What New Leaders Need to Solve Global Issues, According to Africa’s EU Ambassador

With election season running hot, issues such as migration (or illegal immigration) are prominent in campaign speeches for candidates of all stripes vying for all manner of office, from dogcatcher to president.

The harsh reality for them all: no single nation, much less a single leader, can solve these issues. They surround the world, so it will take new kinds of leaders to craft real change and viable solutions. Our podcast guest, Ajay Bramdeo, the African Union’s ambassador to the European Union, sees the need for several special qualities in our next leaders.

First, the new generation of leaders must recognize that solutions aren’t simple. Humans have been interdependent since…well, since there were humans! Intertribal, interregional, international: our web of commerce, culture, philosophy, and more is now a Gordian Knot of complex relationships. This fact alone means effective leaders must be inherently collaborative, relying on multiple allies with their perspectives and expertise to unravel solutions. And – a new term for us – they’ll grow their own global acuity: the ability to see beyond one’s own immediate environment to understand the broader impact of decisions.

Think of this first point as a variation on the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) concept, except here complexity is not negative. It’s simply the reality of our human web, taking a little more effort to understand.

Second, leaders – politicians in particular – must grow beyond consensus and embrace disagreement. Nearly 200 years ago, in “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” Hans Christian Anderson warned us about the dangers of everyone blindly agreeing with a leader who demands consensus. Instead, effectiveness now requires inclusive leadership, which means engaging with diverse perspectives and experiences. Abraham Lincoln proved the principle by including his political enemies in his cabinet and ranks of advisors. Actively listening to the resulting disagreements and valuing diverse opinions pulls a leader out of their tunnel vision, revealing multiple innovative solutions.

Finally, and perhaps most difficult, we’ll need to foster moral and ethical leadership. Today’s leaders face enormous pressures: rapid social change, budget deficits, powerful political interests, and more. Is it any wonder presidents and prime ministers end their terms of office with far, far more gray hairs than when they began? Their stress is real.

Yet that very stress can lead to stumbles in morality and ethics. Leading with integrity, fairness, and responsibility takes extra effort, so our leaders will need exceptional internal strength. This goes along with abandoning the need for popular consensus; effective global leaders will need a deep moral compass, committed to doing what is right even when it is not popular, convenient, or likely to win the next election. They’ll be thoughtful rather than reactive.

In this way, other leaders will know they can be trusted. Only with that trust can they come together, providing our wounded world the solutions it now craves.

Whether it’s managing your shift at the factory or running for high office, the question is: are you ready to become the new leader we need for tomorrow?

This article was adapted from our remastered podcast episode Africa’s EU Ambassador Redefines Leadership: How You Have Global Impact.

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