It was an enthralling session at the National Press Centre, Abuja, on Wednesday August 24 when participants at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Deaf Women Association of Nigeria (DWAN) gathered for a top-notch lecture on leadership capacity building and personal development.
The training, a strategic initiative, was aimed at enhancing the leadership capacities and personal development of Deaf women.
Certified world-class public speaking/personal development coach, Dr. Teresa Ekaete Nwachukwu was on hand to deliver an incisive talk on the subjects of Leadership, leadership dynamics and Personal Development.
The dynamic speaker distilled the subject to its most basic essentials in a manner that left her audience with a renewed drive to be better versions of themselves.
Dr. Nwachukwu began with a concise definition of what leadership is. Her words: “Leadership is inspiring others to follow. It is influencing others”.
She set the tone for a healthy understanding of leadership dynamics and personal development using the DAC leadership model DAC is acronym for Direction, Alignment and Commitment.
Dr. Nwachukwu zeroed in on ”self leadership” as the foundation of all great leadership. Self leadership, by her definition means “setting the course for one’s own life and finding the motivation to succeed”.
According to her: “to be a good leader, you must first learn to lead yourself well“. In other words, you can’t lead others until you can lead yourself.
She listed core areas of self leadership to include: self discovery, self awareness, self mastery, self talk, self direction, self development, etc.
Weaving her talk around the DAC leadership model, the leadership expert reiterated the imperatives of having personal goals (Direction), identifying and aligning with the right people and things needed to reach those goals (Alignment), as well as staying committed and focused amidst obstacles (commitment).
Participants were made to understand that personal growth and capacity building come at a price and they must be willing to pay the price in currencies of endurance, adaptability, persistence and consistency.
Other subtopics covered in the comprehensive talk included the place and importance of having values to self-guide, regularly engaging in self assessment and watching out for evidences of self leadership.
Dr. Nwachukwu concluded with a charge to the Deaf women to drop all excuses (disability, no education, poor background, etc) for a lack of self leadership/personal development and make themselves more valuable.
The session was highly interactive with the audience actively involved through comments, questions and answers.