Educational qualifications Vs effectiveness – by Emeka Oparah

One of the sad aspects of our education system (Nigeria’s) is that some of the products are half-baked and mostly unemployable. The sadder part is that we have a culture that puts educational qualifications over and above skills and competence. So, you can imagine the calamitous circumstance of spiraling unemployment figures even as we churn out thousands of graduates.

Beyond skills, there’s the tougher issue of effectiveness, which depends mostly on attitude. There’s a disgusting fallacy of over-reliance on degrees or qualifications or certificates. It reminds me of a silly joke by Russel Peters, the Canadian-Indian Comedian about men with big dicks. According to him, most of them cannot satisfy a woman because of their mindset which revels in their size rather than performance! They think they can just show up for sex!!! Similarly, there are many people with extremely good degrees (qualifications) from extremely good schools, yet they are under-performers or underachievers.

Like talent, certificates or qualifications are not enough. That you made a First Class or came top of your class or you studied in Harvard is not a Magna Carta for excellence in execution, which, really, is where the rubber hits the asphalt. According to John Maxwell in the book “Talent is not enough”:

-More than 50% of all CEOs of Fortune 500 companies had C or C-averages in college.

-65% of all U.S. senators came from the bottom half of their school classes.

-75% of U.S. presidents were in the Lower-Half

Club in school

-More than 50% of millionaire entrepreneurs never finished college!

He goes on to say there’s an erroneous belief that “the most effective and influential people would have been the most talented” (and I add, or most educated), but it is oft not so. While neither I nor Maxwell is preaching against good education or excellent qualifications and certifications, I put it to you that it goes beyond all those and boils down to effectiveness. And that, my good friend, is driven most of the time, if not all the time, by attitude.

In one of my many (prized) moments with the late Mr. Gamaliel Onosode, he told me how they (meaning the leadership of a particular blue-chip organization) settled for a young Nigerian as CEO, at a time they were trying to Nigerianize the leadership. According to him, out of the four of them who were hired at the same time as Management Trainees, this chap was the most effective. He not only delivered on every task he was given and every promise he made, he took every opportunity that was thrown at him-more and better than his “classmates”. It was, therefore, not difficult, Onosode enthused, to appoint him CEO after having assured themselves he possessed other equally crucial leadership attributes including (and especially integrity).

So, at the end of the day, career or business advancement is down to how effective you are in getting the job done-and done very well-and not just educational qualifications. You must develop the attitude of EFFECTIVENESS. That is what will take you to the very next level, and next and next until you get to where you’re going. A friend told me about a Harvard MBA who speaks too much grammar but a sorry apology for his alma mater. He can’t do nothing! It’s not by Harvard, dude!

Personally, I’m not carried away by sentiments (grammar, nice suits and dresses, greetings, Christmas and Birthday cards, gifts (Hennessy) and such like). If you work with me and you do not meet your deadlines, you become my enemy. You must deliver on your promise(s), your targets, which we have both agreed. Then, we can be good friends. Then, we can hang out. Then, we can party and laugh and have fun. As my direct report, your performance or lack of it reflects directly on my records.

In this day and age of bonus payments, if your team does not perform to set targets, your bonus is in jeopardy. And indeed, in everything, even the guy gifted with a big dick, if he doesn’t perform effectively, it’s game over. He won’t get another chance. And failure is not a good option in that business or any other business for that matter, you know.

Take a moment and reflect on what you have read. Ignore the salacious point about the big dick; it was meant to distract you. Think about the things that distract you and make you ineffective. Then, avoid them…and you can sit back and enjoy your results and the resultant success.

Have a wonderful week!

*Emeka is Director of Corporate Communication and CSR, Airtel Nigeria. He wrote from Lagos