Leadership lessons from African cultures: with Albert Momo
Summary
What is the key principle of African leadership that nonprofit leaders globally could benefit from adopting?
How does the African concept of ubuntu translate into practical leadership strategies for nonprofit organizations?
How does African leadership approach the balance between individual and collective success, and how might this benefit nonprofit teams?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Albert Anoubon Momo, Executive, Author & Board Member, on leadership lessons from African cultures.
Albert's Bio:
Co-founder of a brand new company offering geospatial consulting services to emerging economies
Former Vice President and Executive Director, Emerging Markets and Funded Projects at the Trimble company
Former Director of Institutional Business Development at Trimble
Management and Program Analyst at USAID
Played multiple other roles as senior geo-scientist and GIS and software engineer including at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) inside the US Govt.
We discuss:
Albert has been a student of leadership from early adult life onwards, and he runs a large Facebook group on leadership. His experience has been in the private sector primarily, though he also plays governance roles in the nonprofit sphere, such as Board Chair of Cadasta (where Tosca is also on the board)
Albert urges listeners to focus on what the African continent can bring to the rest of the world; not to assume it just consumes from the rest of the world (especially from West-influenced leadership models)
Subregions within the huge continent of Africa have had different influences on leadership approaches and practices: in Northern Africa and the Sahel, Islamic influences have prevailed while French colonizers brought more hierarchically oriented thinking; in coastal Africa, colonizers introduced Christianity which persists till today; in Southern and Eastern Africa, Zulu-inspired Ubuntu philosophy has dominated
Ubuntu emphasizes interdependence, solidarity, shared community and communalism – different from the individualism more prevalent in Western societies
What Western leadership practices can learn from African leadership approaches regarding employee engagement, shared value, shared futures, solidarity, and humanism
In African cultures, traditionally councils of elders have played an important conflict resolution role; it is beneficial for global North/Western nonprofits to take account of their ability to strive for win-win resolutions rather than zero-sum litigation, a focus on the common good, common ground and shared goals
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