Ubuntu

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Ubuntu
Department of Education
Keynote Address on behalf of Zandile Kunene
Executive Director Matthew Goniwe School of
Leadership and Governance
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Parameters of the address

• What this address is NOT
• Not by Zandile
• Not by a black person
• Not a research based piece.

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What the address is

• It explores the tenets of ubuntu
• Uses metaphor and simile to draw out African
  leadership comparisons
• Tells stories that illustrate how African
  leadership works in practice
• Calls for further exploration of the concepts
  illustrated, leading to the development of a
  theory of black South African leadership.

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Brief context of leadership studies

• Hofstede on leadership and culture
• GLOBE project pioneered by Robert Shaw
• Linda Sue Warner and Keith Grint

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African leadership traits and values
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Key aspects of African leadership philosophy
Steve Bikos definition of Black Consciousness as
expressing group pride and the determination by
blacks to rise and attain the envisaged self.
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Key aspects of African leadership philosophy
Desmond Tutu, operating from within the Christian
paradigm with a considered, direct,
morally-based, and humanist response.
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Key aspects of African leadership philosophy

• Nkosi Albert Luthuli speaks eloquently of
• the outstretched hand
• building a nation based on values
• rebuilding
• highest moral law .

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The values of ubuntu Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu
we are who we are because of others.
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The values of ubuntu

• Ways of treating others
• Ways of being
• Ways of behaving

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Ubuntu
Lovemore Mbigi insists that an ubuntu management
philosophy unites both cooperativeness and
competitiveness within an iterative and openly
communicative model.
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Lekgotla

• Communal solutions
• Transcends self interest
• Social skills highly developed
• Everyone has the right to attend
• Process aimed at trust, consultation and
  decisions

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Stories

• The stolen cows
• The Nkosi and the prospectors

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Metaphors to describe African leadership
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Leadership as a calabash
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Leadership as a tree
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Leadership as a jersey

• 1995

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Calls for a new model Revitalising pride in
African leadership models and practices
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African leadership models and practices

• They should already be in workplace policies and
  practices, as they are based upon the
  Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
• These principles encompass the way that good
  leaders behave and conduct themselves.
• Pride in ones belongingness, ones heritage, and
  a strong belief in the right to a good and
  fulfilling life for the individual within his or
  her community, needs to be revived, reinforced,
  and renewed within organisations.

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Moving towards a leadership model

• Server leadership
• Cohabitation
• Social arbitrage
• Emotional intelligence
• Paradox

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• The ability to be analytical
• Transparency, accountability and legitimacy
• Facilitate collective decision-making
• Listening skills, ability to enter into dialogue
  and problem-solving skills
• Patience, competence and fairness in dealing with
  people
• Flat management structures to maximize
  participation and understanding
• Facilitating and enabling skills

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Mamphela Ramphele
calls for South Africans to become agents of the
making of our history rather than remaining
prisoners of it. This is a powerful challenge.
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Questions for further exploration

• Should we not be looking for ways to incorporate,
  celebrate and enhance black leadership styles and
  principles?
• How appropriate is a collectivist, group oriented
  and communal leadership style for 21st century?

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SiyabongaI thank you