SUNDAY SERMON: A LEADER WHO CANNOT MENTOR HAS FAILED

By Ewere Okonta, PhD

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Leadership has become one of the most frequently used and, unfortunately, most misunderstood concepts in contemporary society, because many people desire the authority, recognition, privileges and influence associated with leadership without fully appreciating the responsibility that comes with it.

At its core, leadership is the ability to influence, inspire, direct and empower people towards the achievement of a common purpose, while mentorship is the deliberate relationship through which a more experienced, knowledgeable or mature person guides, teaches, corrects and develops another person.

The meeting point between leadership and mentorship is therefore simple but profound: both are fundamentally concerned with the development of people.

A leader who achieves impressive results but leaves behind people who are incapable of continuing his work has achieved success without creating sustainability. Leadership is not simply about what you accomplish while you are in charge; it is also about the people you prepare to continue, improve and expand what you have started.

This explains why leadership without mentorship is incomplete.

A leader must constantly ask himself an uncomfortable but important question: If I am no longer here tomorrow, who can continue what I have started? If the answer is nobody, then such a leader may have built an organisation, business, institution or movement, but he has not built sustainable leadership.

Unfortunately, some leaders deliberately prevent their followers from growing because they are afraid that those they mentor may eventually become more successful or influential than they are. They withhold information, restrict opportunities, discourage independent thinking and become uncomfortable whenever a younger person begins to attract attention.

That is not leadership.

That is insecurity disguised as leadership.

A confident leader does not fear the growth of his followers because he understands that the success of a mentee is not a threat to the mentor; rather, it is evidence that the mentor's investment has produced results.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD LEADER?

A good leader is not necessarily a perfect person, but there are certain qualities that distinguish genuine leadership from the mere occupation of a position.

Character is fundamental because competence may take a person to the top, but character determines whether he can remain there with honour and credibility.

Vision is equally important because a leader must possess the capacity to see beyond the present circumstances, communicate a compelling future and provide a practical direction towards achieving it.

Humility is another essential quality because genuine leaders understand that they do not possess a monopoly on knowledge and that good ideas can come from people below, beside or even above them.

A good leader must also possess competence, because leadership requires more than good intentions; it requires knowledge, sound judgment, emotional intelligence and the ability to make difficult decisions when circumstances demand them.

Empathy enables a leader to understand that the people he leads are human beings with aspirations, fears, families, challenges and personal circumstances that cannot simply be ignored because of organisational objectives.

Accountability is also indispensable because mature leaders accept responsibility when things go wrong rather than constantly searching for subordinates to blame.

Above all, a good leader must possess the capacity to develop others, because the moment leadership becomes exclusively about the leader's personal achievements, it begins to lose its transformative purpose.

HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY A GOOD LEADER?

Do not judge a leader merely by the quality of his speeches, the size of his office, the number of people surrounding him or the titles attached to his name, because appearances can be deliberately constructed and public reputation can sometimes conceal serious weaknesses in character.

Instead, examine what happens to the people around him.

Are they growing in competence and confidence? Are they receiving opportunities to demonstrate their abilities? Does the leader celebrate their achievements, listen to their ideas and correct them without humiliating them? Does he deliberately create room for younger people to learn, contribute and eventually assume responsibility?

Most importantly, what happens when the leader is no longer in the room?

That question can reveal the quality of a leader more effectively than a thousand speeches, because a leader's true legacy is often reflected in the people he leaves behind.

WHY DOES EVERYONE NEED A MENTOR?

Nobody knows everything, and every successful person has, at one point or another, benefited from the knowledge, experience, encouragement, correction, connections or opportunities provided by someone who had travelled the road before him.

Mentorship is therefore one of the most effective ways of shortening the learning curve, because it allows people to learn from the experiences of others rather than repeatedly making the same mistakes themselves.

A student needs a mentor; an entrepreneur needs a mentor; a lecturer needs a mentor; a business executive needs a mentor; a professional, parent, religious leader and even an established public figure can benefit from the wisdom of someone capable of challenging their assumptions and broadening their perspective.

Everyone needs a mentor because nobody becomes everything he is entirely by himself.

There should always be someone whose wisdom, experience and integrity you respect enough to say, "Teach me."

