Recently, Chairman of Heirs Holdings group, Tony O. Elumelu, a visionary entrepreneur and a leading voice of Africapitalism, articulated his guiding principles for effective leadership. His insights, informed by his extensive experience in building and sustaining successful enterprises, offers a valuable framework for leaders seeking to make a positive impact and achieve their goals.
Read the Article below.
Culled from Tonyelumelu.com
Leaders must demand excellence – Only by going the extra mile and pushing ourselves, will we truly develop and stand out. Hard work and excellence made my bosses Toyin Akin-Johnson and Ebitimi Banigo notice, and subsequently, believe in me. At twenty-seven, I went from being a trainee to being a boss, when I was appointed a branch manager – the youngest bank branch manager at that time. All the things I learned earlier came into play, and I continued learning.
Good leaders find in people, what people did not know they possess – Leaders recognise the talent in their team and then push to unlock the talent. When I work, I work to achieve my goals, but I also work to unlock my teams’ skills. I know everyone I work with has huge potential – for me my success is also about the success of others, growing and nurturing their talent, that is the foundation of our growth at Heirs Holdings Group. This focus on talent, teams, personal transformation, is why
I am so insistent on creating institutions, cultures, and pathways, where human capital can thrive. It is why I am an investor in businesses, but also entrepreneurs across Africa.
Leaders must walk their talk – A leader must be consistent. People want to trust a leader that they believe has integrity. Leadership is not just about telling people what to do, it’s also about setting an example. A good leader must lead by example and practice what they preach, this demonstrates integrity, it builds trust and respect.
Leaders must impart knowledge – I benefitted from the mentorship of King Banigo at Allstates Trust Bank. He helped me to develop my strategic thinking, my frames of reference and to channel my ideas into concrete actions, so that when the moment of opportunity arrived, at the age of thirty-four, I had the self-belief to gather a small group together to take over and revive a failing bank – take that enormous step, that is still shaping an industry and a continent today.
