When I think about what I need to do, I usually go ahead and
do it. When I think about my age or some other pressing concern, I think about what I should be doing, spend
a lot of time thinking about it then don’t do it. So I have learned to think
about what I need to do and go ahead and do it..
Wisdom from another generation.
ISBN - 9789966809407
In
Search of Leadership and Governance
Eight – voter PRINCIPLES for ELECTing TRANSFORMATIVE LEADERS
Allan
Bukusi
.
Abstract
This article discusses how citizens can
select competent leaders for good governance in their country. The article
explores the purpose, the selection and appointment of leaders as a divine
assignment. It explains that voters have an important seasonal opportunity to
vet leaders who will elevate the state of happiness, health and wealth in the
nation. Using contemporary leadership theory, history and scripture references,
the author explores the role of both leaders and voters in the search for good governance.
It suggests that the underlying objective of the electoral process should be to
enact transformative change in the life of a nation. The author challenges voters
to look beyond the exterior façade politicians camouflage themselves in during
election seasons. They should select leaders with proven leadership capability
using eight scriptural standards. The article suggests that the search for
leaders is a prodigious responsibility that should be approached with great
humility because the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) of leadership and governance
is God Himself!
The quality of leadership and
governance determines the state of a nation and the happiness of its people.
Approximately 6 million elected officials serve in governments[1]
ruling over 8.3 billion people worldwide. In other words; each official directly
determines the quality of life of 1,400 people! Those numbers are too
significant to risk assigning leadership responsibility to a person who does
not understand its purpose and the principles of good governance. Inevitably
the search for leadership and governance is a search for transformative
leaders. Yet, every day, the election of a leader is casually taking place in villages, towns, teams, businesses, clubs,
churches and political parties without much thought to their significance to
the destiny of their membership. While leaders are needed in 17,000+, tribes
and ethnic communities on the globe[2],
the objects of good governance are drowned in deafening political debate, wars
and crippling poverty in too many nations around the world.
In Africa, the electoral season ushers
in perennial concerning including economic stress, voter manipulation and violence[3].
During these season thousands of (would be) leaders put themselves forward for
election on a promise of good governance. However, unhappy governance outcomes,
following election seasons, indicate that voters made poor choices of leaders. The
consistent poor outcomes over election seasons suggest that voters have a fixed
mindset[4]
that does not elect leaders capable of facilitating desirable change and allows
poor leaders to access office. These voters choose new leaders hoping for change unaware of the direct relationship
between the quality of leaders they choose
and the eventual poor governance outcomes.
Kenya’s democratic process sets an
election season that shapes the wellbeing of the people and its economic
destiny every five years. Nonetheless, every five years there emerge dramatic new
political views among generations (currently, Boomers, X, millennials, Y, Z and
ALPHA) causing conflict in electoral seasons[5].
But leadership is not about pitting one generation against another, as it is about
generations charting out a common destiny by entrusting leadership and
governance from one to a new team of leaders. During the political season, leaders
woo, wow and entice voters promising “change”. But change;
from what to what? That is a good
question to ask any would be leader? But while some leaders may have a clue of
what they plan to do, the more important question is how many voters know what
they NEED in order to effectively vet who to vote for? In this article we explore
this popularly desired “change” during election seasons as transformative change in the life of a nation; the advancement in
the state, the happiness and the wellbeing of the people should sit at the
heart of the electoral process for both leaders and voter alike.
Scholars estimate that there are more than 350 different definitions of
leadership in academic and professional literature[6].
By the early 2000s, researchers had identified over 500 distinct definitions. Today, more than 1,000 published definitions or variations of leadership
exist in different disciplines[7].
Leadership is an expanding knowledge base. Leaders, therefore, must be
continuous learners, adapters, creators and innovators resolving new and
complex challenges as they arise in all areas of human endeavor. But this wide
range of definitions also implies that leadership means (many) different things
to different people in different contexts. The interpretation of “leadership”
to a rich man and the understanding of “leadership” to a hungry man are worlds
apart. Indeed, individuals often vote for one political leader for different
reasons therefore scattering, rather than consolidating, and compromising the validity
of voter leadership expectations and eventual governance outcomes. Meanwhile elected
leaders end up spending their time in office pacifying different voting blocs
rather than serving all the people in their constituency. A leader, as a father figure, cannot be
partisan in office. The leaders must represent and care for all the electorate
in their constituency. Such a leader must also be the voice of the voiceless in
the community. However, that said, in this paper we define leadership as, “the
collective, collaborative responsibility of both leaders and voters to ensure
good governance in a nation under God. Voters should always keep in mind that
they are voting for their own and the children’s (presently voiceless, but the
majority in the population,) future too. With this unified focus the selection
of leaders becomes a meaningful and purposeful exercise aimed at voting for leaders
with the capacity and heart to resolve short term problems and implement
transformative change. Governance, on the other hand, “is the system of rules, processes,
and institutions used to direct, control, and manage the affairs of a group,
organization, or country” [8].
