To Move Forward, Liberia Needs A Great Team

Behind every country that has achieved great results are leaders whom have built successful teams. Thus the foundation of a successful team is relationship. Remember, as a leader people will go with you “the first mile” because of a sense of duty. If they should go with you “the second mile” it will be because of relationship. Friend, you cannot ask from your people until they know you care about them. Do you care much about Liberia today or you are out for promoting your selfish ambitions?

It is important to understand that a great team possesses a common goal (vision), diverse skills and contribution and a strong coaching and communication. Every team must have a vision and how they are going to get there and if Liberia is to achieve its dreams it ought to know this. It is important to also know that leaders exist to serve the needs. If there were no needs there will be no leaders. And so friend let me ask you this: What are the needs you are serving in this country?

Effective leaders who cared much about the development of a country and/or organization are genuinely concerned with team members’ efficiency, productivity, and happiness, and realize that training and personal development are absolute necessities. Some leaders, of course, work to avoid building and training team members because they fear that eventually a team member will replace them at the helm of the organization. You should choose to look on this possibility as an incredible benefit. If you have no one prepared to take your place, you are destined to stay just where you are!

Leaders who feel plagued by insecurity and fear of team development should remember that they have not yet reached the ultimate limit for earning and advancement. Friend, if you want to move up the leadership ladder, you must develop others to take your place. Your job is not to perpetuate the status quo; your job as a leader is to teach, coach, and encourage team members to develop their innate potential for achievement. As a leader know that training yourself and team is an ongoing responsibility.

On a team every member has a gift and must therefore be given the opportunity to exercise that gift. Your team is not a spectator. The spectator is one who watches but on a team we all participate. Friend, if the future is to be achieved for Liberia it will depend on what the vision looks like.

To become an effective team our leaders must know and practice what is Important. This has to do with the Issue of priority. Liberia MUST be prioritized. Fellow Liberians, what are our priorities in this country? Do we Liberians including our leaders know and act on what is important for the people and country? Look at our laws on the books, the masses and our abundant natural resources. What has become of them?

Liberia will not make progress if her leaders don’t have a vision that is bigger than self.  And if Liberia should make progress her leaders must grow. It is the leader’s growth that determines Liberia’s growth. Leaders need to grow because life and society are constantly changing and they must be able to meet up with these changes. Know this; a leader cannot lead a follower beyond where they have personally grown. They must improve in order for them to stay in front. And for Liberia to make progress our leaders must stay on the same page.

Are our national leaders growing together? Are they on the same page? Do they have a chemistry that fits? There is a need to carry on constant evaluation so as to be able to flow together because in a chemical reaction if the elements or chemicals don’t correspond, you will have an explosion, the same is with leadership. And there surely will be an explosion when we do not keep evaluating our leadership team. This is the truth in a nutshell: Individualism wins trophies, but teamwork wins championships.

Our leaders will have to place Liberia’s interest above their own if they love this country and want to see it prosper. But do our current leaders know exactly where they stand as a team? Of course every team should know where it stands because there is a scoreboard that everyone can see. Players glance at the scoreboard continually during a game. When the game is over, at least they know if they have won or lost. Do our leaders know what the scoreboard is? The economy, security, health, jobs are just a few.

In building a great team, players should pay the price. There is no success without sacrifice. If you succeed without sacrifice, then it is because someone who went before you made the sacrifice. If you sacrifice and do not see success, then someone who follows will reap success from your sacrifice. Friend, Liberia our country needs quality leadership and a strong team to take her to her dreams. While In my own opinion Liberia has never had true visionary leaders, I believe investing in education, leadership development and team building should be her priorities.

(Chealy Brown Dennis is a motivational speaker and offers training in leadership and organizational development; strategic planning and team building and management and offers on-location and train-the-trainer formats. He can be contacted through email at: dennisbc2011@yahoo.com or on phone at: 0886-264-611)