Three-dimensional African Leadership: Rediscovering Powerful Leadership for the Community

Abstract

Exploitative leadership has become an epidemic across the continent of Africa, crossing the boundaries of public and private sectors. Solutions for resolving Africa’s leadership crisis are often rooted in Western theories and give superficial attention to indigenous leadership dynamics. These solutions often misunderstand, misrepresent and minimize the intrinsic qualities of power, authority, reciprocity and responsibility within African societies. This chapter explores the potential for powerful, non-exploitative leadership in Africa from three perspectives, which are rooted in indigenous African cultures but are often overlooked in empirical research on organizational leadership. These three dimensions address the expectations of informal exchange relationships, community obligations of mutual solidarity and responsibility, and long-term security and reliability. The vertical dimension of quid pro quo leader-follower relationships (i.e., clientelism) can only be understood as non-exploitative when it is cast within the expectations and responsibilities of horizontal collectivism (echoed within the philosophy of ubuntu). However, the benefits to the community of the vertical and horizontal dimensions are realized through long-term security and reliability. A careful synthesis of these three dimensions (vertical exchange, horizontal solidarity and long-term security) provides a contextually sensitive picture of African leadership that is helpful for theorists, practitioners and leadership trainers.