Simply put it is. “the state of a nation” or “the state of health, happiness
and wealth of a people in nation”. If the nation is in a poor state, it is in a
poor state of governance. That too is the state of the people. Since leaders
oversee the state of the nation, they determine its destiny and the quality of
life in the nation. Governance is therefore the outcome of the initiative of a
nation’s leaders. One might say, the election of competent leaders leads to
sound leadership that guarantees good governance outcomes including happiness, health,
wealth, peace, security and economic transformation [9]enjoyed
by everyone in the population. One could also say that leaders, therefore, are
elected for a reason and a season to guarantee transformative outcomes in a
nation.
Leadership
and governance are vividly captured by the author of the book of Genesis. The
fact that the discussion is presented in the very first sentence of the very
first chapter, is an indication of its importance, priority, positioning and centrality
on Gods plan and agenda for man. The chapter begins with the words “In the
beginning God created…”. God declares Himself Creator - existing before the
beginning of creation. This is a practical descriptor of His Supremacy, Person,
Personality, Position, Authority, Power and Purposes over all of creation which
He completes in seven days to perfection. Then, in His wisdom, God says, “let us make man in our own image and let him
rule and take dominion of the earth… This incredulous, awesome, mind
boggling idea is born in the mind of God - to make man the ruler, governor,
leader, manager and steward the earth as regent! … "God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in
number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the
birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the
ground.'" – Genesis 1:26-28. God gave man the authority and the power
to lead all creatures and resources in all the 195 nations on earth. In all of time,
since the beginning, no platoon of hippos, pride of lions, flock of birds or angels
have ever permanently risen up to reverse or overturn Gods commission to man. The
leadership role remains firmly in the hands of the son of man[10].
In other words; all leaders and governments are accountable to God for the state
of the earth. Though God delegated the role, He watches over leadership and
governance to do His Will on earth[11].
From God own account of the creation and purpose for man several realities come
to light for leaders and voters; 1) Leadership is a divine office, 2) Leadership
is an instrument in God’s hands to govern and direct the destiny of nations. 3)
Align yourself with Gods Will and you cannot fail, 4) Counter His purposes and
you cannot win, 5) God appoints leaders and causes governments to exist.
During an election season followers have an opportunity to select a leader through the vote and must be very careful to seek the mind of God in the process. The following 8 scriptural criteria enable voters to choose transformative leaders.
1. Leaders
and rulers of all nations, at every level of government, are anointed and
appointed of God. God
himself intervenes in human affairs to bring his anointed and appointed to lead
and govern nations[12].
Even rebellious kings we find were appointed by God for his purposes[13].
He calls them his servants even if they do not acknowledge him[14].
Servants do the masters bidding. In all humility therefore voters are well
advised to seek the mind of God in matters of anointing and appointment. There
is no conflict between the anointed and appointed. The anointed are inducted
into training while appointed are accountable for their actions. However,
anointed leaders need to be careful not to stretch their own hand against those
in office lest they disgrace it and disgrace the appointing authority in the
process[15].
2. All
leaders are appointed for Gods purposes. Voters usually consider their own
purposes to guide their choice of a leader. However, whenever God has allowed
the purposes of men to reign the results are catastrophic. They lead to social ills
such as slave trade[16],
genocide and apartheid. The peoples will has its short comings – as in the case
of Jesus Vs Barabbas before Pilate, an innocent man was killed and a robber
voted free even though all the facts and actions of the two men were in the public
domain[17].
Gods purposes are not man’s ways. Even though it may seem sensible and right. Voters
are advised to seek the mind of God before casting their vote.
3.
