By WALE AKINYEMI

More by this Author

One glaring gap that exists today is between regulators and the regulated. I have a friend called Sylvia who visits different places every week taking pictures and posting them online. She is not doing this because she has nothing better to do. She is doing it because she is passionate about it. This is her full time job. Through this, she's been able to give herself and her daughter a beautiful life. She has travelled the world and is polished and knowledgeable.

When I was younger, I was a passionate musician, travelling from campus to campus playing one-man keyboard gigs. I was making so much money that I dropped out of university to pursue it.

My parents, however, would have none of that. Everyone was sent to talk sense into my head. I guess I couldn't take the pressure, or maybe my vision was not compelling enough, because I ended up going back to university to complete my degree in Demography and Social Statistics. This has indeed served me well but I can only wonder what my life would have been if I had followed the music path.

My parents were supportive of my music as a hobby but never as a career.

I believe that a generation in Africa missed a massive opportunity because of such mindsets. That generation could have created our own global platforms that could have created new things and introduced the world to a whole new level of thinking.

But because we were under the authority of people who could not see beyond hobbies, we were never allowed to push through and allow our creativity to find full expression.

Leading a new generation

The new generation today doesn't have that stumbling block.

We can see the effect of the entertainment industry on Nigerias GDP, with Nollywood generating over a million jobs and up to a billion dollars annually.

A huge problem arises when people raised in one generation try to impose their mindset and beliefs on the next generation without understanding the mindset of the new generation. Why do they do the things they do? Why do they think the way they do?

If you're not able to understand this, it will be difficult to lead a new generation because they are wired differently.

My son came to me many years ago asking to take a semester break to focus on his business, which incidentally is a music production and DJ service.

It reminded me of myself over 30 years ago. I remember the hell I went through for leaving school to pursue music.

I knew that even if I objected, he probably would still find a way to run his business and when he succeeds, he would one day give a speech and say something like, "I want to thank God for this opportunity. I want to thank my fans and supporters. And even though my dad did not support me when I wanted to step out, here we are today."

I could just picture everyone clapping for him and wondering how such a good guy could have such an evil father. I did not want to go down in history as that dad so we struck a deal -- he assured me that after the semester break he would go back to complete his programme. The issue was not the degree but to finish what he started.

Fast forward many years later. He has now become a brand and in his circles, he is not the son of Wale. He is his own person. When I show up in his circles my claim to fame is that I am his dad.

We must be careful as leaders not to impose the mindset of our training or past into our workplaces. This is why leaders should ensure they are constantly developing and updating themselves.

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