Ubuntu Leadership
I grew up in a home that seemed to have people in it all of the time. I am the seventh of seven children; some of my siblings had children before I was born; and many of my nieces around my age had children while very young.
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16. UBUNTU LEADERSHIP Let Us Begin the Work
Ubuntu: the belief that people are empowered by other people, that we become our best selves, and organization, through unselfish interaction with others. SETTING THE STAGE
I grew up in a home that seemed to have people in it all of the time. I am the seventh of seven children; some of my siblings had children before I was born; and many of my nieces around my age had children while very young. My family is large. My parents welcomed our extended family members to the Big House (an apartment until I was 14) all of the time. They also welcomed their friends, neighbors, people in need of a meal, bath and/or a good nights’ sleep. My parents often asked us, them/ us, what we were going to do about our issues and concerns. Instead of trying to give answers or just a hand out, my parents would explore options with us as a way to provide a hand up. Their focus was on empowering instead of enabling individuals to succeed. My mom would talk about how I would just disappear at times due to the number of people always at the Big House. At first she might find me in the basement reading a book. Later I would find myself at the museum, primarily in the area full of African artifacts. Internally I had to escape the crowds. I often felt like a sardine in a can designed for half of the bodies filling the rooms of our home. My parents didn’t have much money, but they shared all that they had, and did it with so much love. We lived in a very violent neighborhood, but no one ever did anything negative to my parents or our home. All knew that our home was off limits when it came to negative acts. Even two young men who eventually were sentenced to life in prison would protect my parents with their own lives. While I often escaped the crowds, I grew to really appreciate how my parents embraced everyone. I learned, even before totally realizing it, the value of seeing the possibilities in individuals. I learned to be aware of danger, but to also seek the why behind the actions. My parents taught me to work hard to avoid making quick judgmental decisions of other people, simply through my personal lens. My parents also demonstrated the value of broadening one’s lens each day. My mom believed that we all become better people by getting to know others well beyond the stereotypes we are bombarded with each day. My parent’s home became a community of people C. Lowery et al. (Eds.), Un-Democratic Acts, 173–182. © 2016 Sense Publishers. All rights reserved.
C. Thomas
from so many walks of life, yet all were seen as individuals of promise. My parents taught us to live in the why and in the possibilities for all of us, and to love the journey. They taught us to embrace and internalize the South African Philosophy of Ubuntu—human beings empowering other human beings through the collective responsibility of kindness and sharing. Ubuntu speaks to the moral responsibility of leaders to recognize that others matter. MATTERING
Most, perhaps all, of us want to believe that our lives matter in this great
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