‘Leadership is about service’

Good leadership is not about authority or rank, but rather about service.

 

In delivering the feature address at the Kiwanis 2016-2017 Installation Ceremony and Dinner on Saturday night at the Cave Hill School of Business, the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus, Dr. Jeannine Comma congratulated those who have taken on new leadership positions on the Board, but reminded them that – just as Attorney-at-Law, Soldier, Writer and Freemason, Albert Pike stated – if you want to leave a legacy behind then do not just go after your own dreams and goals, but encourage and assist those around you to go after theirs as well.

 

In fact, it is their ability to add value to someone else’s life that would define them long after they have gone.

 

“Remember that leadership is not about power and status, it is about service. So once again, congratulations to all those who are being installed and continue to keep up the splendid work which you as Kiwanians are doing in our country. 

 

I leave then with a quote by Albert Pike, which says, ‘What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.’ Therefore, I say to you all, take liberty and responsibility and share with the world what you have done and/or continuing to do.”

 

In fact, the strengths of your legacy would depend on how you have constructed it and this legacy is an important part of being an effective leader, she said.

 

“I wish to emphasise that leadership is an active process, one which requires our dedicated, committed involvement. Our legacy is only as good as the efforts we put into building it. But be reminded that it is our responsibility to ensure that we embrace the challenges of leadership, so as to ensure that we do indeed leave a legacy which builds and sustains our society to grow and flourish.”

 

This legacy would also be critical for those who would come afterwards – the young people – and it must have such an impact that they not only build the communities within their own country, but also develop relationships with other nationalities and ethnicities.

 

“Developing these skills is also important in what we impart to our children, the young people and those we lead in our society. The legacy we leave must be one which enables our community to develop the capacities to stand head and shoulders with citizens from other countries and not feel ill at ease or be made spec-tacles of because we are inadequate in social and emotional intelligence.”