Consider the times, take counsel with one another, exercise wisdom (not mere
hype) and do what is right. When
the nation was in a leadership crisis, quandary and abject confusion, the men
of Issachar sat down and took counsel of the times and considered the state of
the nation. They evaluated the situation and took counsel, instead of anointing
one of their own tribesmen, they selected the best person capable of resolving
their situation. Then they went and anointed David King[18].
Voters
need to think carefully through the need of the times, reflect on the reality
they are facing, take counsel from experts and consider who I best able to
resolve the plight of the nation. They may need to step out of nepotism and
tribalism and simple favoritism to rationally identify suitable leaders to take
office. Such leaders may be identified from the sidelines far away from the
national political stage[19].
4. He
has been with us all this time–
The disciples faced a challenge of replacing Judas, who had betrayed Jesus, to
bring their number back to twelve. Their deliberations quickly narrowed down to
the criterion that, “it must be one who has been with us all this time and seen
all that we have seen”[20].
That condition generated two uncontested names. So they prayed and asked God to
elect one. Before you cast your vote consider carefully, have these “leaders”
ben with us? Have they experienced what we have experienced? Do they know out
problems and challenges? or have they just popped out of nowhere with nice
words and a lot of money to confuse the electorate?
5.
Surely, God has gifted someone to do this job? … “and they chose Stephen among the
seven” … The selection of Stephen to manage the corporate affairs of the gospel
enterprise of the day was uncontested primarily for his talents gifting and
ability which were affirmed by the Spirit of God[21].
Voters need to do some vetting of candidates. God has assigned talents and
gifting to all men. Some to be prophets, teachers, administrators and specific
capabilities that are uncontestable in the public domain. Such men and women are
outstanding and top of their field. Such men and women will have already shown
professional and technical competence long before they are presented for office.
These will easily stand out against imposters. Voters should be careful NOT to
be beguiled by imposters and impressionists.
6. Do
not look on the outside, God sees the Heart; This
was a rebuke to no ordinary mortal. It was a rebuke to the mighty prophet
Samuel before whom people cringed. When God spoke these words to Samuel he had
been impressed by Eliab the Son of Jesse appearance and said to himself -surely
this is the one. To his redeeming credit, Samuel listened to God and asked Jesse,
“is there no one else?”. David, the youngest son of Jesse was not even in the
room[22].
David had not been invited to the party. If a prophet of God could miss the mark and
believe that which is pleasing to the eye, impressive in form, of impeccable
sculpture, commanding of attention and perhaps abundant in wealth is the
picture of a natural leader, how much more can well-meaning citizens be led to
think these qualities define a leader. Many modern leadership theories count
physical endowment, outstanding natural abilities and character traits such as
charisma and influence amongst the most important determinants of the selection
of a leader[23]. God
sees the heart. Often those with natural endowment feel entitled to leadership
and eventually look down with pride on others when they get into office. Those
who have a heart for the people serve the public with care and compassion attending
to their needs without remaining aloof[24].
External qualities are not evil, but they can be easily faked for a season.
This is why it is important to look for additional or deeper and affirmation of
a selected leader by seeking the mind of God in the voting box.
7.
Long suffering, trials and testing[25]. People who go through trials have a
tempered, measured and balanced perspective of life. They tend to be humble and
inclusive rather than arrogant and opinionated. These broken spirits have often been tried and tested through difficult
times. Many biblical leaders and the greatest leaders of all time have
patiently endured lasting hardship, annoyance, oppression or bad behavior
without complaint. You may recognize the long suffering in the biblical names
Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Joseph, Daniel, David. Contemporary leaders include
Nelson Mandela[26], Jomo
Kenyatta, Wangari Maathai, Kwame Nkurumah, Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, Mahatma
Ghandi, Abraham Lincoln. These great ones went through many years of long
suffering before their voices were acknowledged. There is a tendency for voters
to be dazzled by well-meaning, inexperienced untried, vengeful, vindictive
leaders. Their messaging is divisive, not tested, sensationalist, but not
realistic or practical[27].
These leaders appear perfect, but often
they have selfish interests and seek their own glory and not the good of the
people. Voters can apply the test of “long-suffering” on such leaders and
eliminate them for their lack of credibility, competence and capability to
carry the heavy burdens of the people in the office of leadership.
8.
