The Leadership Joy Ride-Phase 1(The Scrub)

My mother is proud of the fact that she learnt how to drive on the streets of Kampala. If you have been to Kampala, you know exactly what I mean: The narrow one-lane streets that miraculously hold traffic in 3 lanes. The hooting, shouting and threatening from the impatient matatu drivers. The relentless police whistles that seem to be saying something that you never quite understand….

She calmly drives through that jungle, weaving between cars in spaces that only she can find. Giving taxi drivers that look that leaves them cowering and quietly moving to let her pass. It’s hilarious to watch and it always makes me think of how the journey to skillfully driving through that jungle is a lot like the one to great leadership. I have journeyed through 3 main phases of leadership and I have given them names that you will only find in the quiet, reflective, sometimes entertaining corridors of my mind.

Phase 1-The Scrubs

If you are as old as I am, you remember the song , No Scrubs by TLC. If you haven’t, check it out.

“A scrub is a guy that thinks he's fly And is also known as a busta……..Hangin' out the passenger side of his best friend's ride……”

Let’s call those people that are flirting with the idea of learning to drive, “Scrubs”. They like to watch every driver they meet. They judge and take notes with disdain and somehow see all the ways the driver is doing it wrong. They imagine if they sat behind the wheel, they would be smoother, less clumsy drivers.

If they are friends with the driver, they will patronize and offer a few comments on how much better the driver would be if they tried this or that. They imagine how much better they would be at it. It is, after all, a few gear changes, and they are on their way. They imagine wearing sun glasses, with the wind blowing through their hair (even the Afro type, Lol) and commanding the road to surrender to their expertise.

If you are a workplace “Scrub”, you are probably doing some of these things;

You watch your manager fumble, lose their temper, make mistakes, struggle to speak clearly, take criticism from their peers, fail on their targets and you shake your head and wish it was you in their place- Effortlessly getting the job done, commanding respect, skillfully working the room as you present and you wonder why they just cannot get it right.

When you have a chance to give them feedback, you are callous, unfiltered, unfeeling. They are the boss, and they should have tough skin. So you decide to have a go at the leadership. To show everyone how it should be done…………………

Stay tuned for Phase 2

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