Is this Ubuntu or Emotional Intelligence?

 

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

I recently wrote a journal paper on how to integrate strategy and culture for transformative change. I wanted to discuss the socialisation of change as a core component of sustainable institutional change. While the overall paper argues for the collaboration of strategy and culture as pillars of change what I found surprising is that recent developments in emotional intelligence (EI) map squarely onto the age old principles of Ubuntu distilled over millennia...

Ubuntu and EI are equivalent. They are only different in perspective. They are both social intelligences based on African perspective of community and Western perspectives of individualism. To operate in the Western world you need EI, to relate in in Africa you need Ubuntu. Take a close look at the five  principles of EI and Ubuntu as presented by Goldman, 2000 and Mbigi, 1997 and you see striking reflection of individualism against  

Self awareness <=> Dignity

Self regulation <=> Respect

Self motivation <=> Survival

Empathy <=> Compassion

Effective relationships <=> Solidarity

It is fairly clear that EI is essentially "self" centred while Ubuntu is "other" centred. At some point I thought it was necessary to  "scientify" African leadership theory for it to make sense in the global context, but now I am convinced that it may be more practical to codify African leadership theory so that (modern) science can understand it. It is really a question of perspective. There are many indigenous knowledges Africa can teach the world that do not need scientific proof to be valid. 

Allan Bukusi

the Young and the Old

 The Young speak as if they will never get Old. The Old speak as if they had never been Young.

Research; why we do what we do

 

Why we do what we do, why we think the way we think and much more.... In his book, Roots, Alex Haley, descendant of human beings shipped to America to be slaves, researched his roots and traces his ancestry from the USA back to Africa. The book created “aha” moments for millions of Americans. It triggered an identity search, and gave them an identity, a culture, confidence, a sense of pride and hope. It helped explain to the world who black Americans are, and why they think the way they think. It authenticated their claims to life, liberty, affirmative action and black consciousness. It explained, “who we are” and, “why we do what we do..” 

At the heart of every perspective are roots that are not immediately obvious and appear biased until we interrogate them and understand where they, the roots, are coming from. Only then are we free to deal. Only then are we liberated by the, “ aha” moment that helps us understand ourselves and others to understand us. Only then are we free to move forward together with confidence because we know who we are. 

This is the essence of all research, innovation and invention. The book crested an “aha” moment that liberated all of us, black, white, yellow and green. It has allowed us to be who we are and who were made to be and releases us to move forward as humanity liberated in spirit, mind and body. Liberating the soul of a trapped spirit, but also giving avenues to expression of the spirit defining who we are and what we can do and become; human beings who exist in time. No, ours is not just mere existence. In us is the power of gods. The power of God expressed in the unfolding spirit of humanity. In other words, not just human, but human who are and beings. Research is the science of discovery, the art of expression and the theology of origin of all human study to find his roots, his bearings and his future. To do so is to find oneself in the mighty struggle to find out who we are.

Allan

Plant a seed of Leadership at home

 

As we concluded our tour of Bombululu, my friend took a seed of an exotic tree to plant in his home country. I was a little surprised because there did not appear to be anything special or magnificent about the tree that was variously scattered around this part of the world. Many other types of trees receive better attention and are much more attractive than the long withering bush my professor friend was wildly excited about. He told me that a seedling of the local tress was priced ten times higher in his own country for its presumably medicinal and soil conservation value or perhaps its "exotic" prowess.  

That got me thinking. What if leadership was that disheveled tree? Disrespected, battered and shunted aside! Whose value was essentially unknown and really not that impressive, but rather ridiculous in appearance?! However, the more powerful point of instruction from the professors’ seed class was his act of courage and responsibility to ensure that the seed got home and would never be lost! Someday the tree would also be ubiquitous in his country – playing its silent role in the shadows of the forest of humanity – so that leadership should not perish from the earth. I often worry about how many leadership forests are growing around Africa, but maybe I should be more concerned about how many seeds are being planted. Many years ago in my graduate class, another professor told me he had visited 29 of Africa’s 54 countries! I was disheartened, because I thought I could never hope match his travel log on the continent. But the second professor tells me all I need is to plant a seed. At the last count, I had planted maybe forty.  Plant a seed of leadership at home or just where you are. You never know how far the seed will travel in time. 

Ubuntu: Generational Speak

 

I have been quiet for a season and perhaps I need to awaken the spirit. I bring you news from Mombasa on the east coast of Africa. It has been a heart warming visit with greetings from twelve African nations; Benin, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Malawi, Togo, Mali, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Zambia. A great convocation arranged and brought together by AWARD. Together we revisited the spirit of Ubuntu; an ethos of African identity deeper than the colour of your skin. We could feel as one. "I am because we are". There are many lessons I learned from everyone. And it was great fun, but I want to share with you just one. 