Love; leaders give of themselves
sacrificially. The most famous verse in the scriptures , “For God so loved
the world that he gave his only son; that whoever believes in him shall have
eternal life”[28]. This verse
explains the love God has for His people; that they may have eternal life - to
the extent that He gave (past tense) his son. One of the criteria voters may
ask about leaders is, how much have they given (up) or sacrificed to take up
leadership. How much passion and love for the people do they that they are
willing to secure the interests of the people at all cost? There is a story of a
poor widow who gave all she had while others gave out of their abundance[29].
That story is a testament of her passion for the things of God. God giving his only
son to secure those who accept him for a life in eternity, is a testament of
his passion for people. With a little homework, voters should be able to tell
which leaders have the passion to serve the interests of the people. The love
should be self-evident in other words; voters should be able to taste the
“proof in the pudding” of the promises political leaders make before they get
into office.
Desirable outcomes of leadership and
governance include good governance, happiness, health, advancement, prosperity,
transformative change, redemption and salvation. Contrary outcomes include
oppression, poverty, destruction, corruption, civil strife and economic regression
– essentially unhappiness. While repentance is a good beginning, a nation needs
a renewing of mind to be transformed[30].
Nations need to make a significant sober investment in civic education and
voter empowerment for the electorate to appreciate the power of their vote to
select transformative leaders and change future governance outcomes. Casting a
carefully and prayerfully positioned vote is a personal prayer, social
responsibility and a plea to God to bring about transformative change in a nation.
©Allan Bukusi, July 2026
Allan is a lecturer, corporate leadership trainer and transformative strategy consultant. He has an MA in Leadership from PAC University and has written several books including; Understanding Leadership, Thinking Leadership in Africa and How to Lead Corporate Transformation.
[2]
Joshua Project
[4] Carol
Dweck, Mindset; The New Psychology of Success, 2006
[5] Israel
Rebels Against Rehoboam 1 Kings 12 NIV -
[6]
Warren Bennis & Burt Nanus ; Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge
[8]
International Center for Governance
[9]
Vision 2030, Agenda 2063, Singapore: From
Third to First,1965-2000, Lee Kuan Yew.2000
[10]
Matthew 28:19
[11] Isaiah
46:10-11
[12] Jeremiah
1:10
[13]
Pharaoh King of Egypt Romans 9:17
[14]
Cyrus; Isaiah 45:1-4, Nebuchadnezzar; (Jeremiah 25:9, 27:6, and 43:10)
[15] 1
Samuel 24:3–7.
[16]
The Scramble for Africa
[17] Matthew
27:15-26 RSV - Barabbas or Jesus?
[18] 1
Chronicles 12:32
[19]
Gideon; Judges 6-8
[20]
Acts 1:12-26
[21]
Act 1;1-7
[22]
Eliab Son of Jesse - 1 Samuel 16:6
[23]
Northouse, Leadership, 2016
[24]
Mother Teresa
[25]
Galatians 5:22
[26]
Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela
[27]
Absalom; (2 Samuel 13:13-37 -15:12)
[28]
John 3:16
[29] Luke
21:1-4 NKJV - The Widow's Two Mites -
[30] Romans
12.2
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The Africa Nazarene University is one of the finest of
its kind! This morning I had the joy of sharing a few of my books with ANU
Business School and the Library to be used by students, colleagues and interested readers
inside and outside the University. As you may already know my personal mission
is to help establish vibrant, ethical, sustainable, socio-economic enterprise across
Africa. One of the ways in which this is going to happen is through the provision
of TRANSFORMATIVE education to (particularly) college and University level
students turning them into employable employees, enterprenuers and leaders in their own right. I think ANU is on the
right track. I am privileged to have made a small contribution to their cause.
Allan Bukusi
Learning and development is perhaps the most powerful agency
of BUSINESS growth, change and development available to every organization. By
investing a few hours reading a book on recent trends, skill and developments on
a business process like marketing, production or leadership, Directors, CEOS,
Managers, Supervisors and Executives are able to come back with new ideas to
resolve business problems within a short time – WITHOUT EXTRA PAY! It is this
remarkable HUMAN CAPACITY to LEARN and DEVELOP new CAPACITY that is so often ignored and lies dormant in many BUSINESS organizations.
