By Prof. Chiwuike Uba, Ph.D.
I was startled, or rather inspired, as I listened to Myles Monroe’s message around 1 a.m. The video was very short, yet incredibly deep, insightful, and impactful. His words forced me to pause and reflect on life, leadership, and the condition of our society. Monroe’s message is simple but shakes you to the core: do not ever confuse a manager with a leader.
A manager maintains what exists. A leader changes everything. A manager protects tradition. A leader challenges it. A manager asks, “How much will it cost?” while a leader asks, “Is this the right thing to do?” One obsesses over procedures; the other dreams about possibilities. One keeps the ship afloat; the other charts a course into uncharted waters.
This difference explains why some families thrive while others remain stuck. In some homes, the father or mother manages routines, bills, and schedules with military precision. But no one leads with vision, courage, or fresh ideas. The family survives, sure… but it’s not exactly winning any ‘Most Thriving Household’ awards.
In churches, the same pattern appears. A managing pastor preserves systems, calendars, and programmes like a librarian guarding dusty books. Nothing truly grows. A leading pastor charts new spiritual territories, empowers people, and expands influence. One maintains the past. The other creates the future.
Workplaces tell the same story. A managing boss cares only about processes, spending, and probably your lunch schedule too. A leader sees possibilities, innovation, and the horizon. Teams led by managers may be efficient. Teams led by leaders become transformative.
Even in relationships, the distinction is obvious. A managing partner keeps the relationship functioning. A leading partner makes it flourish through empathy, growth, intentional communication, and vision for the future. One ensures the lights are on. The other asks, “Are we building something worth keeping?”
Communities without leadership remain trapped in a repetitive loop. No progress. No reinvention. No transformation. Just the same old debates, complaints, and occasional town hall selfies.
And then there is politics, especially in nations like Nigeria. Monroe’s words hit painfully close to home. Our national tragedy is not simply the absence of leaders or managers. It is the presence of wolves. People who neither keep the rules like responsible managers nor innovate like true leaders. They destroy institutions instead of maintaining them. They drain resources instead of expanding them. They silence vision instead of creating it. But they excel at making noise, grandstanding, and taking selfies.
Managers protect systems. Leaders build futures. Wolves devour both.
This is why Nigeria has neither sustained what worked nor created what is needed. Policies are ignored. Institutions are weakened. Traditions are twisted. Innovation is resisted. The result is a nation floating without management and sinking without leadership.
Yet Monroe’s message leaves room for hope. Nations rise when genuine leaders appear. Leaders create, inspire, break limits, restore order, and build what others will later manage.
Families rise when a leader emerges. Churches rise when a leader steps up. Workplaces rise when vision replaces fear. Communities rise when someone stops maintaining the past and starts imagining the future.
And nations rise when real leaders, not wolves, take charge.
The call is clear. Stop confusing titles for leadership, positions for impact, or charisma for character. Nigeria, and every part of our lives, needs fewer managers, fewer wolves, and far more true leaders. Leaders who change everything, create new paths, and do the right thing, not just things the right way. God is with us!