PROVISO Spp.

A 'proviso' can simply be reffered to as a condition or stipulation in a statement. It is more or less a condition which must be satisfied before a statement or anything of that sort can effectively work. It is a popular legal term and held in very high esteem.

I am borrowing 'proviso' here to mean, 'unless something is done, a result would not be achieved.' In this sense, i am appealing to the hearts and minds of rising, up and coming or future leaders. What i bring to the table are suggestions or conditions that ought to be fulfilled before one may become an effective leader.

Firstly, as a rising leader you'll need to have humility. You will need to learn how to serve, how to take orders and perform them to the best of your abilities. The chances of humble servants becoming very successful leaders have been verified by history to be very high. Many religious books including the Holy Bible prescribe this kind of attitude; for example, David, who became King of Israel after years of diligently caring for his family's few sheep. Humility to one's superiors, colleagues and even juniors go a long way to shape a successful leader. This is mainly because, once you become a leader you are conversant with the experiences of your followers or subordinates and you do everything possible to make them work wholeheartedly because you've been in their shoes before.

Secondly, you'll need to associate strategically. This means placing yourself in 'opportunity-prone zones.' These may include community keep fit clubs, study groups or even old school associations. You may need assistance from any of them to get to the top. There are many instances when people are given preferential treatment in Supermarkets, Banks and Business deals just because of belonging to a particular association. Usually, you'll need to surround yourself with like-minded people who share your ideas and aspirations. These people must challenge your creativity and criticise you constructively. Strategic associations may also mean getting useful inputs into your life by your affiliates, so that if any of the friends or groups you spend your valuable time with do not add value to your life in anyway, you find nice ways to do away with them. This is a very important pre-requisite(proviso) if you'll have to be a leader one day.

One more Proviso(condition) you'll need to consider as a rising leader is to test before you commit. You'll have to conduct your own assessment of the viability of a project before you embark on it no matter how juicy the fruits of the results may be or how easy its seems to accomplish. Experience has shown that men stumble on stones, not mountains, so you need not underestimate any task. Period!

Now, the above conditions are just a few of what emerging leaders in this world need to know at very young ages. They apply to every vocation or profession; teaching, medicine,politics, law or business. It is however very important to note that after successfully getting into your dream leadership position, you need to impact the world positively. Bear in mind, you need to retire with a good name and a clean sheet. Men are usually remembered for the problems they created or the solutions they brought.