Leadership Stories of MOTHER HEN

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Contents

About the Author................................................................vTrue Leaders....................................................................ixForeword........................................................................xiQuotations......................................................................xiiiDedication......................................................................xvPrologue........................................................................xviiChapter One: The Crowing........................................................1Chapter Two: Mother Hen With Destructive Leadership Traits......................6Chapter Three: Mother Hen With Negligent Leadership Traits......................21Chapter Four: Mother Hen With Responsible Leadership Traits.....................35Chapter Five: When Mother Hens Clash............................................61Chapter Six: When Mother Hens Cooperate.........................................87Notes...........................................................................105Bibliography....................................................................107

Chapter One

Koo koo ru kuu, Koo koo ru kuu, Koo koo ru kuu, koooo,

It is a typical dawn, as the village rooster crows with a persistence that awakens the stillness of the night. Joined by other roosters in the neighboring compounds, their collective chorus escorts the night sky into a speedy retreat.

The crowing unsettles the lingering darkness, as its echoes resonate through the late night, in a happy anticipation of an approaching dawn. The musical notes in the roosters' crows tell the world that a new day is born. They request that all living things shake off slumber and arise to welcome the opportunities of another day.

Even little children in bed react, by returning from their night journeys to the land of sweet sleep and pleasant dreams, as they gladly awaken to the realities of earthly living. It would appear from all this that the roosters' crows represent nature's alarm clock for people to arise and celebrate life in its fullness.

As Chidi King rolled in bed, half asleep and half awake in response to the unrelenting crowing, he finally got up to say his early morning prayers. He was always surprised by the regularity of the crowing, which came at about 4:30 every morning. He had often wondered if inside the little bellies of the birds existed alarm clocks, which made them crow with such punctuality. It was truly amazing that the crowing always came on time, never earlier or later.

In his childhood fantasy, Chidi believed that inside every chicken was an alarm clock. To him, this clock must be similar to the one in his uncle's bedroom. But, as he wondered about how such a clock could have entered into the chicken's stomach, it did not take him long to figure out the answer. It was an answer that arose out of the curious mind of an innocent little boy.

Indeed, Chidi had reasoned as a child that the way mothers end up with babies in their wombs, during pregnancy, was from eating lots of food and drinking lots of water. This led him to believe that the entrance of the alarm clock, into the stomach of the chicken, was by the means of eating and drinking. And since he knew chickens to be great eaters, he was sure that their tummies were loaded with alarm clocks. To him, it was this that maintained the promptness of their crowing.

On further reflection, Chidi came to believe that the crowing at dawn was indeed a wake-up call for the children. It was also possible that it represented the chicken's own early morning praise, to celebrate the beauty of life and to give thanks for the promises of another day.

The crowing always came loud and clear from his mother's poultry within their compound. The poultry was not anything large or fanciful. Rather, it was a contraption made from rough wood and wire mesh held together in a framework, which displayed everything that was crude in carpentry. But there was still something inherently elegant about it. It was both simple and practical. And to his mother, that was all that was necessary.

Like a stretched out canvass, the wire mesh was anchored to the wooden frame to provide the necessary enclosure, which housed the chickens. It allowed for the proper ventilation of the chicken's cage. Also, the mesh made it possible for people to see through the cage as well as see everything inside it. There was provision for a water container and a food bowl. The roosters had their compartment, while the rest of the space was reserved for the mother hens, their chicks and a special room where eggs were laid to hatch.

It was Chidi's duty to open the cage in the morning to let the chickens out. He also cleared their droppings, refilled the water and food containers as well as closed the cage's door at dusk, after they returned for the day. His close contact with the hens in particular exposed him to a better understanding of the complex behavior of the chicken. Chidi King had a curious mind, which allowed him to learn much while he cared for the chickens in his mother's little poultry.

This was particularly true with what he observed to be the different attitudes of the mother hen to her chicks. The lessons that Chidi learnt have remained permanently fixed in his mind. These include new insight into different leadership behaviors of mother hens; especially as they related to their eggs and chicks. Chidi observed three broad types of these leadership traits, which he summed up as follows:

• Mother hen that lays and devours her eggs i.e., she breaks open the eggs and drinks their contents like a carnivore.

• Mother hen that lays her eggs, incubates them to hatch, then abandons the young chicks to the hazards of life.

• Mother hen that lays her eggs, incubates them to hatch, then provides motherly care to see that the chicks grow into successful adults.

As Chidi King grew up, was educated, traveled across the world and interacted with people of different backgrounds, he came to recognize the many similarities between human behavior and that of mother hen's. He received special insight into many problems faced by mankind as a result of leadership failures. And, as he learnt with the chicken,he also saw how the role of leadership within families, schools, work places, nations etc, affects the quality of lives of the individual and society.

Mankind, it would seem, also displayed the same leadership traits as mother hen. It soon became obvious to Chidi King that there were indeed similarities between the leadership roles of the mother hen, which he learnt as a child, and what he found to be the human experience as he grew up. He realized that if one could shed more light on the character and impact of mother hen's leadership qualities, one might be able to draw some lessons to contribute towards a more positive human society.

It was common to hear talk of rebellious children, corruption, terrorism, frightening levels of sexual abuse, failing educational standards, high levels of unemployment and faithlessness in the sociopolitical system. To Chidi King, it was possible that these societal ills were results of failed leadership, which needed to be understood and addressed if mankind ever intends to have a better world.

Having noticed the three major leadership traits of mother hen, Chidi was...