By WALE AKINYEMI

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So many people have been bound and contained by the fear of the regulators -- parental regulators, professional or even government regulatory bodies. But no one gives permission beyond their understanding.

Where there is no understanding, there will be fear; where there is fear, there will be containment and stagnation. As such, the pursuit of understanding becomes one of the most crucial functions for the leaders and regulators.

I remember an experience I had many years ago. I was speaking to some young people but they were all on their phones. This annoyed and frustrated me but I held my tongue to the end.

After the talk, a number of them walked over to thank me and ask questions. As I began to answer, they all brought out their phones. They were taking notes on their phones.

What I had misunderstood to be lack of interest was actually a high level of attentiveness because they were capturing everything I said on their phones. What if I had told them to put away their phones?

Many leaders have lost relevance because they lack understanding, and in their state of sincere ignorance, clamp down on the very things that would have made them shine. Sincere ignorance will cost you.

Suitable environment

If you want to be a great leader, create room for the geniuses around you to find expression.

Steve Jobs once said that we don’t hire intelligent people to tell them what to do; we hire them so that they can tell us what to do. This leads to one problem -- how many of us have created the environment where younger less experienced people can tell us what we are missing or what to do?

Author Malcolm Gladwell in The Outliers talks about a time the Korean Airlines was the worst carrier in the world. It had a track record of crashes. Today it is one of the best and most respected airlines globally.

How did it change? Through a simple process that culminated in changing the official language of the airline from Korean to English.

I can identify with this because my native language, Yoruba, is so respectful that there things we can never say to older, more experienced people or to authority figures.

For example, we use the plural to refer to an authority figure. Instead of saying, “He said, we should do this,” we say, “They said we should do this.”

Because of that, it becomes difficult to correct or instruct an authority figure.

I have a team that makes me look intelligent in public. I learned this from Winston Churchill. He was once asked the key to his success and he said it was because he surrounded himself with people who are more intelligent than him.

As a leader, it is imperative that you try to stay updated and improve your skills. If you’re clueless, create the space for the geniuses around you to find expression. Let them shine and in their shining, you will shine.

Kudos to the leaders and regulators who have created the space for the geniuses around them to shine.

Wale Akinyemi is the chief transformation officer at PowerTalks and convenor of the Street University (www.thestreetuniversity.com)