General News
The World Needs Visionary, Courageous Leaders
By Austin Okere
Today’s leaders must be effective communicators who embrace depolarization, paradox, and compassion—and who take action without fear.
- As society faces a range of global challenges, it looks for leaders who can create positive change and share responsibility across sectors.
- Today’s leaders must reject black-and-white thinking, be comfortable with uncertainty, and empathize with others.
- Leaders are distinguished by whether their actions and attitudes are influenced by courage or fear.
Effective leadership plays a critical role in shaping the success of any society or organization. As American author John Maxwell declared, “Everything rises and falls on Leadership”
In our complex and connected world, society faces mounting environmental and humanitarian crises. Leaders must help drive societal change by taking into account not just profits, but also people and the planet. They must help society determine what type of growth is necessary and sustainable and what type of growth we can no longer afford. To accomplish this, today’s leaders need three essential traits:
They must be visionary. Bold, forward-thinking leaders see farther and more clearly than others, often anticipating what lies ahead. They motivate teams to perform at their best.
They must be collaborative. Such leaders encourage a greater diversity of ideas to flourish, and they make sure no one individual or entity shoulders the entire burden of any task. Collaborative leaders know how to share responsibility across all sectors to solve pressing societal challenges.
They must be willing to learn. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and large language models introduce leaders to new challenges on a regular basis. Leaders must be ready to constantly learn, unlearn, and relearn diverse skill sets to keep up with the changes. By embracing innovation and creativity, leaders can move beyond current restrictions and unlock more possibilities, iteratively creating new and improved realities.
Essential Competencies
To discover what qualities accomplished leaders should possess, Ausso Leadership Academy conducted an inquiry in partnership with AACSB. The academy is a mentorship program in Lagos, Nigeria, that I founded for executives and entrepreneurs. Our investigation showed us that leaders must develop capacity in three areas: depolarization, paradox, and compassion. These skills are so important for future leaders that business schools should provide opportunities throughout their curricula for students to develop them.
I speak about these capacities in a YouTube video on the #BusinessInsightsWithAO channel, but here’s a closer look at each one:
Depolarization is the ability to reject black-and-white thinking, embrace complexity, and explore alternative perspectives. It requires self-awareness, an open mind, and a nonjudgmental attitude that allows to engage in meaningful dialogue.
A professor could teach students about depolarization by dividing them into two groups that stand at opposite ends of the room and study a graphic on the floor. From one perspective, the graphic will look like the figure 6; from the other perspective, it will look like the figure 9. Students should discuss how they see the graphic from their position, and then switch sides with their peers.
This exercise teaches students that they must learn to listen to each other, acknowledge their different viewpoints, and find common ground. It shows them that people can create a more peaceful and harmonious world when they come together with respect, empathy, and understanding.
Paradox is the willingness to embrace uncertainty and acknowledge the interdependence of opposing forces. It involves operating with a curious and inquisitive mindset, recognizing personal limitations, and being honest with ourselves and others.
A faculty member could teach the concept of paradox by giving all students pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that depicts an elephant. Based on the pieces in their hands, students should try to guess what the whole image is. Those who see only the tail might think they’re looking at a rope; those who see only the thick legs might think they’re looking at a tree. The true image only emerges when all the pieces are put together.
Through this exercise, students are invited to explore the complexities of the human experience. They learn that sometimes the things that seem irreconcilable can be connected in ways that are not immediately apparent.
Compassion is the capacity to empathize with and understand different cultural backgrounds and personal experiences. It necessitates maintaining a broad perspective, avoiding confirmation bias, and striving to understand as well as to be understood.
Compassionate leaders radiate warmth, kindness, and understanding; they exude a sense of serenity that eases the burdens of those around them. Quite often, a high-performance member of the team falls on challenging times and simply needs an empathetic ear. If the compassionate leader offers a comforting word, the team member will feel a sense of hope, knowing that someone is willing to help.
To teach compassion, a professor can ask students what they would do if a team member dropped the ball on an important project. The class is likely to respond that the colleague should be removed from the team. Then the professor should remind the class that the individual is historically a high performer and suggest that the person might be going through some personal difficulties. At this point, students might view the situation differently and conclude that they should support their team member through this tough patch by showing compassion.