However, the L&D practitioner has the knowledge and skills to awaken and
power the process of organization development and, given a chance, will drive a
business to new levels of performance by simply empowering the already existing
human resources potential. So why do I want you to attend this conference?... Because you will get answers to these important
questions THAT will help you transform the FUTURE of your business;
1. Where does L&D sit in the context of global industry and the national economy?
2. Why will a business that does NOT invest in L&D fail in the short term? and
3. What strategies can L&D practitioners use to drive transformative business development in a VUCA world?
The answers to these questions will help you empower your
staff to heightened levels of performance, help you appraise your business potential
and raise your business performance. These answers will help you maximize your chances of successfully navigating the complexities the VUCA world we live in. See you there!
“Comfort in employment can become the enemy of prosperity.”
Many people pursue employment as an end in itself. This
is a gross error of commission, but the fact that you have a salary every month
can lull you into a comfortable slumber zone of pretend contentment … Especially
if the job pays well and does not require you to do any “extra” work or “gigs” to
enjoy the lifestyle you have chosen. When you are in the comfort zone it is
very easy to forget the purpose of employment, which is to create wealth for
yourself, your family and posterity. If you find yourself telling yourself, “at
least I have a job”, I dare say you are in the comfort zone. What you are
actually saying is, “tomorrow will take care of itself”. This makes you relax
any effort you might have made to create wealth and a measure of prosperity for
yourself. Prosperity does not come served on a plate with a salary and employment on the
side. Prosperity takes action and initiative to create tangible wealth from the
income you earn on the job. Comfort on the job can lead to failure to pay focused
attention on how to create personal wealth during employment. Comfort in
employment is actually an enemy of prosperity and wealth creation. Comfort in
employment implies that you have stopped thinking about your prosperity - and
left that job to your employer (who never forgets it!). Your employer however,
is not thinking of you, he is thinking for himself and will retain you as long
as his interests are met. If your last job came to an end, and you have no
wealth to show for it, you were living in the comfort zone. Don’t let it happen
again!
Allan Bukusi, is the author of ; How to Prosper in Employment and writer of the series of articles under the theme; 2026: Year of the African Employee challenging employees to prioritize creating personal wealth early in their careers.
What’s your Employee - People Strategy?
You
have most certainly heard of “business” strategy and “financial” strategy. But
you may have to think a little harder to remember if you have heard of a
“people” strategy. You are not alone in this space. Many organizations have
people, but hardly develop a sustainable people strategy that enables the
organization to grow with its people. The people strategy of most business
revolves around a “use and dump” procedure. The procedure begins with a) create
job description, b) get a suitable person to do the job, and c) if they don’t
do the job dump them and try someone else. In the eyes of the company, the
person is an item of production rather than a strategic investment. The a,b,c hire
and fire procedure does not guarantee the organization a developing future. It leaves
an organization stuck in its (old) ways and leaves employees as hapless victims
of a vicious use and dump cycle of employers who do not have a people strategy.
Let’s
double back and cover some theory here. An effective people strategy begins
with a well-crafted, documented, communicated organization strategy
articulating the corporate goals of the business. Let’s call it a strategic
plan. If the strategic plan sits on the shelf, like it does in many organizations,
there can be no hope of an operational people strategy ever coming to light. The strategic plan serves to dynamic articulate
the dynamic roles people play as the organization advances to its goals. This
means as the goals advance the people must also advance through training,
capacity building to take on new updated challenges. If the people are not
ready for advancement the business cannot advance. Indeed, unless the people advance
the organization will remain the same. Your people should be driving the
strategy not just implementing it. The secret is to put the horse in front of
the cart (strategy) and not the cart in front of the horse. A business strategy
cannot implement itself, it requires empowered people to drive it.
So what does a good people strategy entail. First is the understanding of business strategy by employees – quite apart from job descriptions and contracts. Second, cascading of roles and responsibilities flowing from the strategy. Third, equipment, empowerment and training of people to execute the activities that advance corporate objectives rather than carry out routine tasks that mark production as opposed to progress. Fourth, implement a people performance alignment process that aligns employees’ contribution to the advancement of corporate goals, strategically prepares people to address environmental change, and keeps the workforce on the cutting edge of strategy execution at all times. The African employee needs more than a job description to spearhead corporate goals. let them know where the business is going and you will be surprised how much more value they can produce. A people strategy will help you turnaround your employee performance, but more importantly, it will help you achieve your corporate goals.
