- Oigara said leadership is not about self.
- He believes leadership is about being impactful to society.
Image: HANDOUT
Stanbic Bank Chief Executive Joshua Oigara has explained what it means to be a leader of an institution.
Oigara said what makes a CEO is the impact they have on society.
He said impact determines whether a CEO will leave a trail or will be forgotten.
"The Chief Executive role is not an end by itself. If there is something I can tell young people if you have not impacted another person, if you have not added an extra mile to another person then you haven't led," he said.
"If leadership is about self, about acquiring things, about having the best car in town, then I think that is not leadership."
He noted that looking at global leaders, no one even knows what car Microsoft CEO Bill Gates drives.
Oigara said at the end of the day it does not matter the type of car the CEOs drive.
He said Gates is a true leader because, through his philanthropy, Microsoft and malaria fighting programs, he has greatly impacted society.
"That is true leadership. If impacting people is the ambition and the dream, then it is quite easy to become a Chief Executive," he said.
"If the role is just to become a CEO for the sake of it, then at the end of the day it will happen but there is no impact. And those kinds of CEOs never leave a trail, they never leave a mark. That is why we all still remember Bob Collymore to date," he said.
Oigara said he had always wanted to be a CEO from a young age though he didn't exactly know for which type of institution.
He said he knew his ambition was to enable progress and to create an impact on the lives of others.
Oigara said he is working to leave an impact at Stanbic Bank. He said he thinks about how he will strengthen businesses and grow possibilities for his staff.
"How do we get our customers to progress? How do you build a country through activities for the economy to grow? That is really what roles do. It is not about the job," Oigara said.
He said when one pursues excellence, here is no end to it; It is a journey.