Stay True

People have different hobbies. Some have football, some music, some reading, some bungee jumping, I have observation of human behavior. I know you might want to argue that's not a hobby, but it's my hobby, not yours, so leave it alone.

So, today was the first official day of training. We met a number of staff members and we were taken around the facility for a tour. It was really nice and quite eye-opening. The best moment for me was when I saw a crocodile make easy meal of one average sized fish, it was amazing to watch as he try to take it all in at once. Trust me, I don't love or glorify the violence but I do love the wonders of the machinations and workings of nature and all its elements. So, it was about such keywords as predator, prey, survival, hunting, nature, fittest for me. I know that generally makes no sense, but again I'm not sure I intended for it to😂😂. The object of my article today is actually recognising authority and staying true to your conviction; killing two birds with one stone.

We have a committee that's organizing this whole training thing for us. At the helm is the chairman of the committee assisted by the vice chairperson. Recently, for reasons they would tell no one, they've been at loggerheads, but I ignored it because it ain't my business. Despite the fact that we are all housed at the same location, the institution does have two campuses and we were divided into two groups, one group to each campus. For the group going to the other campus, arrangements for transportation had to be made, but the arrangements made broke down due to certain factors and prevented that group, which I belong from going to our station today.

Being the responsibility of the committee (which has about twelve members) to provide transportation, the chairman called a meeting for them to find a way forward, so we don't waste another day. The vice chairperson wasn't liking the conclusion the committee was coming to, so she hatched a plot.

She called a meeting in the name of the committee without the consent of the chairman in his absence to basically rubbish him and make him look bad. Most people have told me I have a temper when pissed, so recently I just avoid anything that might lead to conflicting opinions, so that there's no room for possible conflict, but I couldn't take it today.

Over the years, I've had the privilege to serve in multiple position of authority, as a result, people have served under my authority and I've served under the authority of others, so it annoys me to see people who know nothing about power and authority, nor the handling going around, fooling themselves. Why would the vice chairperson, who's basically an assistant to the chairman go around his back to call a meeting of the whole class in the name of the committee, hence his office without consulting with him?!

I was livid at the propaganda which the meeting was meant to achieve, but what set me off was the circumventing of and disregard for the authority of the office of the chairman. It's natural that everybody in authority is also under authority, so while you exercise you authority, you have to also submit to every authority you're under. This is what lit me up and I exploded. I had to storm off the meeting as I considered it completely illegitimate and whatever conclusion would have been made there would be invalid to me.

If you're not humble enough to acknowledge those above you, you have no right to exercise authority over those under you. Everyone was trying to rub it over for the sake of 'peace', not me cos the truth will always be true whether it is sweet or not, whether we like it or not. I was convinced in the wrongness of her disregard and circumvention of authority and i made that clear in the strongest possible term. I stayed true to my conviction, regardless of what others wanted.

Conclusion

It's a prerequisite for someone who wants and occupies a place of authority to recognize that he or she is also under authority, no matter how big he or she is. Every authority on the earth is also under another authority. The acceptance of this knowledge is one of the attributes of a good leader. Secondly, it's also important that when you're convinced about a thing, you stay true to it, even if you are alone in your conviction. What matters most is you know your conviction is true. The fact that you're alone doesn't make you wrong, neither does the numbers on the other side make them right.

Thanks for reading