I don’t remember much about primary school. However, I do remember the words ‘A promising boy’ a teacher once wrote on my school report card, as they somehow continue to show up in my mind. I was in year 5, and the teacher was a young Mrs Lation (we called her ‘Si Fatty’ – a short way of saying Miss Fatmata). She knew I came from a poor family and she would always treat me kindly and often chatted with me during breaks. It is a long time since I left primary school, yet her words on my report card at the end of that year have always stayed in my mind and reminded me that I was capable of things. This is especially true when I try new things or when I faced challenges (or when the words of other adults and peers show up in my mind).  Her words and those of others have influenced my self-belief, the way I see the world and my sense of what is possible.

A decade after these words, I worked with teachers across the country, helping improve the quality of teaching and learning received by thousands of children. Mrs Lation had grown to become the head teacher of the school and she and some of my other teachers in primary school were participants in the trainings. She expressed how proud she was to see the work I was doing. She may not even remember she wrote those words 15 years ago or understand the extent to which they may impact my life, but they did. This is the power of words.

I have had the opportunity of meeting many people whose words have profoundly impacted my life. I have learned that words can be very powerful. I have become particularly conscious of my words to others, especially to children, helping them see a sense of possibility and encourage them to continue to be curious.

Our words give us a great opportunity to inspire others. When we use them to encourage and empower others (our colleagues, friends, family and students), we do not only help those people, we make society better. You do not have to be a teacher to use the power of your words to empower others. This opportunity to make a difference is readily available to us in many forms throughout the day. As adults, we have to be especially careful of our own emotions and reactions, as they impact the words and actions we use. These words and actions often go on to impact others in profound ways. Your words are powerful; they can change the course of someone’s life and impact society. Choose to empower someone.
The last time we met, Mrs Lation told me she was soon going to retire from teaching, but her words will forever continue to live. Thank you Si Fatty. 

The dilemma leaders of poor countries face; share the cake or bake a bigger one? Who can give them a hand?

The poorest countries of the world are more likely to be corrupt, disease ridden, warring, and have majority of their people living in poverty. Governments in poor countries would need to increase spending to boost their economies, but you cannot squeeze water from stone. Institutions are more likely to be weak, education more likely to be poor, and the impact of inequality more dramatic. This creates a poverty loop that leaves poor countries plodding behind while the rest of the world zooms ahead.

This leaves poor countries and their governments in a very difficult situation as they face the double-edged problem of stabilizing as well as rebuilding their economies at the same time. They become overly preoccupied with making short term fixes with little chance to move out of poverty. Elected governments get overwhelmed in this situation. Investment in long term solutions become more challenging and secondary.

Short term fixes won't help poor countries much. From an economic perspective, economic growth is ultimately driven by productivity growth. This includes making more efficient use of available human and natural resources as well as creating new ones. To be able to do this requires policies to be significantly oriented towards long term investments, investments whose real benefits are often not realized in the 5-year window governments have to have to convince their poor people to re-elect them. However, feeling better in the short term is not the same as being better, although the nature of poverty makes it difficult for poor people to raise their heads beyond their current situation. This creates immense pressures for government. Furthermore, a highly unpredictable international climate have poor countries sailing in even tougher winds.

What long terms investments increase productivity growth? To increase productivity requires investment on key areas. Improving education is one of the best. When a nations has a highly skilled and educated population, this sets a great foundation on which so much can be built. Education puts better skills, and ideas on the hands of the people. Improving infrastructure; better roads, improved electricity supply and access to better hospitals and transport systems all make the process of development faster. Furthermore, a healthy population is obviously a more productive one. Better health (esp. better nutrition and disease prevention) and access to adequate health facilities increase productive capacity and reduces time and financial loses due from ill health. Prioritising entrepreneurship and creating a better investment climate helps countries create new goods and services, and thus increase income that can create a positive loop that keeps feeding on itself.

The tangible returns on long term investments; education, infrastructure, health, and entrepreneurship are often not felt within a 5 year period. This contrasts strongly with a myopic focus in short term macroeconomic stabilization policy. Also, the huge capital necessary to make these investments are often out or reach of poor countries.

Poor countries (and their governments) need help to move out of this situation. In my view this comes from three major sources.

