adminleadership, veneration warrants me to crown him with a laurel wreath; to pay homage as he counts down to his well-deserved retirement.
As I do so, I am profoundly mindful of the counsel given by a guru who presaged, “Speak not at all, in any wise, till you have somewhat to speak, care not for the reward of your speaking, but simply and with undivided mind for the truth you are speaking.”
I therefore resolve not to gild the lily or to embroider the dust cloth, but to speak plain truth — lapidary of a luminary in whose shadows I was privileged to shelter. Although I do not qualify to untie his sandals or to hold his jacket, the propitious whiff of wisdom I inhaled from him necessitates me to publicly wave him goodbye.
Affectionately known simply as Joe, humility is his trademark.
He is down to earth. He can be bypassed for an altar boy. Yet, beneath his modesty resides the wholesome brain of a strategist, a think-tank.
He is endowed with thought, resilience and reserve power. He is capable of seeing the end result from the beginning with pinpoint exactitude.
He is able to hold on and does not lose his grid reference amid a maze. Many a times the business environment becomes smoggy, yet he has this unique ability of remaining focused and steadfast. He yields not; his graft and grit does not succumb.
Human nature will not find a helper any better than love, said Socrates. In Joe I experienced innermost love for humanity. He is a man who truly believes that there is good inherent in each and every person.
A firm believer in teamwork, I for one learnt from him the virtue of collective responsibility and accountability. We achieve more collectively than singularly.
Associating with him unlocks and stimulates the mind. Identifying potential, developing human faculties to their optimal and deploying them to their most resourceful and productive locations is to him as natural as breathing.
His amiability and approachability opened more doors for many, myself included, which education alone could not have opened.
Yet, silhouetted in his easy-go-nature is his bravery. It is said that the most conspicuous sign of bravery and greatness is noticeable in a king who does not merchandise his potency.
Joe never flexes his muscles, nor welds his axe, yet he never shies away from decision-making. If “surgery” was the best remedy, Joe, with scalpel in hand would resolutely usher you to the theatre.
His faculty of acute and accurate observation is generously imparted to all who dare to learn from him, a living library.
Observing him using this faculty, it became apparent to me that it is a faculty so vital that no man or woman aspiring to influence and lead can neglect to cultivate.
I offer no prize for correctly guessing that I burnt the midnight candle to master it.
Any farmer worth his salt will tell you that rain that falls fast and thick does the crop no good as it inevitably flows equally fast and thick to the creeks.
True to this analogy, Joe’s leadership style is not exercised in thundering torrents, but in light drizzles. He communicates to be understood, never shouts to be feared; earning heed and respect from across the rank and file.
Cool, calm and collected, his tamed temper, coupled with his innocent intentions, make beauty and harmony attractive, knowledge a delight and wit, good-natured. The adage
which says that the only ones among the human species who will find eternal bliss are those who sought and found how to graciously serve fellow humans certainly includes Joe.
He serves with diligence, withering many storms and vicissitudes.
The early years of independence when he joined Delta as an executive in the making had their own challenges, so as the stop-go intervals and the most recent era of shortages and price controls when he was at the apex. Whichever way one may assess it, Joe is a genius who stood the test through the managerial crucible.
Those of us who never missed the opportunity to pluck out with tweeters witty insights from him are forever grateful, if not indebted.
Among the most treasured moments of my career is the era I ran corporate social responsibility programmes under his direct control. It was an honour to hear his heartbeat and attempt to decipher his thought processes.
Love him or loath him, Joe’s career and his contribution to the national economy is the very staff that thesis for advanced university degrees can be extracted from. His intellectual power to transform subordinates to new ways of thinking and his emotional appeal to transport them to new ways of acting, are traits that deservedly earn him a seat on the table of legends.
His is a remarkable feat.
For three decades the dust of Delta Corporation never departed from the soles of his shoes, yet he never haughtily marched out of step.
He conducts his affairs with equanimity. He feels with his heart. He listens with his heart. He sees with his heart. He is equable. Gentlemen rarely manifest any gentler than the awe-inspiring Joe, a role model of transcendent spirit.
His delicate balancing of nerve and verve is hard to replicate. No wonder his conceptual skills are always up to the point and his ingenuity in business contrivances neither falter or slumber.
A humble man who never blows his own trumpet, Joe’s strength is his finesse interaction and man-management skills. It is little wonder that under his tutelage, Delta
Corporation has been perpetually as lucrative as a garden in its summer finery.
I wish him a long, restful and happy retirement. By the same breath, I wish his heir apparent, Pearson Gowero, well.
Joe will most assuredly answer in the affirmative to the question “Will you be happy with what you are doing today when it comes back to you tomorrow?” He can afford to look at the man in the mirror in the eyes and smile back.
He can afford to take a sunset stroll. He can afford to slow down, seat back and relax.
- Cyprian Muketiwa Ndawana, email [email protected] is Chief Executive Officer of Muketiwa Motivational Speaking Bureau [Pvt] Ltd, a motivational speaking and public speaking coaching company.
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