Africa-Press – Namibia. STRATEGIC leadership presents challenges that call for the best in people and for a shared sense of purpose. It aligns a leader and the followers and creates synergy to achieve the goals of the organisation, said General (retired) Epafras Denga Ndaitwah, Namibia’s First Gentleman.
He delivered a public lecture on Strategic Leadership and Management at UNAM’s Engineering Campus at Ongwediva on Friday.
He said that strategic leadership and management are demanding areas of expertise, to the extent that those who back down have never succeeded as leaders or as managers.
PICTURED: First Gentleman Epafras Denga Ndaitwah.
He said that an effective leader must have the capability and capacity to conquer volatility, deal with turbulence, keep their eyes on the horizon, inspire, focus, develop, innovate, multiply, and maintain a long-term vision.
In his lecture at the Erastus Uutoni Auditorium, Ndaitwah also cited a number of scholars and gave his own elucidation.
He said that while strategic leadership is about “doing the right things”, management is about “doing things right”.
“Effective strategic leadership,” he said, “is not what a leader has accomplished yesterday, is not what a leader accomplished today, is not what a leader will accomplish tomorrow. Effective strategic leadership is the sum total of what has been accomplished yesterday, today, and what is to be accomplished tomorrow.”
General Ndaitwah used the examples of two well-known leaders: Nikita Khrushchev of the then Soviet Union, who in 1961 sent Yuri Gagarin to orbit the globe; and John F. Kennedy of the United States of America, who ordered his administration to go to the moon. When asked why, Kennedy responded: “We choose to go to the moon because that goal will serve to organise and measure the best of our energies and skill… it is a challenge that we are willing to accept… a challenge we are unwilling to postpone… and a challenge we intend to win.”
In 1969, six years after Kennedy’s speech, Neil Armstrong became the first human being to step on the moon.
Citing Nikodemus (2014), General Ndaitwah said that challenges are part of leadership. “In leadership you do not choose whether you would like to have challenges or not… the moment you have decided to become a leader, you have already made yourself a prime candidate for challenges,” he said.
Friday’s public lecture was attended by national, regional and local political leaders, faculty members and students, as well as a fairly large number of uniformed personnel — NDF, Nampol and Correctional Services.
General Ndaitwah holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and after his retirement as head of the NDF, he worked at the IUM as a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Faculty of Strategic Management and Business Administration.
He is the author of two books: A Life and Views of a Soldier and Strategic Leadership and Management: The Direction Pointers.
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