First, as difficult as it is, populations in poor countries must understand that the changes that are going to take them out of poverty are not going to be short term fixes, they need to encourage their governments and give them the chance to also focus on real fixes. Poor populations need to make this sacrifice if they want improved standards of living.

Second, structures of international development and cooperation like the UN, World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Trade Organization (WTO), and other continental and sub-continental platforms need to appreciate the difficult situation poor countries find themselves and thus direct technical and financial resources towards relieving these stressed economies.

And finally, because poor countries lack the necessary resources and institutional capacity governments of developed nations need to provide proactive technical and financial support to fund these long term endeavours. They can also help build structures that improve private sector investment in poorer countries. Investors are often not confident to invest in poor countries for fear of losing their money. Without this capital however, poor countries remain in poverty. Developed countries can work with poorer countries to develop structures that make investing in poor countries safer.

In the end, we have to realise that poor countries are trapped in a situation that is difficult for them to transcend alone. Though difficult, poor countries need to recalibrate the criteria for measuring their governments' effectiveness, toward the extent to which they make long term investments. Perhaps poor countries also just need enlightened leaders aggressively fighting poverty, less preoccupied on exploiting conditions created by poverty. The international community and developed countries also need to understand that eradicating poverty means a happier and safer world for everyone.

"Teachers are the most important people in our society. Only God can pay them." Yes, but we too can do much better.

If you have spent a bit of time around educational and policy gatherings in this country, then you may have heard the saying that "Teachers are the most important people in our society", [but]  "Only God can pay them." While this common saying, may at first sight seem to patronise teachers and highlight their crucial task in making our country possible, more often it hides the reality teachers have continued to endure in our country, and easily drives away the attention of those in position to do something about the situation. Today, our policy makers deliberate on the government's budget, a great opportunity to bring the concerns of teachers to the front seats.

For a country to do well requires its people to have the necessary skills and education to be able to generate new ideas and be able to staff its private, public and non-governmental sectors. We can easily see how the work of teachers and what happens in our schools influences the daily decisions made in our hospitals, courts, public offices, and the performance of businesses operating in our country. When we have a highly trained and skilled workforce, foreign investors have more confidence to invest needed capital and resources that will create new businesses, heal our economy and bring jobs to our people.

We want good doctors who can keep us healthy, we want good politicians and policy makers who can think critically and creatively to formulate and effect laws that will make our lives better. We want entrepreneurs, innovators, and highly skilled graduates who can use their advanced skills and knowledge to solve our problems, staff our offices, and run our businesses successfully. But how can we achieve any of these without motivated teachers to give them the necessary attitudes, skills and knowledge? It's impossible to imagine a future without our nation's teachers. Yet, when it comes to being rewarded we are happy to put the teachers in the bottom of the pile.

While it's true that teachers want God's blessings, they also want to be able to afford the average means that will make it possible for them to do a good job for our country. In the long run, what tells a country apart is the productive capacity inherent in its people. Education is the primary means by which we give young people the tools and knowledge to be resourceful. This makes improving the lives of teachers so important in reviving our country.

The free education drive started by the new government holds great promise to bring new life to our weakened economy and educational system. While we wait to see what real impact this brings, we cannot foget that quality education requires much more than greater numbers of teachers and children in our schools. Yes, more children, more schools and more teachers are great, but better happier teachers make the real difference. We want the education sector to be able to attract the best talent this country can offer. We want energetic young people to be able to proudly raise their hands and say, 'My life dream is to become a teacher'.

It is undisputed that every sector we take for granted is heavily impacted by the quality of teaching and learning happening in our schools. The performance of our government and economy directly mirrors the quality of what happens in our schools and universities. If teachers are poorly paid and unmotivated, the result (as we currently have it) is continued dismal examination results, extra financial and administrative resources spent on re-seats, poorly trained graduates and profesionals who cost the country and drive investors away. We end up spending multiple times more on recovering from the symptoms of poor education than it would require us to improve the condition of our teachers and avoid the disease in the first place.

Happy and hard working teachers make a happy and successful nation. Well trained, well paid and well managed teachers is what Sierra Leone needs. Valuing education is a strong indicator of our commitment to move out of poverty and transform the lives of Sierra Leoneans. The government's renewed attention to education is a good beginning, though much more has to be done for the country to feel its real impact. 

No country is better than the heads, hands and hearts of its people. Improving the lives of teachers will only make our country better.
What needs to be done? 

