By 
The Igbo apprenticeship model is, in many quarters, judged to be the biggest business incubator in the world. Its humongous success over the years positions it as a viable model to adopt. The model provides a lot of business success lessons that executives can glean from. For starters, the Igbo apprenticeship model is a system practiced in southeast Nigeria by the Igbo tribe. It’s an arrangement where a person (in most cases, an unemployed youth) agrees to serve under a particular business owner for a stipulated period, and at the expiration of the time, the business owner will "settle “him. “Settle†is a term used by the operators of the system to mean the master sets up the same line of business for the apprentice. This model has drawn a lot of recognition from respected organizations including Harvard Business School. Many believe that the Igbo apprenticeship system has produced more billionaire founders than any other single business model globally, making it a big attraction to experts and business enthusiasts.
One of the areas in which the system outclasses other models is in the area of employee motivation. Unlike others, the Igbo apprenticeship system rarely suffers from the problem of unmotivated staff. This is simply because nothing motivates a stakeholder like the hope of financial freedom the Igbo model gives to the employees.
It’s a given that one of the biggest challenges facing executives is how to build and sustain a motivated workforce. In an attempt to solve this problem, managers use the promise of higher compensation as a bet to lure their people into greater productivity. By their estimation, the hope of receiving a bigger salary package is enough incentive to increase employee performance. Instead of a promise of greater financial security in the form of a salary raise, the Igbo apprenticeship model places the hope of the employee in financial freedom. The sense that you, as an employee, will someday be funded by the business you are employed in to become your own boss as a reward for long-term excellence and commitment brings unrivaled inspiration to commit more, be of the best behavior, and be open to learning and accountability. It bestows on the employee a natural willingness to scale all the hurdles and give the very best to his job in order not to self-sabotage his future. Anything that affects the business negatively would automatically be treated by him as part of his problems. You can imagine the benefits of such a disposition for a business.
Here are two leadership lessons the Igbo apprenticeship model can teach you.
A bigger salary is not enough.
Most organizations rely on a higher salary to compete for talent and retain them. The question is, how much salary is enough? Salary alone, regardless of size, often leaves employees unfulfilled and wanting more. This is because expenditure always rises to match income. What seemed enough yesterday suddenly becomes insufficient. Simply put, the motivation that comes from higher salaries is temporary. It doesn’t provide lasting motivation to power sustainable performance and commitment to best practices. When salary is perceived as too little, especially compared to effort or company earnings, motivation wanes, the vibe that the employees are being exploited sets in, and discouragement results. Believing that they slave their lives away to build wealth for another man may undermine any effort toward retraining great talents. This is because the grass will always look greener on the other side to the employees, and they will keep craving access to the lush land. At the sight of any promising beckons, they dump the previous organization for the extra cash. It is hard to build a meaningful business when you have employees who are constantly looking out of the window for a better life. Business leaders should borrow a leaf from the Igbo apprenticeship system and expand the reward for performance and excellent and faithful service to include stock options. Stock options can be considered a form of financial freedom because they make the employee a part of business. This increases his sense of ownership, and the appetite for greater commitment and openness to self improvement becomes a natural outcome. The business becomes an interest they want to personally protect, and continually give their best to the success of it.
Trust is the currency of success.
It takes a huge amount of trust to commit and sustain the commitment to serve another person for a long period based on a mere promise of settlement, as is widely practiced in the Igbo apprenticeship model. It also takes a whole lot of trust to accommodate another person, most of the time a total stranger, on the promise of serving your business. Once the agreement is sealed, the business owner must be willing to accept the obligation to pour all his experiences and business success secrets into someone else who will someday become his competitor. Without a strong dose of trust and a sense of security, such an arrangement cannot succeed . A lot is at stake for the business owner especially ; if he takes in the wrong guy, his business pays a huge price. But he knows he needs to take such risks to take his business to the next level. He is aware that his chance of success depends on how much he trains and sharpens the apprentice’s business skills, and he commits to it in full swing. Most leaders struggle with the idea of investing heavily in employee development because of trust issues. They are constrained by the fear of losing them to a competitor after their huge investment in training them. One of the many lessons that can be drawn from the Igbo apprenticeship model is that trust is inevitable in business. You must take a risk on someone if you want to significantly succeed in business. You should not be consumed by the fear of losing a talent instead, occupy your mind with the incredible gains and opportunities that come with having highly skilled staff. A knowledgeable staff is a strong competitive advantage. If you relate to them and reward them according to the new level of knowledge you helped them acquire, they will likely stay with you, but if you insist on your old remuneration arrangement simply because you sponsored them, they will leave for a competitor that recognizes their current value and is ready to pay them their worth.
Finally, the above two lessons from the Igbo apprenticeship model, if judiciously adopted, have the potential to revolutionize your business, placing it on the path of exponential growth and dominance.
