We are the masters of our destiny

Sometime ago I was out with some friends and a former Member of Parliament.

I did not know the former legislator well, but the rest of the group seemed well acquainted with him.

The politician was talkative and took charge of every conversation, whether he initiated it or not and barely paused to take a bite or sip his drink.

He was an expert on every topic under the sun and I wondered how he made himself likeable enough to be voted in because I found him suffocating.

As I listened to him, I realised why we have such gaps in delivery of services by leaders.

Every book, manual, article or lecture on good leadership emphasises that a good leader should be a good listener. If the politician was being given grades on good leadership based on listening skills, he would have failed miserably.

During a televised debate preceding a recent by-election, one of the candidates was booed because of his past statements.

As a former MP, he had criticised the evictions of squatters from a forest, publicly denounced the correlation between forest cover and rainfall.

Kenyans merit honest, authentic and patriotic leaders. We have discussed several times what entails a good leader. Unfortunately, we are unable to elect those who can lead us to a better place. Is it our fate to suffer the callousness of a leadership that is completely out of touch with the man on the street?

This year I have decided that solutions begin with me and you. What can I do so that I can begin on the journey to getting good leadership?

As our current leaders rally us to register as voters, are we going to helplessly fall in line or will we tell them to show us proof of successful leadership?

Leadership can be displayed in so many places and it should not be difficult for any aspiring leaders to show proof of result-oriented leadership.

Could the churches, religious organisations and civil society undertake to educate our people on what a good leadership entails? Do they have the capacity to do so? I do not know.

Nevertheless, let us not wait for the miracle of good leadership — we should begin by being leaders wherever we are.

A lot of prominence has been given to political leadership, yet that is not the only type of leadership required.

Many times we are led to think that he who speaks relentlessly and loudest must be a leader.

Unfortunately those are the same qualities of the market place mad man.

We have had excellent examples of poor leadership. Why can we not use these unfortunate experiences to become better judges of character and know the kind of leaders we want?