I didn't learn leadership from any business school, I learnt it at home as the first of 4 brothers and 1 sister. From being held responsible and accountable for the daily / weekly chores of my siblings and told countless times that one day, I'll be the head of the entire family.
I didn't need a business school to tell me that "Leadership is influence". I saw it from the way my mum was able to get my dad to do just about anything by her positioning/reasoning and not by her title. I may not have known the technical terms of leadership, but I understood it.
I understood pretty early on the "power" of persuasion over coercion. That not everything could be achieved through brute force. That sometimes, you need to lose a battle to win a war. And that no matter how hard you try, some people will just not like you, So deal with it.
I didn't need a business school to teach me that how to deal with failure as a leader, I learnt it from my personal experience keeping my head up while fighting stigma, being put down by uncles for not being good enough & failing JAMB 3 times until finally succeeding the 4th time
I didn't need a leadership school to teach me to "always give the benefit of a doubt". I lived in any era where friends and family wanted to influence you to take their side. But I was stubbornly open, objective and always inclined to put myself in the other person's shoes.
I didn't need a leadership school to teach me about respect. I saw it in the way my dad treated my mum and how he valued her opinion. I realized that leadership wasn't in the declaration that you're the head, it was in the recognition that you're only as good as who you listen to
As I grew up and began to attain leadership in more structured settings like school ass, church and in the Corporate arena, I knew from the responses I was getting that I exercised a level of wisdom that was uncommon. Intense study helped to shape my thoughts and make me better.
In all, I can say today that I'm a product of the totality of my experience good & bad. I'm also a product of the lessons I learnt from people around and within my vicinity. In truth, I'm still a work in progress trying to stretch my understand of leadership.
Same applies to you
Same applies to you
