But also to be led by a spine-less fellow is still a factor! True or false?

Tried and tested leadership is worth to be talked about!

A piece perhaps to capture the moments vividly, it is writ by Cde Rudolph Phala in ANC Bulletin where he paints a picture about a Sotho Idiom which says “Tloga tloga, e tloga kgale-modisi wa dikgomo o tswa natso sakeng”, loosely translated ‘even amongst the cattle, there is a leader...and these castle won’t go out of the kraal, if they are leader-less, leadership is nurtured at an earliest convenience’.

Same apply with workplaces? Yes!

On the other hand, many 'young' people sometimes lacks the 'revolutionary radar' on why Shop Stewards are important at the workplace...in many instances, some resign along the way, in certain instances, realizing that there is 'no money'!

And such ‘shortemism’ defeats the essence of being a 'leadership'-may be loosely or be unpacked as ‘leader of the ship’; [leader-ship] of the working class in general and workers in particular...and that's where the problem arose...Any ship with no leader, it will sink and the voyage may collapse before reaching the shores..

In any organization, there are producers, managers and leaders, but the latter role is critical to realize the 'collectiveness' of workers...in many instances, young workers think they can represent themselves!

Perhaps, the following ‘proved’ traits of being a Leader as a Shop Steward, may be enlightening to many of [us], who are still life-long learners and/or who aspire to be ‘organic intellectuals’;

• By being friendly and easy to talk to
• By being confident and courageous to fight for and on behalf of others,
• By having a listening ear to the members,
• By being able to agree to disagree and accept opinions with respect,
• By encouraging debates amongst all members,
• By showing due regard to gender sensitivities,
• By developing and nurturing team work and collective responsibility of Union activities,
• By encouraging the shielding quality of unions at the workplace,
• By being emphatic and respect personal stories when shared with you or a collective, and Respecting the Constitution of the Union.

However,targetting people because they are not 'smart' in your view,with subjective grounds to cripple their leadership is tantamount to 'jealousy',pure enemy of the working class.Leaders must be 'supported' to grow and leaders must be 'ready' to be 'brewed'!

Union ‘essence’ and ‘sense’ will never be sold in supermarkets….It is about doing things rights and learning the right traits of being a ‘real’ Leader and allowing to be led….good leaders are grounded in the masses and Mao has always reiterated that ‘mistakes are not in the interests of the masses’.

A Leader, who commits and/or re-commits same mistakes, will never be forgiven by history! Because we always quote their ‘un-sound’ sound-bites and/or their lack of decisiveness during times of need…

A Trade Union Shop Steward must embrace personal self-cultivation and collective self-cultivation to reengineer the importance of ‘our heritage; Trade Union and all its glamour-representing members at the shop-floor!

This festival of ideas must continue infinetely!

Article Source:www.skills-universe.com

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