Allan Bukusi, is the author of ; How to Prosper in Employment and writer of the series of articles under the theme; 2026: Year of the African Employee challenging employees to prioritize creating personal wealth early in their careers.
The
New African Employee, Gen XMZ!
The word “new”
has at least two major interpretations. The first can be described as, “something
NEW as opposed to the OLD”. This implies that the passage of time has outdated an
item, depreciating it and making it of little use or application in future. It
comes with the attendant mischievous whisper that “old is bad” and “new is good”.
Then there is the second interpretation of NEW meaning; innovative, enhanced, advancing
in additives, form, components and capability. There is a sense in which the
old generation of African employee, born at the advent of the Television set, is
being put on the shelf as a local limited production model. The new employee is
globally connected, socially mobilized, attends weekends at Old Trafford and
Arsenal, has seen more of Dubai than their ancestral village of origin, speaks several
AI generated languages, and has more access to information technology than all
other generation on earth combined (from the beginning of time). However, a
fusion of the old and the new can also qualify as NEW.
Interestingly,
the generation X, Millennials M and generation Z find themselves in the same
workspace by heritage more than out of design or intent. The key word here is
tolerance. And that is a very good place to begin. The new African employee has
three shades when tackling the responsibilities of getting work done. Somehow these
shades do not communicate very well, but they all have extra ordinary strengths
that make the new African employee a powerful prototype for the world ahead. This
new African employee draws on the stability of Gen X, and the alternative resourcefulness
of Gen M, and the dynamic flexibility of the entrant Gen Z capacity for short
term engagement. Gen X know HOW it is done, Gen M ask WHY it needs to be done and
Z knows the fastest way to get whatever needs to be done – done!
Imagine the power
of three generations in one. Thus creating; the new African employee XMZ. The
new African employee (Gen XMZ), first; knows how to get the work done this makes
them powerfully entrepreneurial, second they also know why it needs to be done
which makes them very efficient with minimal wastage of energy, and third, the
New African employee is exploring, innovative and extremely adaptive and versatile.
Today’s employers need to make a lot of changes in the workplace in terms of workspace,
job design, goal setting, role integration, productivity mapping, work process planning
and performance management metrics to accommodate and harness the global power
of the New African employee. Everyone, please put your hands together to welcome
the new employee, Gen XMZ, in the workplace.
Allan Bukusi, is the author of ; How to Prosper in Employment and writer of the series of articles under the theme; 2026: Year of the African Employee challenging employees to prioritize creating personal wealth early in their careers.
An Attitude of Gratitude is not a Platitude
Not everyone is
comfortable equating the two words; “Employee” and “Gratitude” in one sentence.
The mental and soulful debate is one of agony as employees feel that the
employer is the one who should be grateful and should feel very privileged that
they have, “ME” as their employee! When you look at the employment statistics
of people looking for jobs vis-à-vis those who have jobs (80/20), the numbers might
trip your conscience a little to think about the depth of this statement. Truth
be told, I am not a good judge of your character so I leave that to you to
decide whether you will carry the statement in agony or submit to its reality.
However, as usual, I do have a story you might want to consider since this is
the year of the African employee and we need to investigate the concept in as
many depths and perspectives as we can before the end of happy new year.
A little while
ago a CV (resume) appeared on my desk. And it did look promising, but not quite
complete. It had all the essentials like many other CVs that float through corporate
HR screens. But this one was not quite AI created. So I downloaded the CV and
contacted the author requesting permission to place it on a database. The
response was immediate – and- gracious, full of appreciation. That immediately
caught my attention and returned to the CV for a closer look. To cut a long a
long story short, the projection of that individual’s character, on paper,
propelled them to the top of the application pile. Second, you may know Frank.
He lives in the USA. He sent me a gift, “The Attitude of Gratitude” by Keith Harrell.
I thought he would send me a laptop or something like an, “out-of-date-latest-phone”
from the USA, but no. It was a simple audio on how thankfulness and an attitude
of gratitude can get you through closed doors and opens doors to opportunity, offices,
invitations in all sort of weird contexts. Harrell says, an attitude of
gratitude has nothing to do with your circumstances or anyone else. It is all
about you.
