“NOTE: This story comes from a Zulu elder who said, ‘These ideas about the mountain are from more than 100 years ago. African leadership today—with some shining examples—has a different approach. There’s no more climbing up mountains anymore. Now it’s about ego and the accumulation of money, cars, and property to hoard. The community is impressed when someone moves up the ladder, but it is a sin to slide down.'”
The Western business education model provides comprehensive and detailed information in myriad specialist fields but often fails to emphasise a holistic and integrated approach to human development in the context of working life. This lack of a holistic approach causes discontinuity between the experience of home/community life and the world of work where the all-important ‘soft skills’ of interpersonal behaviour are rarely reflected upon.
The mountain metaphor offers the opportunity of looking at leadership from a uniquely African perspective.
The experience of a rite of passage underlines the idea of on-going change and movement away from an old role and into a new one. In the rite of passage, the initiate experiences a new, expansive and different world; one where they are expected to be and do more. The rite also helps them release the ‘old self’ – the set of old role expectations, attitudes and behaviours.
In the Zulu culture, the social process of leading young adults into adulthood is known as “going up the mountain”. Going to the mountain is a prerequisite rite of passage before taking one’s place as an adult in a community of peers. The initiates are not only introduced to the secrets of the tribe and clan, but are guided to assume proactive leadership roles in their communities. They are helped to undergo an accelerated physical, mental and attitudinal change.
The most important lessons taught on the mountain are:
- The initiate is led to discover his/her sense of individuality by revealing their unique qualities. These qualities are captured in the poetry of the individual’s praise song and the praise song of his clan or family. If an initiate excels in personal courage in danger, this quality will be reflected in his personal praise song. This individuality is harnessed and expressed within the group.
- Learning experiences reflecting the harsh realities of the African environment, hunger, danger, war, strife, rivalry, drastic changes in weather conditions, political uncertainty, survival skills, the cosmology etc. are simulated for the initiates.
- Tests are created in which their individuality is given a chance to expose itself. Personal qualities such as deportment, public speaking, patience, courage and bravery, moral rectitude are cultivated within the moral-ethical constructs of the tribe.
The importance of the rites of initiation lies in storytelling, action and feedback as a vehicle for accelerated group learning and transference of values. The African teaching-learning/knowledge management paradigm is rooted in practice and story by seasoned elders who through epic story- telling lead the initiates into a journey of self-discovery and personal development. Initiates are engaged holistically in terms of their thinking with the aim of impacting their entire being and changing them from fearful children into fully fledged morally accountable adults happy to assume their roles in their community and tribe. The African learning experience engages the entire human being. By contrast, the western paradigm tends to emphasise cognitive development at the expense of other aspects of the human being – an emphasis that may lead to disproportionate development.
The leaders on the mountain peak earn their status through a proven practical record of successes. Not only do they embody their culture and mythology, they are actively engaged in an on-going interpretation and creation of reality and ‘telling the story’ to the levels of leadership below them.
It is this approach to leadership that enabled King Shaka to establish an Empire that included most of the present SADC countries without the benefit of the modern geopolitical instruments of power. It is the leadership that was smashed and prevented from reorganising and re-inventing itself by the British after the Sandlwana battle. Without the vision of leadership, all activities of the Zulu people became disorganised, disoriented and divided. And perhaps the most important instruments of destruction created by the British was the creation of a multitude of fictitious mountains and chiefs who did not advance the agenda of their forefathers and sought to prevent age-group regimentation or rites of passage.
The formulation of a global vision is influenced by the spiritual roots of the mountain peak leaders. Values such as loyalty, selfless and inspired dedication and personal sacrifice are impossible without the belief in shared spiritual myths. In a secular and hedonistic modern world, there is a need to revisit the African leadership model because it has so much that is original to teach us and offers another fresh perspective to look at leadership issues.
