One of the greatest abilities of exceptional leaders is their capacity to build for the future. A true leader always thinks in terms of tomorrow even though he lives today.
The present is too little to contain exceptional leaders. Their realities may be in the present but their sight is set on the future. That is why they are always a step ahead of others. They don’t live in today; they live in tomorrow. People can’t stop talking about them because of how they lived in tomorrow and how they lived for tomorrow. If your actions are just for the present, your memory will not endure. That is why it is easy to forget so many leaders.
At a time when free education was not practised anywhere in Africa, Obafemi Awolowo made it a policy for his government. Even when he was resisted and a campaign of calumny went on against him, the gains of the future nudged him on. His action propelled his people into greatness and catapulted them into future benefits they still reap till today.
He saw the power of football and how the sport can unite the nation and he built the first stadium in Africa even when Nigeria was not yet known as a football-loving nation and had not won any laurels in the sport.
What separates ordinary leadership from exceptional leadership? The ability to solve tomorrow’s problems before they arrive. Read this powerful reflection on visionary leadership and lasting legacy. Share on XHe built a 25-storey skyscraper when nothing of such existed in Africa as a testament to industry.
If you don’t want to be forgotten, you must constantly live for tomorrow. Your policies and actions must be geared at the future. The roads you build must take into cognisance 100 years from now. You must build dual carriageways when there are only a few cars to ply them now.
Build airports that will accommodate serious air traffic even when you’re not yet a major tourism destination or hub.
Anticipate a future problem and solve it now. Don’t only solve today’s problem today. That’s just one step above mediocrity. Solve tomorrow’s problem today. That’s exceptional leadership. There will always be new problems in the future. When you see them ahead and solve them now, you begin to write your memory into the hearts of your people. Some of them may not accept you now but it is inevitable that they will accept you in the future and build monuments to your memory.
Leaders who see tomorrow don’t die today. They live forever. Henry Ford saw that the future did not lie in movement by horses. His motor car invention has made him live forever. No matter the modification and models of the car, the idea remains the same
Orville and Wilbur Wright saw that speed will be important to the human race in the future. Their airplane invention has stood the test of time.
This is a major problem in Africa. Africans can only see today. That is why corruption and poverty are so endemic. That is why we build narrow roads that become obsolete in just a few years. That is why we construct buildings that collapse.
The future belongs to leaders who can see beyond present challenges and prepare for opportunities ahead. This article will challenge the way you think about leadership. Share on XThat is why we often have mediocre leadership. They steal today because they can’t see tomorrow. They engage in massive corruption because they only live for the present. The man who lives for tomorrow doesn’t only think about himself; he thinks about others.
He knows his actions today will affect countless others tomorrow. If a nation lacks leaders who are unable to see the future and take concrete steps to live in that future, such a nation is usually tied to the past. This is a major reason Africa is far behind the Western world.
The ultimate test of leadership is the test of time. Do what will stand the test of time and not just what will pass for now. That is how to live forever.