Last modified: Sunday, November 4, 2007 2:04 AM PST Be a leader — don’t let your group drink dirty water By Vincent Muli Wa Kituku Are the people you lead “drinking ‘social’ dirty water?” There is an Akamba, Kenya, proverb that says, “Syaasya ndongoi, inyusaa muuluu.” This wise saying means when a herd of cattle lacks a leader, it ends up drinking dirty water. This saying is based on an observation, in which the last herd to get to the water source finds the water has been made dirty by the ones that arrived before it. All things kept the same for different groups, the ultimate outcome of success or failure largely depends on the effectiveness of a group’s leader. With a visionary, involved and inspiring leader, success is not a matter of chance. One of my childhood responsibilities was tending to our family livestock. We had a steer named Masikau that was trained by my grandfather to lead the herd to grazing areas. That steer led the rest, at noon, to the water source, and in the evening it led them home. My job was to follow the last cow or goat — Masikau did the leading. When that steer died, grazing became chaotic. We had to have two people, one leading the column of steers, cows and goats to the water source and one at the end. However, it was years later that I learned the importance of a leader with elephants. The most vulnerable herd of elephants is the one without a leader. Once a leader is poached, the rest become disillusioned, even in an environment they have called their home for years. In whatever situation you lead, whether as a CEO, manager, parent, preacher or teacher, know that you directly impact the outcome of your entity’s success or failure. Understanding the power of dreams, believing in others and getting people to love and be involved as partners for success are key aspects for effective leadership. Take the case of Taft Elementary School in Boise. The school has a little more than 300 students, and it qualifies for Title I (when about 50 percent of the students are in the discounted lunch program). This school has about 70 percent to 80 percent in the discounted lunch program. In general terms, that is an indicator of low income population. Yet, that school’s successful academic performance has challenged conventional wisdom, year after year. It was the only Title I school in the Boise School District to pass the recent Idaho Reading Indicator Test. The score was 88 percent, the second highest in the district following Highland Elementary School, which has less or about 10 percent of the students in the discounted lunch program. Taft has been selected as the school of choice by parents living as far away as Nampa, Eagle and Meridian taking advantage of the open enrollment policy. About 107 students come from outside the school boundaries. These spectacular results are the works of a visionary leader. Dr. Susan Williamson became the principal in the late 1990s. We met when she invited me to speak to the students on the importance of hard work, making the right choices, staying away from drugs, having dreams and never letting the lack of material possessions to limit oneself. But Dr. Williamson’s vision was to involve parents in their children’s learning. “Our goal is to have 100 percent of parents involved in our students’ success,” she said. That is a tough goal. She continued by saying, “At times we would go to their homes if they couldn’t come to school for teacher-parent conference. There was a time when one parent who worked as a car salesman couldn’t take time off from work and we had to go visit him at his workplace.” The school has established programs for parents and students to work together, activities such as pottery, environmental club, reading night, mathematics night, you name it. Parental involvement in a child’s growth is known as one of the fundamental factors for determining success. Dr. Susan Williamson and the staff of Taft Elementary School have refused to allow the school they lead from “drinking the dirty water” of poor performance. The following are questions to ask as a leader: • Do you have a vision for your organization? • Do others know that vision with the clarity that inspires them to act? • Do you communicate to motivate or to threaten? • Have you taken a moment to establish what success means to you? • Are you involving others as co-partners in your quest for success? • How do you manage change? • Are you providing opportunities for others to grow? Leadership means different things to different people. But when people see success, they know, there was an effective leader in-charge of making success a reality. Don’t let your organization drink dirty water. Dr. Vincent Muli Wa Kituku is an author, motivational speaker, storyteller and seminar leader. He can be contacted at P.O. Box 7152, Boise, ID 83707, (208) 376-8724.