Skip to main content

Monsieur Unsure




This one is probably one of those "anointed" people because he was one of the most uncharismatic, diffident, forced figures I've seen.

Physically - Tall, round man. Dark skinned, good dentition and bald headed. He had a particularly shiny fabric on in a weird, never-seen-before colour. That alone had me triggered. Was he trying to blind us? What kind of material was that anyway and what shade of rainbow was that? I'm kind of a fashion enthusiast please, bear with me. It was too annoying. His shoes were equally shiny, rings on his fingers(some) and a nice watch.

Mannerism - Low voice, sorry, feeble then loud, then feeble to whispers. Looking so meek, his hands were mostly one hand on the other palm as if to show his permanent state of confusion. Does he even know how he got to his present position? His eyes shining and constantly looking at his aides and goons for approval and support for what he says. His speaking, a bit distorted, correct English though laced with his native accent. 
With his pitch rising and falling, I couldn't make out much cos he was constantly slapping his hands over the other palm, alternating it loudly. I felt like tying his hands to his back. Did I forget when you greet him bowing your head out of respect, he double bows to you almost getting his head to the ground. So weird. He also smiled a lot.

Influence - Not much. His main aide or P.A whoever the man was had the power along with the goons. They could tell you to do whatever and he would have to be begging them for you. They even interrupted him at times.

Asskissing - A lot! Hailing him got his attention. From the gate he could be heard laughing loudly with those who sang his praises well enough. That was from what I could see, made his aides powerful. They called him the sweetest and most unrealistic names while doing what they wanted. 
Praise him and he laughs loudly, grabs your hands and does that weird bowing thing. So you can imagine here, where we could greet an older person or someone in authority by bowing and he too is bowing in return, it's like a bowing competition. You bow, I bow and on like that.

Attitude of people around him - frankly, we show people how to treat us. They didn't really have respect for him. I got his life history while there, my cup was running over. Everyone just wanted to get something from him and leave. Might have been the case with the leader but it didn't show.

After these two and the others I saw, I now understand the purpose of leadership seminars and workshop. People need it. I understand that people may be thrust into positions by birth, hardwork, selection or otherwise but the actual leadership traits can't be magically embedded in you. You may have to deliberately acquire it.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

2020: Reflections

I had an idea of what my year in review would look like when I penned my goals. What I didn't envision was the performance 2020 was going to put up. The draft was in my head. I imagined ticking off items on my list, laughing and patting myself on the back for a job well done. Now, all I have are reflections. My thought process has changed, my perception on several issues altered and that is way more interesting than what I planned earlier. These are what I had in mind for 2020 1. Learn web development 2. Write more 3. Earn more from my side gig. 4. Create more streams of income. 5. Get my masters degree 6. Use Duolingo daily 7. Get a mentor especially for my coding. 8. Workout at least 10mins daily. 9. Get a great job. 10. Take at least 20 online courses. 11. Read at least 12 books this year 12. Apply for & get at least 1 foreign opportunity( internship or fellowship). 13. Be more aggressive about my goals. 14. Celebrate every win and step taken towards my goals. Did I achieve ...

Smart hospital: embracing technology for better healthcare delivery in Nigeria

A hospital admission (late last year) had me daydreaming on my bed; what a smart hospital would be like. Let me tell you a little about it. For starters, I didn't come with my card.  But there's a screenshot of it on our family WhatsApp group. Ideally without the card, our surname and/or card number should be enough information to be able to retrieve our file. Turns out I overrated their system.  I had to lay my very weak body on the hard seats in the waiting area, while they ran around looking for the file. I mean, I showed them the screenshot. But the information there, which is no different from if it was presented was apparently not enough. They did find it eventually but I was stunned at the lack of organization. They took my vital information and I waited to see the doctor. That was another delay. I didn't mind because I knew many hospitals were short on staff. What I observed however, was the back and forth to reach the doctor.  There was no effective means of corr...

How to Build Self Confidence

There are two main things that can have a profound effect on self confidence: Money Looks And a third one that many don't realize: HEALTH - both physical and mental. Look at ads selling beauty and fitness products. A lot of them offer products that promise to build or restore your confidence. It is usually said explicitly or heavily implied. That's how much of our self confidence we attach to our looks. Anti-acne ad... see the C-word written boldly What about money? It's self deceit to ignore the ways money improves our self confidence. Money-boosted confidence manifests in many ways: Walking boldly into a restaurant or store to order without questioning your pockets, Boldly approaching the woman of your dreams, Being choosy about projects to work on because money isn't a problem, etc. I mean, how many times have you imagined being able to do these things? The problem is, we don't want to derive our confidence from money and looks. Those are transient. What happens ...