Now, I have to
end this, because I am beginning to ramble. But, I want you to look around the
office and among your colleagues. Who gets attention from the boss? Who gets
selected for assignments in the work teams? Who is the person everyone would
rather be with than the wet blanket that sits next to you each morning? Who
gets selected for promotion? Who makes the most of what they get and seem to be
moving happily on in life even though they are at the bottom of the corporate
food chain? The grouchy or the gracious? I will bet my bottom dollar (I will
keep all the other dollars) that it is the gracious. I suggest you do what you have to do – now,
today and not tomorrow. Thank you.
Allan Bukusi is the author of ; How to Prosper in Employment and writer of the series of articles under the theme; 2026: Year of the African Employee challenging employees to prioritize creating personal wealth early in their careers.
Let’s
talk about your Income
What exactly is
employment income? First off, most employees would say it is their salary,
wages or pay they get for doing a task, a job or professional assignment given by
an employer. This is certainly not wrong. It is part of it, but what would you
say if I told you that it is far from all of it.
Let’s start by
de-constructing the word IN-COME. From the employees point of view “in” amounts
to everything that is availed and is accessible to them during the term of
employment. The word “come” has a connotation of anticipation and guaranteed expectation.
In the case of a wages, it is a routine event like the time of day or “pay-day”.
The employee expects that on the 30th day of the month, they will be
paid a wage. The fact that wages are routinely available, regular and expected
inflows means they can be planned for, budgeted, projected and even cashed out
in advance as capital value. This regularity allows banks to secure employee
loans and cash out on employee capital (wages) in advance. But cash is not the
only element that flows to the employee.
Other incomes that
flow to the employee include; experience, expertise, exposure and no small
amount of business and enterprise education, from peers, the boss, the market
and customer engagement. The other inflows that come with income are insurance,
an occupation, training, meals, transport and other valuable inflows that would
not be available to the employee had not been hired. A shrewd employee does not
just count his income as cash, but as all the material value, plus social and
economic capital he can be able to walk away from his employer. Notice, just
like a lending institution takes your salary as a security and surety for a loan,
if you do not take full advantage of, and plan for the use of your earned capital
made available to you on the job, others will freely enjoy the benefits of your
work.
The lesson here
is that income; earned material and socio-economic capital, should be carefully
planned for and not carelessly dispensed otherwise it is possible to earn an
income for the length of the contract and never accrue any capital for your
personal development. Let me take a stab at using financial terminology and say
that your net worth should increase with every salary you earn otherwise you
are wasting your income and capital resources.
Dear Employee; Please think like an entrepreneur
But why should
an employee think like an entrepreneur? Is that not the employers job? Well I
suppose that is true. But suppose the employee actually learns to think like an
entrepreneur is there any chance that they might just become an employer as well? I think the possibilities in this line of
thinking are endless, but far from worthless. So let’s discuss why the African
employee is ideally positioned to think like an entrepreneur and become an employer!
First the
employee works in an enterprise. That makes him part of the enterprise. And, if
you get my meaning, anyone joining an enterprise must be an entrepreneur
otherwise they will not survive in the enterprise. If you join a football team,
I would expect that you would know a thing or two about football. If you take
a keen interest in the game and listen carefully to your coach, one day you could
start your own team. Even if it is in the little leagues. What I am
saying is that all employees are exposed to enterprise in employment. Every
employee has an opportunity to learn as much as they want about how the game of enterprise is
played. Sadly, many employees leave employment without a clue of how or what it
takes to run a business. The best place to learn enterprise is not in an MBA
class. It is in enterprise! On the job! Best of all ,as an employee you get paid to learn.
Which brings me to my second, may be third point.
Employees get
paid to do the business of the employer. Now that is not a very hard statement
to interpret. It means the employer is making use of the employee’s entrepreneurial
skills to get his (employer) work done. Before we go on let me state as a matter of fact
that, THERE IS NO ROBBERY IN THAT. You (the employee) are paid an agreed wage in
exchange for your contribution to the enterprise. There is no shame in that. But that, in my books,
also makes you an entrepreneur. It is just that you may never really have
stopped to think like one. You may have gone about your job so routinely and
passionately that you have never stopped to consider that your job is in fact
an enterprise. If you do it well, you earn
a business income. Do it poorly and you get fired. Isn’t that what
entrepreneurs and employers do. Employers do not accommodate poor or ghost
workers in their enterprise. They only hire productive entrepreneurs. Allow me
to be cheeky here and mention that some employees work so poorly that they
would never hire themselves to do any work for them. Now that you are beginning to think like
an entrepreneur let’s consider my fourth or next point; thinking like an entrepreneur.
