By Dr. John Steytler
Not too long ago, I wrote an article about ‘losing the game but winning the match.’ The article received much positive feedback, especially about my willingness to engage on the topic of not always winning. I had written the piece in my personal capacity. I found it interesting when people asked me how this attitude impacts me as the CEO of the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN).
As CEO, your task is to navigate the organization through challenges and obstacles to achieve the goals, mission and vision. At the same time, you must be an exemplary leader to your employees at all levels and understand your public role in your function. It would make you think twice about taking on this responsibility. One surefire way to fail in a position as a CEO is to think you cannot make any mistakes. As we teach our children, we all make mistakes, The important thing is to learn from them. Something I strive to do, though it can be challenging. Sometimes we are just too stubborn or set in our ways but learn we must.
If we take a ‘big picture’ view of things and examine the idea of ‘success.’ We realize that achieving your goals and success is harder than people think. Otherwise, everyone would be successful, every nation would have a booming economy, and the Olympics would look very different. Success is borne of failure, perseverance, flexibility, and a vision. It is like walking through a maze; there is a starting point, and you know the way to success is there somewhere, but getting there is not a straight line.
Over the years, I have had many instances where I believed we were on the right track as an organization, and if we just forged ahead, we would find success, only to be met with a dead end. This is not the moment to give up; just like in a maze, you know the path to success, or the ‘exit’ is there; you just need to take a different turn and try again. The secret to this is to be agile enough as an organization and to instill flexibility in your people so that you can change direction without ever losing sight of the end goal. You can bang your head against a brick wall and even try to move through it, but it makes more sense to circle back and take a different approach.
Some people reading this may be surprised that I am so open about mistakes and failures, but it is essential to acknowledge them and learn from them. Continuing down the wrong path can be financially catastrophic, especially in a financial institution like DBN. I do not believe acknowledging your mistakes is a sign of weakness; a sign of weakness would be to continue doing the same way. My colleagues and staff are smart, if they see their CEO making the same mistake repeatedly without trying to adapt the roadmap, they will start questioning my leadership. Soon, they will stop following you. I certainly would.
Finding your way out of the maze is possible; that is where success and the exit lie. You must have enough self-belief not to quit at the first dead-end and know that you will have to be flexible enough to adapt your plans. The same goes for achieving real and long-term success.
Dr. John Steytler is the CEO of the Development Bank of Namibia