By Joseph Edegbo
Officials of the Kaduna State Council and Chapels of the Nigeria Union of Journalists have been tasked to think about how they use their position to bring out the best in those they lead.
How they use their power is not only a reflection of who they are, but a key determinant of how successful they would be.
The Executive Director, Africa Media Development Foundation, (AMDF) Mr Iliya Kure made the assertion in Kaduna at a 2-day Workshop on Leadership and Management Styles organised for the officials by the AMDF in collaboration with the Council.
Participants at the workshop brainstormed on Leadership and Management , Supervision and Delegating Tasks, Qualities of a Good leader, Mentoring and Coaching , Conflict Management and Communication, among others.
Leadership, Mr. Kure emphasized, is the ability to influence the behaviour and way of work of other people towards achieving a common goal.
He advised the participants to ensure that they have a shared vision which could outlive them and also adopt the spirit of coaching and mentoring others who could perform their exact roles in their absence.
As leaders, Mr. Kure emphasized, they should set their objectives without being selfish and self centric, provide vision, people focus, motivate, goal oriented and risk taking as well as inspiring others to do better in their work.
They should also be courageous to take responsibility for failure and own credit collectively when succeeded.
On time management, Mr. Kure told the participants that good time management leads to improved efficiency and productivity, less stress and success in life.
Touching on Democratic and Autocratic leaders, the AMDF Boss told the participants that democratic leader looks for consensus, open to opinion or approachable, but autocratic leader might not be pleasant for underlings although it could be effective..
He charged them to imbibe the spirit of team work and friendship to enable them rise to meet their challenges.
In her presentation, AMDF Deputy Director, Mrs Sekyen Dadik who spoke on conflict management said one of the ways to resolving clashes is to focus on problem solving rather than pointing fingers.
She also identified accommodating, stay calm and listen to understand, as tools for managing conflicts.
This was after she had identified causes of conflicts to include poor communication, assumptions, opposing interest, different values, ignorance and desire for power.
The Chairman, Kaduna State council of the NUJ, Hajia Asma’u Yawo Halilu and her Vice, Mr. Daniel Duniya who spoke respectively acknowledged the rare opportunity provided the Council by the AMDF.
They urged their colleagues to utilize the knowledge they have acquired from the training for the growth of their respective chapels.
The training was part of the memorandum of understanding signed last month between the African Media Development Foundation and the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Kaduna State Council.