Personality is an asset: Lessons from Kalisto’s script

Last Thursday, the Central Equatoria State Governor, Emmanuel Adil Anthony, relieved the mayor of Juba City Council, Kaliso Lado, of his duties and replaced him with Allah Jabu Lado two days later.

Mr Lado, who served only for eight months in the mayor’s office, was able to implement fundamental development projects that tremendously changed Juba City. However, Kalisto did not do this alone as a person; it was the efforts of his deputies and the entire team of the Juba City Council that enabled him to make such a big achievement within such a short period.

The team showed a good spirit of cooperation among them and the residents of Juba expect the newly appointed mayor to be more cooperative and active than even his predecessor, Kalisto.

The residents of Juba are yearning for development. This has been manifested in the positive reception of Kalisto’s work after the people felt the good taste of the rapid development and restructuring of Juba in the last eight months. There has been great improvement in the city, which everybody wants the new mayor and his team to continue. These include the plans on how to uphold the mission of the Juba City Council.

It would be misleading to assert that the former Juba mayor was blameless. Of course, he had his fair share of spots. His desire to reclaim the stolen road reserves through demolitions pitted him against small-scale traders who forage for their daily bread by the roadside.

As much as he was doing a noble job for the public good, his approach was always seen as inhumane by his critics, who believed that those evicted should have been provided with alternative places for business.

Lessons derived

Leaders always come and go, but institutions remain to continue serving people through the new leaders that will always come. An institution does not change, but any institution cannot perform well if it lacks a good personality. Our personalities play a great role in shaping the institution.

For instance, Juba City Council has had several mayors since its establishment. However, the experience from their service has shown us that the personality of a leader can make a weak institution very strong and vice versa.

As a leader, it is important to ask yourself, what are you known for? How do you want people to remember you? Wherever you go as a leader, you must ensure that you leave behind your trademark. You should make sure that your unique energy and skills for doing work are seen, heard, and felt by all those you serve.

One of the greatest writers of motivation and success, Napoleon Hill, in his book titled “The Law of Success,” says your personality is your greatest asset. It embraces everything you control: your mind, your body, and your soul.

Mr. Hill said that if you plan on accomplishing anything above mediocrity in life, you will need the cooperation and assistance of others along your journey. He said to get the help you need in reaching your goals, you must become the kind of person others want to be around. So, for the new mayor to achieve his goal, he needs to be the kind of person that his team wants to be around.

Therefore, as a leader, your personality is your trademark, and it can be shaped so that it serves as an asset instead of a liability.