There are five generations in Africa at any one time. As an elder I need to play the part. This does not come automatically with age. I must be deliberate and make a cultivated effort to always be my best. I can give advice to those who will listen, but I must also listen to generational and intergenerational speak in its complexity of cultural boundaries, perspectives and rules of engagement. I must speak with humanity and dignity to open the doors of non-demanding, non-judgemental association and build relationships of trust, goodwill, peace and progress. Nonetheless, this is believed to be impractical in the digital, competitive world we live in today, where success is defined by who is on top. With my peers I joke, they can take it. Other generations might not appreciate it and may assume I am imposing or suggesting something that may not be. Another generation may simply disregard the content of the text. With the passage of time in Africa, as in other parts of the world, everything moves on to the shelves of history and each generation must play its part while on stage in this life and later in the archives. The children need training to survive the day. The rising generation will benefit from learning and mentoring. The generation in power must speak, lead and be strong on behalf of all generations. The generation in authority is experienced and wise. They can give compassionate guidance and counsel freely. But there is also a generation that is revered. They have seen many years; enough to think about life from all its angles, positions and perspectives. They can challenge the bedrock of your understanding and belief system with sage affection. A word from them can change a life. 

The dynamic of the African society embraces all generations and associations tempered with cultural norms. It is a blessing that holds our communities intact and yet establishes the fundamentals of neighbourly togetherness. Remaining cognisant of the generation to which you speak will bridge many boundaries of interaction, open doors to opportunity and peradventure smooth your way to success. Embrace, integrate and appreciate generational speak in all your communications and it will help you touch the heart of Africa and keep the spirit alive.   

Ubuntu 

THE BIG FIVE

 

THE BIG FIVE

The Kenya Tourism Board uses the concept of the BIG FIVE to brand the country offering in the tourism sector around the world. Tourists are easily able to evaluate the quality of their safari experience by measuring it against whether they saw a lion, leopard, elephant, black rhinoceros, and African buffalo (BIG FIVE) during their visit. It is both a star attraction and benchmark of the tourism package. The beauty about the BIG FIVE concept is that it easily fits in one hand and is uncomplicated by the clutter of “interesting” details and easy to remember. However, the truth is if you get to see the BIG FIVE, you will have passed through and experienced every aspect of the national tourism ecosystem in the process of you journey. You will have passed through grasslands, seen birds, rivers, hotels…  and been exposed to the whole offering of the safari experience. The BIG FIVE concept, just like a good slogan, is not to explain everything, but rather to capture the main idea making the experience attractive, impressionable and unforgettable. As you journey through this book you will see and experience the BIG FIVE, listed below, over and over again in different settings and contexts. They will make reading this book a memorable experience. 

1. Setting valuable goals

The first is setting valuable goals. Though smart goals may be clearly defined and precise, they may not be valuable. Valuable goals are not only smart, but they must be aspirational inspirational, motivational and to some extent impossible set on the border of doability. Like my high school moto; Nothing but the Best is not only aspirational, but personal and challenging, engaging both accountability and integrity, emphasizing virtue and setting a minimum standard of character that propels one to seek out and pursue a just cause and not just reward. Valuable goals resonate with the words of Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, the First lady President of Liberia; If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough. A “value-able” goal is a call to action.

2. Progress is to pursue the impossible. 

As Nelson Mandela, the first post-apartheid president of South Africa, said; it always seems impossible until it is done. Anyone in leadership has a standing duty to make progress. Progress is usually marked by a quantum leap, impracticability and a “never been done before” agenda. Whenever you reach that point, know you are on the frontier of human advancement, discovery, innovation and excellence and opportunity to make a permanent difference in the history of your organization or service to mankind. At this point the onus fall upon you to expand the boundaries of human existence. Roger Bannister ran the mile in under four minutes in 1952 Olympics. In 2019, Eliud Kipchoge ran a marathon (42 kms) in under 2 hours (1:59:40.2). There are many more such events with great teams supporting them including Neil Armstrong’s visit to the moon in 1969. These publicly celebrated achievement inspire hope in many other unpublicized areas of human endeavor and help direct human destiny. But everyone has the potential to make progress in whatever circumstances they are.

3. People are more than followers!

People are much more than followers, they are leaders, inventors, teachers, students, implementors... fathers, mothers …. capable of so much more than you imagine! They are gods with the power to create. They are people first, not numbers of inventory. Befriend them, deploy them wisely and they will do for you what you could never do for yourself. As a leader you can do very little without them. Submission and loyalty are follower virtues without which leadership is powerless!