And yes, while teachers want God's blessings for the great work they do, they also want to be paid well for it.

Success is a daily experience, do not postpone it to the future.

Many of us have set up our lives such that we can only be happy in a fictitious 'one-day' place called success. Success, however, is not some place at the top of a mountain we reach and everything is over. Rather it is a set of evolving daily experiences and feelings we want to have in our lives.

While it's crucial to have goals to aspire to, you do not want to tie your current happiness and fulfilment to some fictional future. The challenge that brings is that we lose motivation in the present as we get convinced that we must shuffle away our present happiness and fulfilment to feel happy and fulfilled in the future. This makes achieving goals very difficult because achieving goals requires us to continue to be movitvated in the present. Better instead to tie our happiness and fulfilment in the small daily steps we take towards achieving our grand goals, the process. 

We don't achieve success once, dust our hands and relax on a hammock swinging in the cool breeze never to worry again. It is about enjoing every passing day, to be proud that we did our best to be the kind of person we want to be. 

You don't have to wait to be rich to make a difference in others' lives; you can give encouraging words, take a small action, pick up a phone and call to ask how someone is doing and to tell them how much you love them. 

Bring your success closer to you, to your daily thoughts, words and actions. Instead of postponing it to the future, achieve it in the small day-to-day steps you take towards your goals and desires.

Develop a reputation for doing the things you promise (and promise only the things you can do!).

Have you ever promised to do something yet failed to do it? Once? Twice? Often? This is a challenge for many of us. Yet for all of us, whether in leadership or not, the last thing we want is for people to see that our words and commitments mean nothing to us. Our colleagues, bosses and the people under our leadership want to be able to trust in our words and promises.

Develop a reputation for doing the things you have agreed to do. Big or small, it doesn't matter, if you promise it then do it at all cost. When people see that you mean the things you say and promise, they will not only respect you for that, they will also do their best to not let you down when they promise you they will do something. What you give out to others is what they give back to you, simple. 

A challenge in upholding our promises is over-promising. We say yes to things we either do not want to do or know we can't do. You should never promise what you know you will not be able to do. Remember, anytime you make a promise to do something, you are putting your reputation on the line and adding to your plate. Only promise the things you are sure you are going to be able to follow through on. You have only 24 hours in your day, you already have demands on your time and energy, only agree to do other things you have capacity to handle efficiently. Sometimes you have to kindly say no, reschedule for another time or recommend someone else to do it instead. Saying no is sometimes the wisest and most responsible thing to do. Promising to do it and not being able to do so is really what you should fear.

Perhaps more important, do your best to never promise anything that goes against your values. Your values are the things you stand for, they are the strict principles you adhere to as you try to achieve you personal vision. Any time I had promised to do something against my values, I ended up either not doing it, feeling like I betrayed myself (which definitely has a serious impact on my self esteem and confidence), or felt disgruntled afterwards.

So, develop a reputation for doing the things you promise and promise only the things you can do.

The magic of being authentic and young leaders

It's friday, as you enjoy your weekend, here's something I want you think about. I would like to talk with you about the importance of authenticity for your success as a young leader. As discussed in the previous post, being put in a position of leadership itself doesn't guarrantee you will succeed as a leader. If there is one single secret I can share with you, it is the power of being authentic. The quality of being authentic, of being truthful, of being genuine in your intentions and actions, to me, is the single thing that sets you apart in whatever you do in life. There is no other area where this is more true than in your leadership.

In my career so far, I have had the honour of having led and managed several teams and worked with people who were sometimes triple and more my age. I have worked with people whose qualifications and experience I do not even come close to. Yet, I feel I did a fairly good job so far and have built wonderful relationships with mostly everyone I have worked with. Reflecting on this post, the best explanation for this seems to be my willingness to be authentic.
The truth is, people do not care so much about your age, your qualifications, years of experience, your looks etc. What moves people to be willing to work with you and support you is when they see that you are genuine. When people feel you are honest and that they can rely on you to do the right thing (not necessarily what favours them), then they are willing to give you the opportunity to lead. We all want people to willingly work with us to achieve the collective goals of the teams we lead. It's also true that by being the boss you can command people and they must follow your orders (sometimes they don't and won't), but this is not what we want. We want people to trust us and work with us wholeheartedly. For this, we cannot rely on our authority alone.
The easiest starting point is to stop thinking you have to have the answer to everything. It is why you have a team around you. When I work with people, I realise there are people in the group who may have different and sometimes even better ideas than what I know myself to be true, and I make every effort to make this clear and a unique advantage to achieve great results. I try to encourage people and call them on to take part in leading, or (in the case of facilitating trainings) to co-facilitate sessions with the team and share their own knowledge and experience.
If you know there's a member of your team better at handling a particular responsibility or situation, let them take charge, step back and give them your full support as they do so. You will be amazed at the magic this can bring to your leadership life, not to mention the lifelong friends and supporters you make. However, do not try to fake being genuine, well because being genuine actually means being genuine. People can easily see when you don't mean what you say.