The Importance of Generative Listening
In addition to developing these crucial capacities, leaders must possess the ability to communicate effectively. Communication is always a two-way track, and the key part is generative listening, which happens when people listen intently, with curiosity and openness, to what each person has to say. Generative listening is not about waiting for a preconceived answer, but about creating spaces where others can feel heard, valued, and understood.
Generative listeners are not just waiting for their turn to speak, but truly seeking to understand and learn from each other. They offer words of encouragement, support, and affirmation, making each person feel safe to share their thoughts and feelings. They reflect back what they hear, ask thoughtful questions that deepen the conversation, and create spaces of respect and authenticity.
To become empathetic listeners, leaders must quiet the voices of judgment, cynicism, and fear and open themselves to the expectation of learning something new. They must step outside themselves, realizing that the truth is more conditional and experiential than their lone egos can fathom. Sometimes leaders are so arrogant that they are fully confident in their own incorrect views. Their need to be right trounces their need to learn what is true. But truth is the essential foundation for producing good outcomes.
A professor can teach generative listening by having students imagine a mathematics classroom for children. In this class, the teacher presents an addition problem to a young student named Mary: “If I give you these two apples and then I give you two more, how many apples will you have?” Mary confidently replies, “Five.” Instead of chiding Mary for her incorrect answer, the teacher should ask how she came up with that number. At that point, the teacher would learn that Mary already has an apple in the lunch bag that her mother packed.
Professors also can show students the power of generative listening by inviting them to share their experiences and learn from each other.
An Analysis of Leadership Attitudes
As a leadership consultant and an entrepreneur-in-residence at Columbia Business School in New York City, I spend a great deal of time considering the traits that distinguish leaders from each other. I have determined that one critical quality is their attitudes toward delivery (producing the desired goods and services) and accountability (taking responsibility for how the work gets done). Are their attitudes influenced by courage or by fear?
To be continued
Kuwait’s Criminal Security Sector has dismantled an international cybercrime ring composed of Nigerians responsible for coordinated attacks on telecommunications towers and banks, the Ministry of Interior announced on Sunday.
According to Arabic-language daily Al Qabas, the case was initiated after the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority reported cyber intrusions targeting local telecom networks.
Specialised security teams quickly launched an investigation, discovering that the suspects used advanced electronic devices to breach networks and distribute mass phishing messages impersonating banks, aiming to steal account information and siphon funds.
Signal-tracking technology led investigators to a vehicle in the Salmiya area.
When authorities attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver tried to flee, colliding with several cars before being apprehended following a fierce struggle.
A search of the vehicle uncovered sophisticated electronic equipment and various technical tools.
Upon investigation, the suspect confessed to collaborating with an accomplice to hack telecom networks and send fraudulent messages posing as banks and telecommunications companies.
Police subsequently located and arrested the second suspect, and a search of their residence uncovered additional devices used to analyse the stolen data.
Both suspects, along with the seized equipment, have been handed over to the relevant authorities for prosecution.
The Ministry of Interior reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the nation’s cybersecurity and intensifying efforts to combat electronic fraud targeting both citizens and residents.
Space in Africa, the Lagos-based firm Oniosun founded, is expecting its Egusi melon seeds to splash down in the Pacific Ocean Saturday—fresh from a trip to the International Space Station.
Once Earthside, experiments will begin on what is being hailed as the first food native to West Africa to be sent to space.
As Oniosun told AFP on Friday, it could herald an era where space exploration reflects the planet’s diversity.
“When we talk about humans colonizing other planets, this is not just an American mission or a European mission—this is a global mission,” he told AFP.
And future African space explorers might enjoy a taste of home.
Experiments on extraterrestrial food, which is to say tested in space, have been going on for years.
Growing food in space is seen as a crucial part of long-distance space flight and long-term missions, where frequent resupply won’t be feasible.
Scientists at the University of Florida in the United States, and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, in the southwestern Nigerian city of Ibadan, will examine the seeds “to see the effects of exposure to space” and zero gravity, including on the seeds’ DNA.
Once planted, researchers will monitor their post-space performance and germination.
The seeds went up to the ISS on a SpaceX flight last week, as part of NASA’s partnership with private firms.
