Introduction
Bishop Gideon Titi-Ofei: Pastor Mensa Otabil is the Founder and General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church, ICGC, with its extensive network of churches across Ghana, Africa, Europe, and the United States.
He is the Chancellor of Ghana’s premier private university, Central University. He chairs a number of boards and provides oversight to organizations in diverse industries.
Pastor Otabil has pioneered a number of life-changing social interventions in the areas of health care, education, sports, and the provision of social amenities and scholarships for hundreds of underprivileged children over the years.
He presents the inspirational broadcasts Living Word on radio and television networks across Ghana, as well as in parts of Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.
He is the author of several books and publications, including Beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia and The Dominion Mandate.
Pastor Otabil and his wife Joy live in Accra, Ghana, and are parents to four adult children and grandchildren.
Interview:
Bishop Gideon Titi-Ofei: Pastor Otabil, what qualities would you say are essential for identifying someone who has the potential to become a great leader?
Dr. Mensa Otabil: The leader is great by itself, but normally when we would say somebody is a great leader, we would think that the person has transcended ordinary leadership and is providing leadership that is significant and transgenerational, a leadership that is enduring.
A great leader would be somebody who has functioned individually as a leader, but has had impact beyond the time and place where they functioned and continue to be influential for generations after them.
Bishop Gideon Titi-Ofei: How would you describe or identify someone who will eventually move on to become a great leader?
Dr. Mensa Otabil: Great leaders, because they are transgenerational, we identify them years after, most of the time after their time, because their impact, their influence, their investment, their value appreciates over time. So it’s very difficult to determine that this is a great leader at this moment when they are alive, because life can be quite unpredictable.
I remember when Jim Collins wrote the book Good to Great and cited companies that he thought were great because they had survived and done well for 25 or more years. And then, in the 2008 financial meltdown in the US, quite a number of those companies went down. So determining somebody is great is quite difficult.
Normally we would say that 50 years after their active investment or participation in leadership, they continue to be valued. Then you would say they are great, and most of the time it’s after they are dead.
Bishop Gideon Titi-Ofei: So, are you saying 50 years after you have departed, we will see your impact?
Dr. Mensa Otabil: Yes, it means that the person who has the intention to be a great leader must be very conscious of the choices they are making now that would outlive them.
You identify them because the person is not only present-minded but also future-minded, and is not only thinking about making an impact whilst they are alive, but that their impact would not be minimized, rubbished, or scrapped after they are not on the scene.
Bishop Gideon Titi-Ofei: Do you think it’s fair to measure the greatness of a leader after several years of their departure, instead of measuring that leadership while the person is alive?
Dr. Mensa Otabil: It’s difficult because you can make a mistake today that will totally undermine everything you’ve done. You can actually destroy a 40-year investment in one day. One of my role models, Billy Graham, used to say he couldn’t write his autobiography early because he might make a terrible mistake. He wrote it at 75 and retired 10 years later.
So the fact that you can totally destroy what you have created makes it difficult for people to call an individual living at a time as great, because the assessment takes place over a long period.
Bishop Gideon Titi-Ofei: So this brings us to the question about sustainable leadership. What are the keys to sustainable leadership?
Dr. Mensa Otabil: I think everybody must have a very sober view of their place in history. You don’t go through life thinking, “I’m going to be great.” That kind of hubris itself can undermine your leadership. People who want to have sustained leadership, enduring leadership, must be self-aware, must be aware of their place, strengths, and weaknesses, and must be very conscious of their actions.
They make quality choices that help them to survive over time because they have a futuristic view of life and know that some actions taken today will bear fruit probably 20, 30, 40 years down the line.
Bishop Gideon Titi-Ofei: Within the African context, how difficult is it to envision the future and stay focused on attaining that desired future image?
Dr. Mensa Otabil: The word vision is used a lot, but our vision of the future is usually based on our understanding of the past. Life is a continuum. The African society is a deeply traditional society, rooted in the past and prides itself on keeping the past.
So when we see the past reenacted, we feel a sense of pride. Because much of our determination is to keep the past as it was, it is difficult to envision a future that is different from the past.
Bishop Gideon Titi-Ofei: A large percentage of the population in Africa are young people. How can we provide leadership and bring hope to young people in Africa?
Dr. Mensa Otabil: It’s always difficult to satisfy young people. When I was young, I didn’t understand adults, and I don’t think adults could have done anything to give me hope. Generally, if we build a society where things seem to be working, you would assume young people would be happy. But young people are always against what adults are doing because they are looking for self-determination.
Even if you are running things well, they are against it. That is not to say we shouldn’t run our countries better. It takes time for young people to grow and appreciate the nuances of life and the difficulties of choices that are available to adults.
Bishop Gideon Titi-Ofei: People look up to the church a lot for leadership. Do you think the church has responded well?
Dr. Mensa Otabil: In some countries, people are not looking up to the church for solutions. But in our country, people look up to the church because it is one of the few institutions which seem to know what it is doing. Because it is doing church well, we expect them to build factories and solve all societal problems.
It’s more a reflection of the failure of other segments of society rather than the failure of the church. The church cannot be anything else but church.
Bishop Gideon Titi-Ofei: What drives the ambition and success of people who leave their comfort zones, go elsewhere, start over, yet emerge successful?
Dr. Mensa Otabil: At the skill level, Ghanaians are as competent as any group of people anywhere in any field. A Ghanaian who barely passed his exams here would go to another country and top his class.
Our footballers, like Michael Essien and Sule Muntari, started with nothing here but succeeded abroad because of their skill. The missing link is that we produce the skill but don’t produce the environment for the skill to function in.
Bishop Gideon Titi-Ofei: In addition to skill, what are the key things needed to succeed?
Dr. Mensa Otabil: Ghanaians become very independent quite early in life because of the hustle. By the time you’re 12, you’re making important life decisions. Even our secondary school boarding system helps people become independent early. We build quality independence but then undermine it because we haven’t created the facilitation for a university graduate to rent a place and eventually buy a house.
There are structural issues that do not encourage people to grow and excel. If I’m self-led, but the system does not help me, I go back to square one. We have to think of the continuation and create situations where a young person can start life without having to pay an arm and a leg to rent a place.
Conclusion
Bishop Titi Offei: Thank you, Pastor Otabil, for sharing your insights and wisdom on leadership, vision, and the role of the church in society.
What lessons have you learnt from this interview? Share with us.
Inspiring Net 