Lonehill: How Bumbling Leadership BURSTS The Balloon

This post contains my honest feedback on the Wed. 31st Oct. LRA Feedback meeting:

Well... it certainly didn't take too long for Oregon Hoskins and SARU to pop the high-flying balloon that was carrying almost an entire nation along on a wave of national pride and euphoria.

In one fell swoop Hoskins and SARU succeeded in turning us from the 2007 World Rugby Cup CHAMPIONS to the laughing stock of the world.

Oh yes... LEADERSHIP is very powerful indeed..!

If the cancer of EGOship (as opposed to leadership) wasn't so obvious I might be called the most prescient of prophets for my statement last week: 'Didn't Oregon Hoskins give the impression of being the archetypal autocratic CEO with his nose almost permanently out-of-joint at the mounting successes of his front-line champion? One gets the constant impression that the long knives are just itching to be plunged into the back of this irritatingly successful champion of the people.'

And who do they blame?

Why... Jake White, of course!

I mean, can't you see... he didn't run the right lines to win the World Cup. Skande.

Look... he broke his 'Luke Watson' shackles when he saw the line... and just went for the win. What sort of example is that to set to South Africans?

And look at what he's done now... the entire nation loves him... they are lining the streets in every shape and colour to honour their national heroes... there's a new pride in the streets... new 10-year to 15-year-old Habana's and Pietersen's have been fired up to pull that World Cup Springbok jersey over their heads in 2015 and 2019... and people have new hope for our 2010 World Cup Soccer activities... the whole national community is uplifted.

So what does EGOship do? They do exactly what that masterful and most vilified autocratic bumbling CEO of SARU - Louis Luyt - did in 1995 did to kill an entire nation's spirit for many years to come... SARU then burst the bubble of euphoria that came from being 1995 World Cup Rugby Champions!

It seems that to most leaders, history is there to be repeated... not to be learnt from.

So now here's the question. Who will be blamed for the nation's rugby apathy to come... the spectator who decides not to pitch at the stadium... or rugby's leaders who killed the spectator's enthusiasm for the game?

It is so clear to me... there are really only two types of leadership... INSPIRING Leadership or uninspiring leadership.

The one builds community, the other doesn't.

Ooooh... sorry... you wanted my feedback from Wednesday night's LRA feedback session!

Sadly... one word... uninspiring!

Whilst I respect what the current LRA structure are doing as volunteers, and have complimented them on restoring some really simple management structure to refloat a ship about to beach once again, I still see zero incentive or encouragement for a 'Jake White' to emerge to take this community to the 'World Class' status that I, and others of like-mind, would like to see for it.

Everybody has differing perceptions, and what became clear to me from leadership's attitude at Wednesday's feedback meeting is that there seems to be a warm glow of self-satisfaction on the part of current leadership that everything is running completely according to their plan as they see it.

I must admit to having had difficulty in following the logic of their available time priorities (for critical marketing of the LRA and signing in of more contributors) being taken up by time-consuming planning of small community events (with their obvious laudable charitable objectives)... and then announcing that they were focusing on a 'bigger' carols by candle-light event.

Maybe I just missed how this 'bigger' small event is going to stimulate the future inflow of needed financial contributions to significantly improve the Lonehill Community Initiative. I scratch my head at the order of priorities.

Now, if our current LRA standards are to be the worst that we will have to live with... then so be it. It could be, and has been, worse!

However, if I am to be honest, I see very little change in key critical numbers having happened over the past four years... I cannot find a dynamic goal designed to inspire a community to greater heights, and I sense that the bulk of the required paying spectators (contributors) are therefore not overly inspired to pitch in or pitch up to participate in the LRA game.

Because I credit this current leadership team with the intelligence and savvy to have sifted out the fact from the fiction of our previous LRA mangement debacle over the past eighteen months, I am extremely disappointed to hear the comments I heard indicating that they have not (sadly, with the same personalised politicking being employed to play one resident off against another without the slated being present - that's just cheap), and to see a levelling off of potential for progress indicative of following a path to the typical boom-bust cycles of most mediocre residents associations.

Just not the type of legacy I expected of such a great initiative when we launched it back in 2000.

The inspired dream and passion of a CHAMPION with a vision - a focused professional - a Jake White - is still missing..!

Oh, how I wish for the quality of community leadership that says... 'Jake, here's our objective. We want to win our 'World Cup'. We want you to build the team to do it. Can you do it? Here's our blessing. Do whatever it takes with openness, honesty and integrity... and we and our entire community will celebrate your rewards that come from achieving a WIN-WIN for everybody'.

Leadership can do that overnight..! But will they..?

Let me know if your phone rings Jake... ;-)

Just don't hold your breath. I'm not.

Common sense is a rarity.

Count me as disappointed.

Regards
Trevor Nel - Lonehill Resident
011 - 705-2790