The Sunday Mail
We acknowledge traits of servant leadership in modern day leaders like President Emmerson Mnangagwa who, since his inauguration, has shown that leadership is not just about having a noble vision but also being at the service of the people.
Nowhere was this mark of servant leadership on display than at his inaugural radio interview with Capitalk Radio 100.4FM on Friday.
The Head of State and Government was so at ease in articulating the pertinent national issues ― the economy, corruption, democracy and the prices of basic necessities.
Very few leaders in the world would dare go live on radio, openly interact and share views on issues affecting the citizenry.
Not only has the President lived to his billing as a “listening President” but he has also shown that he is a modern President who has embraced all new forms of communication ― social media, new media and interactive radio programmes.
Love him or hate him, the man affectionately known by his people as ED, has never shied from any public engagements.
And his underlining message, which he said has always inspired him since his days as a youth, has been the need for reform.
Outlining his own guiding lifelong philosophy, President Mnangagwa said: “In my youth as a soldier, I had a clear mission. To establish an independent Zimbabwe. I fought for this mission. No less important, to reform Zimbabwe so that we build a country in which all have the opportunity to prosper. I will fight for this goal with all my heart and all my soul, whatever it takes.”
Conscious of the arduousness of the journey, President Mnangagwa assured his countrymen of a brighter future anchored on his unshakeable belief in the reform agenda.
Reform of institutions. Reform of the country’s legislation and reform of our mindset.
We have no doubt that in the President, we have a man endowed with an inimitable pragmatism born out of the odds he endured before and after the liberation struggle, where at one stage, he faced the gallows only to be saved by a technicality of being under age.
And the President’s servant leadership code is not without a conceptual framework.
Its conceptual progenitor is one by the name Robert K. Greenleaf (1904-190) who was born in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1904.
According to Greenleaf’s seminal essay, “Essential of Servant Leadership”, the philosophy had its roots from a fictional work in 1958, whose idea of the “servant as a leader came out of reading Hermann Hesse’s “Journey to the East”.
The central figure in a journey of a band of men is Leo, who accompanies the party as the servant and does all sorts of menial chores but also sustains the group with his spirit and song.
Leo is a man of extra ordinary presence and when he disappears all men scatter in confusion and it is at that point that one man who later discovers Leo realised that the man he had known as a servant was in fact the titular head of the order, its guiding spirit, a great and noble leader.
Greenleaf’s essay continues to inspire millions throughout the world.
The conceptual traits of servant leadership as epitomised by President Mnangagwa include listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people and building strong developmental foundations for communities.
That ED is committed in fulfilling his vision is never in doubt.
He needs the collective confidence and support from every well-meaning citizen.
In his own words, “We will reform Zimbabwe together.”
We salute you Man of the People
The Sunday Mail
We acknowledge traits of servant leadership in modern day leaders like President Emmerson Mnangagwa who, since his inauguration, has shown that leadership is not just about having a noble vision but also being at the service of the people.
Nowhere was this mark of servant leadership on display than at his inaugural radio interview with Capitalk Radio 100.4FM on Friday.
The Head of State and Government was so at ease in articulating the pertinent national issues ― the economy, corruption, democracy and the prices of basic necessities.
Very few leaders in the world would dare go live on radio, openly interact and share views on issues affecting the citizenry.
Not only has the President lived to his billing as a “listening President” but he has also shown that he is a modern President who has embraced all new forms of communication ― social media, new media and interactive radio programmes.
Love him or hate him, the man affectionately known by his people as ED, has never shied from any public engagements.
And his underlining message, which he said has always inspired him since his days as a youth, has been the need for reform.
Outlining his own guiding lifelong philosophy, President Mnangagwa said: “In my youth as a soldier, I had a clear mission. To establish an independent Zimbabwe. I fought for this mission. No less important, to reform Zimbabwe so that we build a country in which all have the opportunity to prosper. I will fight for this goal with all my heart and all my soul, whatever it takes.”
Conscious of the arduousness of the journey, President Mnangagwa assured his countrymen of a brighter future anchored on his unshakeable belief in the reform agenda.
Reform of institutions. Reform of the country’s legislation and reform of our mindset.
We have no doubt that in the President, we have a man endowed with an inimitable pragmatism born out of the odds he endured before and after the liberation struggle, where at one stage, he faced the gallows only to be saved by a technicality of being under age.
And the President’s servant leadership code is not without a conceptual framework.
Its conceptual progenitor is one by the name Robert K. Greenleaf (1904-190) who was born in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1904.
According to Greenleaf’s seminal essay, “Essential of Servant Leadership”, the philosophy had its roots from a fictional work in 1958, whose idea of the “servant as a leader came out of reading Hermann Hesse’s “Journey to the East”.
The central figure in a journey of a band of men is Leo, who accompanies the party as the servant and does all sorts of menial chores but also sustains the group with his spirit and song.
Leo is a man of extra ordinary presence and when he disappears all men scatter in confusion and it is at that point that one man who later discovers Leo realised that the man he had known as a servant was in fact the titular head of the order, its guiding spirit, a great and noble leader.
Greenleaf’s essay continues to inspire millions throughout the world.
The conceptual traits of servant leadership as epitomised by President Mnangagwa include listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people and building strong developmental foundations for communities.
That ED is committed in fulfilling his vision is never in doubt.
He needs the collective confidence and support from every well-meaning citizen.
In his own words, “We will reform Zimbabwe together.”
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