By A. Abeku Haywood-Dadzie

Ever since Sir Isaac Newton published his laws on motion in 1687, these laws have continued to regulate not only the scientific community but "the world at large". The laws of motion have been used to demystify the operations of many physical objects, as well as explain many sociocultural and political activities within our ecosystem. 

For instance, according to Newton’s third law of motion, "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction," meaning that whenever two objects interact, they exert equal and opposite forces on each other. Newton's by this law established the relationship between cause and effect and the fact that for every interaction, there is a pair of forces acting on the two interacting objects; "one in which a certain event (the cause) makes another event happen (the effect)". This law on motion by Sir Isaac Newton can be used to explain leadership. 

Sulaimon Olanrewaju, in her article "Cause and Effect in Leadership," said, "that nothing happens for nothing; everything happens for a reason." Nothing happens without a cause; every effect is a product of a cause, and every cause is a precursor of an effect. All in all, "Leadership is cause, everything else is effect."

On the sixteenth of November 2021, "The Bridge" reported that the Serbian national team had beaten its Portuguese counterpart, captained by the great Cristiano Ronaldo, in their own backyard in Lisbon by a score of 2-1. According to the online portal, "Before flying to Lisbon for the match, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic entered the plane which the players and the coaching staff had boarded and promised a million euro bonus for a successful result."

The offer from the Serbian President was very simple; overcome the odds in Portugal, beat Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portuguese team for a bonus of a million euros. The players accomplished the task, and President Aleksandar Vucic honoured his promise. But what happened next was the icing on the cake. The players of the Serbian national team decided to donate money "to those who need them more—sick children for their treatment." That is to say, the money went back to the government.

Leadership is all about influence; "that is the capacity to have an effect on the character, attitude, or behaviour of someone or something". And, according to John Quincy Adams, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader." Leadership is not in a title; it’s not only about ability; it's about responsibility. What separates excellent leaders from the pack is their ability at the spur of the moment to fuel and maintain at optimum capacity the adrenaline of the people they lead with the right motivation; be it intrinsic or extrinsic, and the history of this world is dotted with such leaders. They were men and women who saw the determination of their people and applied the right motivation so their people could surmount any obstacle.

My definition of leadership will be the art and science of motivating a group of people to overcome their anxieties and achieve their dreams. The ability to transition and transmogrify a group of people from a state of "fear-to-faith-to-fulfill". When this trait is exhibited well and the leader’s "work is done and the aim fulfilled," to borrow the words of Lao Tzu, "the people will say we did it ourselves."

The Croatian president, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, exhibited a similar leadership trait during the FIFA World Cup 2018. She travelled to Russia on a chartered flight along with several Croatian football fans, sat among the fans at the various stands where Croatia played, was always dressed in the national colours [Croatian jersey], joined the Croatian national team in "their dressing" room, and showed the players love even though they did not win.

The French won the World Cup 2018 in grand style, but fans from all over were in awe not only of the Croatian president but also of the national team, the gallant losers. Nobody can question their right to be in the final and the respect they have earned for themselves. The Croatian team taught the world two lessons that will linger on long after the World Cup, just as the Serbian team has done. They taught us leadership and teamwork; how to subordinate our individual interests and harmonise our contributions and work towards a common goal.

In my little corner, I have come to realise that the return on investment when it comes to leadership is in perpetuity.