That statement does not diminish you; rather, it demonstrates that you understand the value of continuous learning.

THE MENTOR-MENTEE RELATIONSHIP

A successful mentor-mentee relationship requires responsibility from both sides, because mentorship cannot work effectively when one person is committed to teaching while the other is unwilling to learn.

The mentor must be prepared to guide, encourage, correct, challenge and, where possible, create opportunities for the mentee, while the mentee must demonstrate humility, discipline, respect, openness and a genuine willingness to apply what he is being taught.

A genuine mentor will sometimes tell you what your friends are afraid to say, such as, "You are talented, but you lack discipline," or, "You are intelligent, but your attitude is limiting your opportunities."

Such correction may be uncomfortable, but it is often more valuable than empty praise, because a mentor who tells you only what you want to hear is not necessarily helping you to grow.

The best mentor is not the person who constantly makes you feel comfortable; it is the person who helps you become better.

LEADERS MUST STOP HOARDING OPPORTUNITIES

One of the greatest weaknesses of leadership is the deliberate refusal to develop younger people, often under the excuse that they are "not yet ready."

But how will they become ready if they are never given the opportunity to learn, participate, make mistakes and assume responsibility?

A leader cannot complain about the absence of capable successors after spending an entire career preventing people from becoming capable.

If you have knowledge, transfer it; if you have influence, use it to lift others; if you have connections, create access; if you have experience, teach it; if you have made mistakes, share the lessons; and if you have succeeded, show others the road.

Leadership is not the ownership of opportunities; it is the responsibility to create opportunities for others.

NOT EVERY MENTOR IS A GOOD MENTOR

There is also a need to distinguish genuine mentorship from relationships that merely create dependency, because not everyone who presents himself as a mentor necessarily has the interests of the mentee at heart.

Some people want loyal followers rather than independent thinkers, while others deliberately create dependency because they feel threatened by the possibility that their mentees may eventually surpass them.

A genuine mentor, however, wants his mentee to become better, stronger and more successful, even if the mentee eventually becomes more successful than the mentor.

The success of a mentee is not the failure of a mentor; it is the evidence of effective mentorship.

A good mentor therefore does not create permanent dependants but develops capable individuals who can eventually stand on their own, assume responsibility and mentor others.

WHO IS YOUR MENTOR?

This Sunday, ask yourself some important questions: Who can correct me without fear? Who challenges my thinking? Who has travelled the road ahead of me? Who genuinely wants me to succeed? Who can tell me the truth even when that truth is uncomfortable?

If you cannot answer these questions, perhaps it is time to find a mentor.

But there is another question that is equally important: Whom are you mentoring?

At some point in life, maturity requires us to move beyond asking only, "Who can help me?" and begin asking, "Whom can I help?"

That transition from receiving to giving is one of the clearest signs of personal growth.

THE TRUE TEST OF LEADERSHIP

When your tenure ends, your office becomes occupied by someone else, your title is no longer relevant and the applause eventually fades, what will remain of your leadership?

Will people remember only your position, your speeches, your achievements and your photographs, or will there be men and women who can genuinely say, "I became better because this person invested in me"?

That is legacy.

The greatest leaders are not remembered merely for what they achieved, but for the people they developed, empowered and prepared to lead after them.

Leadership is therefore a responsibility, not a decoration, while mentorship is a duty, not a favour.

If you are privileged to lead, develop people; if you have knowledge, transfer it; if you have influence, use it responsibly; if you have access, create access for others; and if someone is looking up to you, understand that your conduct may be shaping another person's future.

If you are fortunate enough to have a mentor, learn, listen, apply, grow and, when the time comes, turn around and lift somebody else.

Because the true measure of a leader is not merely how high he climbs, but how many people he helps to rise.

May God give us leaders who develop leaders, mentors who empower rather than control, and mentees who are humble enough to learn, disciplined enough to grow and generous enough to pass their knowledge forward.

That is leadership.

That is mentorship.

That is legacy.

Dr. Ewere Okonta is the Chief Executive Officer of EOB Media, a passionate advocate for family values and societal development. He is a lecturer in the Department of Business Administration, University of Delta, Agbor.