The Chancellor and Chairman, Board of Regents of Covenant University, Dr David Oyedepo has highlighted the importance a blend of determination, dedication, discipline and sacrifice in the making of a successful leader in any endeavour in life.

Dr Oyedepo, delivering a paper titled ‘Dynamic of Leadership: From Bottom up Module,’ said there is no substitute to sacrifice in the attempt for one to become a star. According to him, “There is no substitute to commitment in our quest for accomplishment, and the art of living is validated by contribution, as contribution is the principal evidence of life.”

Dr Oyedepo, who made the presentation at a joint session of the ongoing Executive Advance for faculty and staff of Covenant University and Landmark University, said outstanding leaders are not those with barrage of titles, but those whose impacts constitute footprints on the sand of time. He noted that the real worth of a leader is in the value he adds, the contributions he makes, the feats he accomplishes and the impacts he engenders.

In his words, “Leadership is not just about leading a people; it’s about taking the lead in a given task. Leaders are readers, and every committed reader is a potential leader. Leaders are learners, and every committed learner is a potential leader. Leadership is all about taking the lead, setting the pace and blazing the trail in one’s field,” he posited.

He stated that anybody can become a leader if they are willing to fulfil the demands of leadership, that hard work, which is the pathway to emerging highflyers in life. According to him, “Hard work never wears people out, it is wrong work that does.”

The University Chancellor said nothing works in life without someone at work, and because there is nothing in doing nothing, the leadership potentials inherent in one will never find expression beyond the quality of one’s engagement. He reiterated that each one’s leadership potentials will never have expression beyond the quality of one’s investment in engaging that potential, and work, he posited, is a catalyst for stirring up the leadership potentials.

Dr Oyedepo identified four platforms to engage, in developing the leadership potentials in each one. These include, self-management, time, task and resource management, which according to him are the greatest assets that can help any individual emerge more productive in their various assignment.

According to him, poor management is one major reason behind the poverty of the poor, as leading a lifestyle that is void of budgeting is simply investing in wasteful living. “Poor management is the reason for the misfortune of many. Whatever is not well managed is sure to be damaged. When one is not committed to good sound financial management, he suffers financial embarrassment,” he stated.

Dr Oyedepo submitted that sacrifice is a universal demand for the leadership potential in us to find expression. According to him, to access the topmost place in one’s field, we must be willing to pay the topmost price, as no one can ever get out of life more than he is willing to put into it.

He concluded by reiterating the need to embrace dedication and commitment to one’s assignment and task, as there is no substitute to commitment in the quest for accomplishment. “The art of living is validated by contribution, and contribution is the principal evidence of life,” he added.

The Chancellor’s presentation was part of the 2021/2022 Executive Advance for faculty and staff of both institutions.