So what does it
mean to think like an entrepreneur and what are its benefits? This will require
a little imagination. Something all employees have otherwise they would not be
employed. Supposing we considered your job as an enterprise that is part of the
employer’s larger enterprise. And that you have employed yourself to do that
job. To do that job well you have to think like an entrepreneur. In other words,
you employ yourself to do the job. As an employer you will only pay wages for a
job is well done. As an entrepreneur you will demand that the job earns you an
income and makes you a profit which you take home to invest on your own small
enterprise. With time you could be able to leave the job and grow your own
enterprise using some of the core knowledge and skills you learned from your employer.
I have lost count of my numbered points, but I think you get the message.
By dispelling
the viral myth that employees are one type of people breed and employers are
another, we have come to the understanding that the only difference between an
employee and employer is that one is expected to think like an entrepreneur,
while the other, more often than not, does not care to learn from the best, nor
think that way at all. By the way I have invented nothing new in this essay. You,
the employee, provided me all the material I needed to put it all together. I
think that is enterprise. Next, I think lets talk about income... And if you like these series let me know what else you would like me to talk about.
Allan Bukusi
is the author of ; How
to Prosper in Employment and writer of the series of articles
under the theme; 2026: Year of the African Employee challenging
employees to prioritize creating personal wealth early in their careers.
Never send a poor man to buy you anything. He will buy you poor things. Never send a rich man to buy you anything. He will buy you rich things.
Changing the Employee consumer
mindset
In 2026, the Year of the African Employee, I plan to share some thoughts to re-direct the destiny of the African employee, making him, and her, understand the transformative power they have to change their own circumstances and uplift the wellbeing of society. In this article we discuss “Changing the employee mindset”
What mindset?
Most employees
look for jobs to earn an income. At the core of that search is a conscious or
subconscious wish list of delightful wants. Wants like a comfortable house, a top
of the range car, the latest phone technology and other the trappings of the
benefits attached to high value positions in corporations that project a successful
career. These are not bad things. However, notice the emphasis on the adjectives
attached to each item on the dream list. Words like comfortable, new, latest
and benefits… are words that drive the core of consumption. Consumers look for
the best deal and do not mind paying a premium price to stand out on the top
end of society. The driving force of the employee for employment is therefore
not personal development, advancement or wealth creation. Rather, it is luxury,
privilege and imagery. These are consumer forces that prey on employee income.
Why the mindset need to change
The net effect
of this mindset is that employee work to seek acquire and enjoy these privileges
that they have access to in employment. However, the employee is not spared of
basic expectations of social responsibility that also command attention. Which
means that the average employee must fulfil basic family, and in Africa,
extended family obligations alongside seeking to enjoy the comforts he is able
to afford because of enjoying the privilege of employment. In other words, the
while the employee meets the basic needs of family, all additional (disposable)
income goes to fund comfort and luxury. Unfortunately, this balance is
sometimes revered where incomes first fund the dream list before creating family
wealth foundations. This means that the employee loses out on opportunities to
save money, accumulate personal capital and create wealth with part of his
available income. If the employee mindset changed, he would be able to Save and
invest more of his monthly income to create personal assets and wealth creating
enterprises with his income.
The transformative impact of a new mindset
It is arguable
that one should be allowed to enjoy the benefits of employment the way they
wish. But by that same argument, there should be no regret or recrimination
when leaving employment with nothing to show for all the capital (income) that
has passed through an employee’s hands. It is also true that employment in
Africa has long been sold as the epitome of social relevance and success. This
too is not a bad thing because it motivates people to seek jobs. But going by the
number of unemployed persons, employment is in itself a massive privilege that
should have a transformative impact on the employee and wider society. Seeking
employment as a career end game is insufficient fuel for personal development,
wealth creation and social transformation. The employee has the opportunity and
power to return wealth to society and shift Africa’s economic dynamics from a poor
to wealthy society. This however, requires an employee mind shift to think like
an entrepreneur – I think this the next topic I shall discuss on this forum.
Allan Bukusi
is the author of the book; How to Prosper in Employment and
creator of the Employee Empowerment Seminar, a ninety-minute
motivational presentation challenging employees to prioritize creating personal
wealth early in their careers.