Oniosun said the inclusion of Egusi seeds marked an important step forward, both for those on Earth as well as future astronauts.
High in protein, they are typically used to prepare soups and stews across West and Central Africa.
Africa’s most populous country has a small space industry, but the launch of the seeds seemed to generate more excitement on social media and in newspapers than previous launches of Nigerian satellites, he said.
“The moment that we’re sending food that they love, a food that holds significant cultural contexts to Nigeria… everybody starts getting interested in the subject,” Oniosun told AFP.
“The launch of Egusi melon seeds into space is more than a symbolic gesture,” he added.
“The future of humanity among the stars must reflect the diversity and richness of life on Earth.”
Whether pounded yam—the key dish served alongside Egusi soup—will make its way to the final frontier remains to be seen.
In a powerful demonstration of its commitment to the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has launched the second cohort of the IgniteHer Bootcamp for Women Entrepreneurs, a strategic initiative aimed at accelerating gender inclusion and economic empowerment through digital innovation.
The bootcamp, themed “Empowering Women Entrepreneurs for Growth and Innovation”, was launched in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and brought together selected women entrepreneurs from across Nigeria, both physically and virtually, for rigorous training in digital skills, innovation management, business development, and investor readiness.
The NITDA Director General, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, who declared the bootcamp open, reaffirmed the Agency’s role in aligning Nigeria’s digital development with the national priorities of reforming the economy for sustained inclusive growth and accelerating economic diversification through industrialisation and digitisation.
“Through IgniteHer, we are actualising President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda by expanding women’s access to technology and economic opportunity,” he stated.
The DG, who was represented by the agency’s Acting Director of the Digital Literacy and Capacity Building department, Dr. Ahmed Tambuwal, noted that inclusive innovation is a cornerstone of NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2.0: 2024–2027), which supports national aspirations for inclusive growth, poverty eradication, and youth empowerment.
“We are not merely imparting skills; we are creating self-reliant entrepreneurs, change-makers, and leaders,” he added.
Inuwa disclosed that the IgniteHer Bootcamp is also a key component of the National Gender Digital Inclusion Strategy (NGDIS), through which NITDA is working to empower 12.7 million Nigerian women with digital literacy skills by 2027. He averred that the programme complements broader government efforts to bridge gender gaps, enhance productivity, and reduce unemployment, especially among young women.
Citing a report by the World Wide Web Foundation, the DG emphasised that closing the digital gender gap in Nigeria could unlock an estimated $13 billion in GDP growth over the next decade.
“This training is a step towards harnessing this economic potential and ensuring that women play an integral role in shaping the digital landscape of Nigeria,” he noted.
He therefore called on participants selected from over 12,000 applicants to seize the moment and shape the future of Nigerian entrepreneurship.
While highlighting NITDA’s leadership in strategic partnerships, the DG commended JICA and the Government of Japan for their ongoing collaboration in supporting digital empowerment through programmes like IgniteHer and the iHatch Incubation Programme, which provides startup support, mentorship, and innovation development to early-stage entrepreneurs.
“At NITDA, we believe that inclusive innovation is not just an ideal but a critical strategy that ensures the growth of a stronger economy, the development of smarter solutions, and the existence of more resilient communities. Through IgniteHer, we are dismantling barriers and replacing them with pathways to opportunity,” he concluded.
In his remarks, the Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Matsunaga Kazuyoshi, reaffirmed Japan’s long-standing commitment to innovation and gender inclusion in Nigeria. He announced that Japan, through JICA, is currently supporting two grant projects worth $30.9 million, focused on improving Nigeria’s startup ecosystem, strengthening the investment climate, and building an inclusive innovation hub.
The Ambassador also referenced the upcoming Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), themed “Co-create Innovative Solutions with Africa”, as further testament to Japan’s dedication to deepening Africa-Japan cooperation on digital transformation and entrepreneurship.
Lead Facilitator of IgniteHer, Hajiya Hafsat Salabi-Dange, described the programme as a catalyst for social and economic transformation. While praising NITDA’s visionary approach to development, she stated that the programme is a movement that is bridging the digital gender divide and fostering economic independence.
Encouraging the participants to remain curious, intentional, and bold, she said, “What you will gain here goes beyond business; it is a tool for community upliftment, national growth, and generational impact.”
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