Another important part of being a genuine leader is being a good judge. As a leader, you make many decisions every single day, you get to pass judgement on so many matters that if you are not careful these can become damaging to your leadership. Make sure you do not judge unfairly; give every party a chance to express their issues/concerns, look at the basic facts of the matter, call others to help when necessary and make your judgement based on the truth. If a senior crosses the line, let them (but also the junior offended) know they crossed the line and help them find ways to take responsibility and improve the situation. Know that if you lie or judge unfairly on behalf of someone, that same person loses respect for you.

Understand that people are only moved to follow leaders who are genuine, leaders who help them grow and contribute to the team's success. No one likes a leader who tries to keep a false face. I recommend you start paying more attention to the unique strengths and weaknesses every member brings to your team (including you, yes you have weaknesses too). Then find the courage to help people know you do not know how to solve every problem, and as much as possible learn to step back and support team members to take charge when they are best suited to do so. People will respect you for that.
Being authentic will give you the freedom and strength that will help you become a successful leader in whatever you do. Be authentic, be genuine, say the truth, let people know they can trust you, let them know you have their best interests at heart. And don't fake it!

Let me tell you what a leader is. No. 1, not the boss!

I started this blog to help fellow young people to become great leaders. As a young person myself, I am still on the learning process, but here's what I know so far. A boss is not necessarily a leader. This post was inspired by a recent conversation I had with a close friend. Understanding the difference between leadership and mere authority, in my view, cuts through the very essence of what leadership is at its core. I have seen bosses and I have seen leaders. Like many things in life, the idea of leadership is a subjective one, it lies 'in the eyes of the beholder', you feel it when you experience it. You can automatically become the boss when you are given authority over a group of people. To become a leader is different, it requires you to go the extra mile.
You might know people from your past who may have had a lot of authority but inevitably failed because they became overly reliant on exerting authority rather than striving to be the leaders they were supposed to be. Even if you become a boss, you inevitably risk failure when you fail to lead.
In fact, you do not need to be a boss to become a leader or to start leading. Many of the people I admire are not even bosses! I want you to reflect on your close circles; there are often the bosses and there are the leaders. You see, you can easily become a boss if you can intimidate your colleagues, are willing to sing the praises of your bosses, if you fake it or are willing to walk over your fellow workers to put yourself in front. But this often doesn't last and builds a poor foundation as people sooner or later see through your fake facade.
In case you ask who a leader is, let me tell you what I think. The leader sees problems and challenges in their groups and takes responsibility to do what it takes and work with others to solve them. The leader is not motivated by making a name for him or herself. The leader helps the group hold each other to account. The leader can be honest with you without needlessly inflicting self doubt. The leader is courageous to say what needs to be said, even when this is difficult to do, it's called living your values. The leader strives to do what is right even when there is no one watching or clapping for them, I think it's called integrity. The leader helps others in their groups see the good in themselves, opportunities to grow personally and how valuable their contribution is to their team's success. The leader does not run away when things get difficult. The leader is introspective, he or she regularly steps back and checks their motivations and how his or her behaviour and character is affecting their team's success. The leader strives to make sure the face he or she portrays to the outside world is as close as possible to the person they are within themselves, it's called congruency.
As you can see my friends, being a boss is completely different from being a leader. If you are a boss, congratulations, you already have a great foundation to build on, use it. We all know just how much our country needs strong leaders. Many of you have experienced first hand the effects of poor leadership. We are young, we have a lot learn, let's learn to become strong leaders.
Try to be more of a leader, and one day you will be proud you did at this age.