As the world is entering into the year 2025 and taking stock of the year that was, for many of us especially in Kenya, it is an opportune time to start reflecting on what has happened and what we would like to aspire for as a nation in the New Year, particularly in the area of leadership.
It is clear that 2024 was full of life-changing dramas that made headlines around the world. It also brought into focus the young people and leadership.
Since the youth are the majority in Africa even in Kenya, as a nation, we need to ask ourselves the following questions: What kind of future would we like to build and how can we enhance value-based leadership, which may support the building of a better future?
A deeper reflection on the highlights or low moments in 2024 reveals that the time has come for us to seriously have a national discourse on how we can achieve good values.
As I reflected on this important topic, I looked into a nation that has taken the issue of value seriously and why it matters to them.
That is Bhutan, a unique nation nestled between China and India. There are many areas we can learn from them.
Our basic research starts from November 7, 2008, when His Majesty King Khesar of Bhutan gave a coronation address where he stated, “Core values form a common thread that binds and guides the nation, especially in the wake of the ongoing democratic processes” happening at the time.
According to him, his deepest concern is based on what he said: “As the world changes Bhutan may lose its fundamental values on which rests its character as a nation and people.”
This coronation address was later quoted in the Journal of Bhutanese Studies where he said: “Our generation of Bhutanese have been gifted as a strong and dynamic nation by our ancestors. I am confident that as long as we are willing to work with their commitment and dedication and follow their example, we can bring greater peace, happiness, and prosperity to our country.
I am confident because I know the worth and character of our people. You are the true jewel of this nation. As citizens of a spiritual land, you treasure the qualities of a good human being— honesty, kindness, charity, integrity, unity, respect for our culture and traditions and love for our country. And our parents have upheld these values and placed the common good above the self.”
The Bhutanese King spoke of treasuring the qualities of a good human being and this is where we seem to have missed the boat. We seem to have relegated the qualities he spoke of to the back burner. Honesty, kindness, charity, integrity, and love for our country seem alien concepts.
The problem is that the opposite of these values is championed at all levels of leadership, including national, religious, and even corporate spheres. As I read these words and reflected on them, I could not help but contrast these sentiments with the reality of what we face now as a nation, especially with an inter-generational schism.
How can we work closely with our youth who are popularly known as ‘Gen Z’ to create good values in leadership for the future?
The Bhutanese King also reflected on the importance of treasuring the qualities of a good human.
In many places and organisations, what is always reflected is vice-based or self-centred leadership. This has made many of us manifest negative values such as greed, opportunism, corruption, vanity, anger, dishonesty, incivility, vindictiveness, insincerity, selfishness, and related detestable traits.
As the nation focuses on what is impacting the country negatively, it might not be in other areas like climate change, which is a key problem, but it can be linked to a lack of good values, especially within leadership in all spheres. Therefore, as we embark on our journey into the new year, we must all strive to enhance values that embrace the pursuit of the common good as a matter of urgency.
We urgently need a national discourse to advance good values that would provide a firm foundation for our peace, stability, and development.
One thing we take into the new year is that we are in a precarious position as a country where economic activities are slowing down with business closures and investors closing shop and relocating to other countries.
We cannot afford reduced opportunities
for our agitated youth and an urgent drive to revive good values-based leadership could be the silver bullet we need to address in 2025.
Through these values the people should experience a commitment to the betterment of society, intelligent stewardship of resources, more opportunities, and a resurgence of hope that we can indeed become the leading African Tiger we are supposed to be as a nation.
The writer is the Executive Dean, Strathmore Business School. Email: [email protected]
