LEADERSHIP; THE ROLE OF THE MARSHALLAN YOUTH.
By W/Bro Ambrose Yennah, Deputy Supreme Knight
- Introduction
Supreme and Grand Youth Coordinators, Regional Youth Coordinators, and Coordinators at the Adult Council and Court level, my Junior Brothers and Sisters in Christ;
I wish to extend my sincerest appreciation to the Youth Coordinators for giving me the honor and privilege to give a talk on Leadership for the benefit and our future leaders, the Junior Knights and Ladies.
The topic for today is; “Leadership; the role of the Marshallan youth”
Before we go into the topic, I will like us to reflect on the following about self discovery;
Let us ask ourselves the questions;Who are we? Why do we exist? What is expected of us? What is God’s plan for our lives? Do we understand our God given roles?
I will also like us to reflect on the Motto of the Young Christians/Catholic Students:
“SEE, JUDGE, ACT, REFLECT and ACT AGAIN”.
I will like us to further reflect on your Motto as Junior Knights and Ladies of Marshall; “SERVICE TO GOD AND MAN”
Finally, let us reflect on our Core Values as Junior Knights and Ladies of the Catholic Church
- Our Catholicity
- Knightly Discipline
- Ethical and Moral Values
- Honesty and Integrity in all we do
- Promoting Justice and Peace at all times
What does all this mean to us as Christians and Marshallan youth in particular? Let us apply these to our lives and we will be very happy with our overall progress in live.
1.1 Definition of Leadership
“Leadership is the capacity to influence, inspire, rally, direct, encourage, motivate, induce, move, mobilize and activate others to pursue a common goal or purpose while maintaining commitment, momentum, confidence and courage” – Rev. Dr. Myles Munroe.
An important function of leadership is the ability to draw the best out of other people and inspire them to maximize their potential.
The purest form of leadership therefore is influence through inspiration. Inspiration being the capacity to mobilize, activate and cause others by our own character, vision, zeal and passion to participate in a change of their own priorities.
1.2 Some Leadership Traits;
- A Visionary
- A Problem Solver
- A Motivator, an Inspirer
- A Director, a Coach, a Controller
- Effective Communicator
- Effective Listener
- Passion for Accomplishment
- Desire for Results and Impact
1.3 Leading From Behind
Those who aspire to lead must be the servant of all; you must decrease and others must increase. Your ability to create teams, delegate and empower people is the singular and most important measure of your success as a leader.
As a leader, live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you. As a leader, do not be discouraged when others misjudge your motives. Think big but be ready to start small as great achievements require a willingness to start small.
1.4 Effective Leadership Skills:
- Effective Planning
- Effective Delegation
- Effective Time Management
- Good Communication Skills
- Good Decision Making
1.5 Our Role as Junior Marshallans in Leadership
We are Junior Knights and Ladies of the Catholic Church, we are called to Catholic action to engage in lay apostolate and lay evangelization. Do we know our Bible? Do we know our faith as Catholics? If we do know, how much can we share with others.
We must approach this assignment as leaders with courage, nobility, honour, self sacrifice, dedication, commitment, honesty and integrity.
We must as individuals and collectively work for justice and peace. Let us be change agents in our world wherever we find ourselves. Our thoughts, words and actions should reflect God’s purpose for our lives. We must have the courage to do right always. We are called to be people of conscience; be truthful, honest, ethical and principled in all our undertakings. We are called to be salt and light of the world in our schools, workplaces, communities, homes and our churches. Are we committed to doing this?
Yes, we need to do this if we are to grow and continue to be a vibrant society in the Catholic Church. Youth formation is therefore very critical to put us in the path of righteousness so that we may grow to become good adult Catholics and worthy sons and daughters of Ghana.
As Junior Knights and Ladies, I urge you all to feature the intents of the Strategic Plan of the Noble Order in your programs. It will help energize the Noble Order, it creates space for all Brothers and Sisters with specific skills and talents to participate in the development and forward march of the Noble Order, do not be left out, do not sit on the fence.
1.6 Our approach to the concept of Marshallan Leadership
- Servant Leadership
- Leadership by Example
- Humility in Service
- Deep knowledge of Scripture
- Committed to a life of Prayer
2.0 What we must do as Junior Knights and Ladies of Marshall
We need to uphold the standards of morality and ethics as in our code of conduct.
We need to work to instill discipline, respect, hard work, love for spiritual works and keeping our bodies holy since our bodies are the Temples of the living God. Indeed, Scripture tells us, we are Priests, Prophets and Kings. What does this mean to us?
Scripture tells us we are;
- Priests – Live in holiness and the sanctification of our souls
- Prophets – Speak the mind of God (Speak the truth under any circumstances)
- Kings – Service in humility (Servant leadership)
2.1 What will it involve?
- Training of our minds and developing good attitudes
- Working to achieve the goals of our lives
- Changing from undesirable habits
- Transforming our personalities
- Being more creative and innovative
- Improving our mental and physical well being
- Being confident and banishing fear and failure from our lives
Once we secure this, we will be happy, successful and prosperous.
3.0 Challenges of Leadership
- Leading friends and peers.
