By; BUHARI B BELLO, Jos
The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division and Commander Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), Major General Abdulsalami Bagudu Ibrahim has tasked troops of 3 Division to mentor their subordinates towards emulating professional conducts in the Nigerian Army.
He gave the charge during a sensitization lectures on Mentoring of Young Soldiers and Emotional Intelligence held at Headquarters 3 Division Auditorium, Maxwell Khobe Cantonment, Jos, recently.
While urging commanders at all levels to always train and mentor their subordinates, General Ibrahim said good leaders are those who are sensitive to the plight of their subordinates.
He stressed that knowledge of emotional intelligence promotes team work and professional conduct required to succeed during military operations.
This he said, is in line with the Chief of Army Staff’s vision of having, “A Professional Nigerian Army Ready to Accomplish Assigned Mission Within a Joint Environment in the Defence of Nigeria.”
He encouraged Senior Non Commissioned Officers to show interest in the career development and welfare of young soldiers deployed to their units.
Delivering his lecture on Mentoring of Young Soldiers, the guest speaker from Army Headquarters, Brigadier General Oladele Arogundade described mentoring as a process of developmental or professional relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person in aspects relevant to work and career development or life in general.
“The purpose of mentorship is to discover hidden potentials and aid future deployments and improve professionalism of troops,” he averred.
General Arogundade maintained that mentorship develops values and holistic wellbeing, assist in raising highly skilled and professional soldiers, develop potentials as well as breakdown silo mentality and enhances the transfer of institutional knowledge.
To be a good mentor, he said a person must posses good listening skills, be honest, willing to share and impact knowledge and to motivate others.
Speaking on emotional intelligence, the guest speaker noted that it is the ability to recognize and understand emotions in oneself and others and, the ability to use the awareness to manage ones behaviors and relationship.
He revealed that there is existence of a strong relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership.
The guest speaker identified self awareness, self regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills as the basic components leaders must strive to build and improve on in their relationship with subordinates.
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