Years ago, I found myself at the tail end of a traffic jam in the middle of Singida while driving from Dar es Salaam to Butiama. A section of the road was under repair, and at a narrow diversion, a truck had sunk deep into the mud – blocking more than fifty vehicles on both sides. For hours, drivers and passengers tried in vain to free it, until a small convoy carrying a senior army commander arrived from the opposite direction. Within thirty minutes, a handful of junior officers cleared the road for their commander, allowing everyone else to proceed. I was struck by how swiftly they achieved what dozens of civilians could not.
Perhaps civilians are simply more inclined to obey soldiers than one another; after all, soldiers issue orders, not suggestions. Yet after reading “The Habit of Excellence: Why British Army Leadership Works”, by Lieutenant Colonel Langley Sharp, I now think there was more to it. What I witnessed was not just discipline or authority – it was leadership in action: the ability to make others follow, guided by a clear focus on achieving results.
Sharp offers other valuable lessons on leadership that apply far beyond the military. I will mention three. First, is that leadership is built on purpose and values. Successful leadership is based on a clear sense of what has to be achieved and on shared values – a mutual understanding of what is acceptable and what is not. A leader who successfully transmits to all why the team exists discovers it unnecessary to regularly provide orders or issue incentives.
Second, leaders have to learn to trust and empower those they lead rather than exert control over them. Delegation of authority to subordinates in the army allows juniors to make decisions under pressure and builds their confidence. Furthermore, the multidisciplinary environment of leadership demands that leaders entrust subordinates with tasks that they alone cannot handle. This trust allows others to act throughout the team without hesitation.
Third, just as Mwalimu Nyerere reminded us “education is a lifelong process”, Sharp says that leaders must improve themselves continuously both by extensive reading and adapting to the changing experiences of their responsibilities. Learning is strengthened by asking a few questions at the conclusion of the execution of each plan: What happened? What went right? What went wrong? Why? What can I learn from this? Leadership excellence is not a one-time achievement but a habit grounded on humility. That Singida experience now feels symbolic: Soldiers cleared more than a road – they demonstrated focused teamwork. Sharp’s insights reveal that progress, in any setting, depends less on command than on initiative.