- Leading older and more experienced people.
- Leading younger and less experienced people.
- Leading a diverse group.
4.0 Leadership and the Importance of Working as Teams
Definition: A team is a small group of people typically less than twenty with complementary skills, committed to a common purpose and a set of specific performance goals and or objectives
Some of the benefits of working in teams include;
- Effective teams helps achieve both group and individual goals
- They are jointly accountable for the team’s results
- They are flexible and adoptable to changes in a competitive environment
- They set high performance standards, are committed and focused on results and impact
- Good teams enjoy the benefit of synergy
5.0 Challenges of our Youth
Some challenges that confront our youth of today include but not limited to;
- Drug abuse in schools
- Indecent dressing
- Abortion and contraception
- Pornographic films
- Sexual promiscuity
- Internet addiction
- Alcoholism and drunkenness
- Cyber crime i.e. 419 / Sakawa / Gameboys & Girls
- Same sex; homosexuality and lesbianism
- The challenge of Prosperity Gospel
As a youth leader, have you fallen victim to any of these before?
A word of encouragement from Carl Bard (a Scottish Theologian);
“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start now and make a brand new end or future” I urge you to watch over your passions that you may not be corrupted; the five senses (Sight, Smell, Touch, Taste and Hearing) are the windows to your body and have the power of corrupting your souls.
5.1 Overcoming our Challenges
The Word of God admonishes us in Luke 17: 1-3; “Things that make people fall into sin are bound to happen, but how terrible for the one who makes them happen…… so watch what we do”, because you will reap exactly what you sow
The Great Commission enjoins us to; “Go then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples; …… and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you and I will be with you always, to the end of the age” Matthew 28:19
You are Ambassadors of Christ, your lives therefore should be a sermon onto others. Be the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the world. “… your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your father in heaven” Matthew 5:13-16
Prayer power works wonder; In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he admonishes us to;
“….build up your strength in union with the Lord; ….. Put on the armour that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the devils evil tricks. For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly worlds……and cosmic powers of this dark age. So put on God’s armour now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy’s attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground” Ephesians 6:11-13
The keys to our success are in Prayer and Knowledge of Scripture.
“Be sure that the book of the Law is always read in your worship. Study it day and night, and make sure you obey everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” Joshua 1:8
As Leaders, endeavor to cultivate a God-centered personality
- In happy moments, praise God
- In difficult moments, seek God
- In quiet moments, worship God
- In painful moments, trust God
- In every moment, thank God
Above all, as leaders;
- Show maturity, calmness in crisis and be resilient in adversity
- Handle criticisms objectively
- Handle disappointments creatively
- Welcome change and see every problem as an opportunity
- Once you are faithful with little things, you will be entrusted with bigger things.
6.0 The price to pay as a Leader:
- Personal sacrifice for the service of the people entrusted to you
- Rejection for doing the right thing
- Criticism and misjudgment of your motives
- Pressure and perplexity of the work before you
- Mental and physical fatigue arising from assignments well executed
7.0 Some Pitfalls to avoid as a Leader;
- Inadequate planning
- Weak organizational capacity
- Ineffective leadership
- Lack of teamwork, consultation and consensus building
- Lack of knowledge of subject matter and confidence
- Managing your popularity
- Managing your pride
8.0 Why Leaders Sometimes Fail
- Indispensable
- Over confidence
- Poor listening skills
- Poor risk evaluation
- Poor information management
- Poor communication skills
- Taking things for granted
9.0 Cross Cutting Issues:
An admonition on new trends in modern day slavery, protecting our humanity and nature
- Migration (illegal or undocumented migration and ill effects in dehumanizing the human person), human beings that are made in the image of God and for a purpose.
- Human trafficking, Child Labor, Slavery, Sex trade and Organ harvesting
- Human ecology and the root causes of trafficking of human beings, what is our role?
{Gen 1: 26 and the exercise of responsibility over God’s creation. The least we can do is to keep our environment clean. Cleanliness is next to Godliness}.
- Conclusion:
I will like to conclude my presentation by doing a very quick recap of some of the personal leadership characteristics and or competencies we have learnt today;
- Problem solver
- Visionary
- Innovative and creative
- Good planner
- Risk taker
- Self discipline
- Information seeking
- Responsible
- Enthusiasm
- Self motivated
- Confident
- Independent thinker
- Opportunity seeking
- Networking skills
- Honesty and integrity
- Good communicator
- Efficient and effective
- Persistent
- Time consciousness
- Passion and energy
- Flexibility
As leaders, we must embrace responsibility. We must be honest and sincere, reliable and efficient, caring and loving, innovative and goal-oriented. As leaders, we are unifiers, we should have humility that enables us to endure, cultivate a spiritual reserve to be able to inspire others to follow, have passion for our goals and we would have served our offices well as Junior Knights and Ladies of Marshall.
My prayer for you; Heavenly Father, give us the insight to seek the purpose and meaning in our lives through you that we may attain the great goals that we feel burning in our hearts as Junior Marshallans, through Jesus Christ our Lord, AMEN
Thank you and God bless us all.