Mountain peak leadership has the task of creating a unifying culture. In Southern Africa, there is a tremendous sense of community and the spaces between people are much narrower and closer than in the West. In the pre-colonial past, a circular geometry in the construction of dwellings, communal eating from the same dishes, communal washing, shared parenthood of children, membership in age-group cadres, and the inculcation of the values today described as representing ‘ubuntu’ were all symbols of interdependence.
The Zulu word umholi has the root stem hola which stands for the verb to receive one’s reward and indeed leadership is perceived as a rewarding experience. In the modern capitalist society umholo is one’s salary or stipend. A leader within this context is the one who receives not only the material reward but the more important intrinsic reward of self-esteem and self-actualisation by virtue of his/her selfless dedication to the task. The leader also receives the revelation from the mountain top. African leaders deserve their reward because they earn it through the general good that they share with the rest of the community. This is in contrast with many western corporate leaders who maximise personal gain regardless of the surrounding sea of material poverty. Without a solid base, the apex of the mountain is inconceivable. Hence the African expression “umuntu ngabanye abantu” (One’s humanity is impossible without acknowledging the humanity of others.)
In contrast to the western hierarchical-military-pyramid chain of command, mountain peak leadership describes an interdependent system in which everything – no matter how insignificant – is seen a vitally important part of the whole. An African leader who loses sight of this fact is generally referred to as “akanabuntu”’ (“He/she is devoid of human content.”) He/she is perceived as being alienated from the balance of the mountain, becoming a self-destructive force until acted upon by equal and countervailing forces of restoration. Another African proverb underlines the idea of unbalanced leadership; ‘if you are not living the dream, then you are living the nightmare’ shows how the way the leader thinks can move the organisations.
Within this context, the African mountain peak leader is not judged by status or knowledge but rather by humanity or human content. In the African workplace, you don’t just work with people in order to achieve deadlines and goals; you are in a relationship with them and the larger whole. And until you acknowledge their humanity – by acknowledging and revealing your own – you cannot inspire them to do their best. Acknowledging their humanity means showing genuine interest in them, sharing experiences and wisdom, participating in mundane matters such as common meals, bereavement, or joys and sorrows. Sharing a meal in the staff canteen does not subtract from an African leader but inspires respect, loyalty and love. Many of the most powerful stories about Nelson Mandela, for example, are never reported in the media but instead do their rounds as urban legends in Johannesburg households. For example his recent personal, private and unannounced visit to a community hall in Alexandra, Johannesburg to take part in a community meeting was widely spoken about.
In Africa people do not respect trappings of power such as cell phones, expensive cars, bigger homes, slender girl friends, Italian suits and perfumes. Whilst these might be envied, they are not respected. Rather, people respect the emotional intelligence to transcend these artificial badges of distinction and empathetically connect with people, thus creating the possibility of mutual trust.
In Africa age is respected. The mountain peak leader may be young but must respect those older than him/herself. In the age of first names, casual open necked shirts and performance bonuses, it is easy to lose sight of this important aspect. The greatest social blunder in Africa is to ignore the humanity of the other person.
In this context, oppression and inhumanity to others become symptoms that suggest the dysfunctional performance of a leadership role. Crime is perceived not only as a personal transgression, but as a symptom of a community out of balance. The role of the Sangoma is then to restore community balance and harmony. Apart from punishing the offender, restoration involves healing the entire community. A communal feast is a spiritual experience in which everyone participates in an act of fellowship and unity. Participation demonstrates freedom from prejudice, animosity or any other personal impediment whereas non-participation may brand one as a ‘witch’ not because people believe in witches but because it strikes a dissonant chord to the melody and spiritual unity of the community.
The concepts of Mountain Peak Leadership are useful in the design of future models of people-centred organisation and culture. In these cultures, technology serves as an enabler of relationships and mechanism to effectively store and transmit useful knowledge across generations. Technology, symbol and ritual are also consciously designed to create and support an environment necessary for peaceful coexistence, mutual love and empathy, community belongingness and the survival of the extended family of which the workplace is seen an integral part.
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