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Anyone Can Be A Leader - Finney Ongole

Writer's picture: Aidah NabunjoAidah Nabunjo

Whereas most people believe that leaders are born with the leadership trait, Leadership Facilitator Finney Ongole believes that anyone can be a leader.


During an interview with RX Radio’s Crystal Newman on The Groove Cafe, Ongole said that leaders are made by circumstance and depending on their expertise, it can result in a leader with relevant training.


“There are a lot of leadership theories out there including the trait and circumstance theories. But I think functional theory is what is missing because it blends both the traits and circumstances that when combined, we can conclude that leaders are both born and made meaning that everyone can learn leadership,” he said.


The challenge he said arises with many leaders that are not learning making them inefficient in their positions. “So we have this arrival syndrome, where a person gets a position and that's it. But you know a position can't define you, you define the position. At the end, leaders need to know that titles come and go but the legacies they leave is what remains.”


He further said that leadership has to do with influencing and creating an impact on others’ lives even in marriages and at work places.


His interest in self-development stemmed from his childhood in a very unexpected manner. “As a child, many people wondered how I acquired the name ‘Finney’ and the meaning behind it. When I asked my father, he introduced me to literature written by a preacher with the name Finney. That foundation backed a trajectory of interest in knowledge and even though my interest was not in leadership at the time, I found a lot of principles therein that spoke to my life.”


Over the years, Ongole interacted with a lot of people but his major transformation happened when he found himself with a mentor. “When you are paired with a mentor, we don't get to make their mistakes because we can make ours and avoid theirs,” he said.


He added how reading greatly transformed his life, making him contemplate how it would affect people in institutions and organizations.

During the 2020 lockdown, the leadership facilitator started up Truth Tours, a YouTube channel which he uses to mentor youth in leadership and in the art of public speaking.


The Groove Cafe with Crystal Newman airs every Weekday from 4-5pm on RX Radio.


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