In an exclusive interview with Kenyans.co.ke, Centum Investment CEO James Mworia opened up on his close relationship with his boss, billionaire entrepreneur Chris Kirubi, and the inspiration he has drawn from him.
Mworia, who mentioned Kirubi as one of his mentors, stated that they had worked together over a span of 18 years, where he had acquired a couple of qualities from him.
"As a young professional, two things I picked from him were confidence and being a purveyor of solutions. For him, you do not take a problem, you take solutions. I am glad I picked up that early on," Mworia stated.
He went ahead and disclosed that he had tried implementing some of the valuable lessons that he had learnt from his various mentors when leading the company.
"They have influenced some of the golden rules I started a while back which include; being positive, escalating a solution rather than a problem and thinking big," he continued.
The CEO also listed some of the qualities a great leader should possess.
"A leader should have clarity of direction, lead by example and be able to inspire others to follow a particular course of action.
"Leadership is about giving people hope, giving people clarity of the direction that is being taken and giving people confidence to achieve their set goals, keeping them focused on the goal rather than the obstacles on the way."
He added that effective leaders were those who are able to move their employees from one point to another in their careers.
Further, the CEO disclosed that being successful meant achieving set objectives in all spheres of life including health, personal happiness and having an impact in the community.
"Sometimes, it is easy to assume that just because you are doing well in business, you are successful but you might be the most lonely and most unhappy person.
He concluded by citing that there was a correlation between success and general happiness.
"For me, the definition of success is that all-roundedness and the positive impact you are having with the people who interact with the work of your hands. The sort of spirit you leave people you interact with, is it one that encourages them or discourages them?" he posed.