4. Taking action: it is not enough to dream, think or even plan without taking action. 

Brain Tracy reminds us that “Amateurs discuss strategy, professionals arrange for logistics”. Miracles are good things, they happen occasionally, but you will be surprised how they often come about after substantive work. Winning the lottery happens infrequently to a very small number of people. However, accomplishing anything, on the main, is not a guessing game or a past time, it is a full-time engagement. Throughout history kingdoms have been built by effort, service and sacrifice; Nonetheless, they are brought down by pleasure, ease and vice. The moment leisure takes prominence over effort the end is near. 

5. The little finger of ethical success

The little finger of ethical success is a bothersome, but essential component to attaining celebrated success. There is a moral component to every achievement. They do not sin against humanity. Success should never be a crime scene. We learn from the life of Mahatma Gandhi that; “ethics makes it right”. 

Excerpt from Leading Transcendent Change Scheduled for March 2024

The Hockey Stick of Human Development

 

The Hockey Stick of Human Development 

For millennia and more, in A Very Short History of the World, humanity preoccupied itself with survival, migration and dominion in an effort to justify residency of the earth against natures harsh untamed environment. The very challenge of existence was driven by a search for God and meaning, religion, customs and tradition that evolved into cultures that governed the lives of a people in their perspective of the known world. Indeed, a true story is only as good as its perspective. Up until the middle of the second millennium A.D., humanity labored long and hard developing The Origins of Political Order to create community, society and government. Humanity paced itself on a gentle incline with the locus of development isolated in independent Babelous ethnic kingdoms, cultures and civilizations dotted on continents around the world. Nonetheless, When We Ruled, became a mantra for the epitome of human achievement in philosophy, arts, science architecture, trade, government and supremacy of military campaign as kingdoms fought for dominance and control of wealth and resources in their limited interaction with their neighbors. However, as sea travel and empire building took center stage, the world, as a globe, began to gather a collective momentum of renaissance learning and change in the formulation of a global culture. The writing of The Evolution of Management Thought, captures the migration of the European agrarian economy between 1400-1700 AD to the industrial revolution driven by factory production and capitalism in the 1800s. The dramatic change to centralized institutional enterprise created the “corporation”, the “worker”, the “entrepreneur”, “investors”, the “manager” and the “business executive”. At the time, The Wealth of Nations, the signature tune of capitalism, coincided with the declaration of independence of the United States of America from its colonial legacy. America rang the bell of freedom and shipped the seeds of globalization around the world. Africa provided free slave labor to the agrarian revolution in the foundry of capitalism and supplied valuable raw material to Europe at negligible cost of administrative and military occupation during The Scramble for Africa. Organization designers, Henri Fayol, Alfred Sloan and their peers supplied the leadership thinking that enabled unprecedented levels of human production. The hockey stick of human development took a dramatic turn after two intra-European ethnic conflicts, World War I & II, enjoined intercontinental participation in in the early 1900s. From then on, the race for global dominance was on. But it also signaled the death of parochial empires in the worlds’ east, west, north and south. However, with the installation of global socio-economic architecture provided by the League of Nations, International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, gave rise to global corporations. In other words, poverty became a product of dysfunctional human development. And the earth suddenly became a very small place. It became impossible to remain isolated or even independent, one had to be “aligned” to some direction. The earth suddenly became a very small place. It became impossible to remain isolated or even independent, one had to be aligned. But then too, it became practical that an isolated event in one part of the world could catapult major change in another corner of the globe. The age of technology and communication coupled with advances in health and education steeply changed the trajectory of human development as the rate of the rate of change became exponential bringing with it, on a massive scale, hitherto unknown phenomena such as pollution, deforestation and rising sea temperatures. These effects were engineered by the capability humanity has developed to disorient, displace and destroy at a rate much faster than nature has the ability to replenish. The hockey stick of human development suddenly became complicated by the character of human engagement with nature. By the time Carson was writing the Silent Spring in 1962 it was clear that nature was hitting back. Paradoxical as it may seem, in addition to celebrating the complexities of achievement brought on by technology and socio-economic advancement, humanity must now pacify nature for continued tenancy of the earth.  However, the nature of the leadership challenge is no longer localized it is globalized.  The study of Leadership to find models beyond the sufficiency of big man theory, trait and charisma to lead the world out of this new crisis, developed intellectual models such as path to goal, situational analysis and transformational leadership theory, behavioural, situational, contingency, transformational, adaptive and systems theory to help manage the complexity and chaos of our present world. Even though the world has entered turbulent and disruptive periods of change where organizations are challenged to find ways of Delivering and Sustaining Breakthrough Performance, the next phase of human development calls for leaders who will conscientiously evaluate the costly impact of short-term expediency versus long term survival to set organizations and humanity on a course to ethical, sustainable, socio-economic enterprise. The challenge is not partial to the east, the west, the north or the south. The costs are no longer local. Consequences are global. 

Allan Bukusi, Nov 2023

Excerpt from Leading Transcendent Change Scheduled for March 2024