The management and staff of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) and private waste management company Zoomlion Ghana Limited have been charged to guard against complacency within the working space and in life.

Motivational speaker and senior pastor of the Daystar Christian Centre, Reverend Dr Samuel Adeyemi, gave the caution during a webinar, as the guest speaker at the 2022 Jospong Leadership Conference (JLC) under the theme: "Sustaining Business Gains Through Operational Excellence" on Wednesday, 19 January 2022.

In a presentation titled: “Overcoming the Snare of Complacency”, he said every organisation, especially the successful ones, should learn to deal with complacency.   

According to him, complacency, which connotes a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, was very dangerous, pointing out that it numbs people’s sensitivity to hazards.

He said a lot of factors tend to breed complacency, which results in failure, adding that under such circumstances, "only the paranoid survive".

Dangers of complacency 

“Complacency is the last hurdle standing between any team and its potential greatness, be it personal, organisational, national, or cultural,” he emphasised.

Continuing, the Nigerian-based international conference speaker on leadership, said in complacent cultures, leaders and teams believe there is no room for improvement, hence, “in worse cases, leaders think their business is already the best.”

He went on to state that complacency puts people on “autopilot" and, therefore, becomes "immune to innovation,” noting that it also “blurs our vision so we fail to recognise new opportunities.”

“It reduces efforts, leading to shortcuts and increasing risks of accidents causing massive failure and destroying progress,” he warned.

Against this backdrop, Dr Adeyemi advised workers against going to spaces where they will be comfortable, indicating that “until the world is perfect and all organisational, national and world problems are solved, the Jospong Group has to continue working.”

Signs of complacency

Among the symptoms of complacency are when one is not sensitive and up-to-date with changes in the organisation or industry, not giving off one’s best or going the extra mile and being afraid to voice out opinions, he mentioned.

He, therefore, likened complacency to rust out, explaining that “Rust out is actually scarier than burnout because while burnout can wear down your body, rust out can wipe out your entire soul and spirit.”

Being ethical 

Earlier, the Provost of Ashesi University, Prof. Angela Owusu-Ansah, in a presentation titled: "Guide to Ethical Leadership", urged the participants to be ethical in their dealings and not succumb to acts that corrupt.

2022 JLC

The 2022 JLC opened on Monday, 17 January 2022, at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College.

This year’s conference, the ninth of such annual conferences, is being held both in-person and virtually at 58 centres with over 2,000 participants across the nation for management staff of the Jospong Group and Zoomlion.

The conference, which will last for five days, is dubbed, “Sustaining Business Gains through Operational Excellence”.