Leadership In The African Context

African Leadership is an edited collection enriched by the people who have lived and experienced indigenous leadership first-hand, demonstrating how African leadership is distinctive from usual Western hegemonic paradigms.

This book is a timely guide on what constitutes effective leadership in Africa. It explores how today’s leaders in Africa perceive their role, the challenges they experience, and how they operate effectively as leaders. In the era of globalization, there is an increasing need to offer guidance on how leaders can adjust their leadership style to suit situational contexts. Drawing on case study and survey data, this book illustrates to scholars and leaders worldwide the vision of leadership that is emerging in Africa. It will contribute to the development of a new community of global leaders, integrating cutting-edge knowledge on leadership development in Africa.

This book considers the new business environment of modern-day Africa, addressing how management styles must adapt to societal changes across the continent. As investment in the continent grows and African businesses begin to look beyond their own borders, there comes a real need to understand leadership from an Afro-centric perspective. This book explores the similarities and differences across African countries, compares them with other regions, and identifies particular cultural realities that managers must consider in order to be successful in the new business environment of modern Africa. Building on their Leadership Effectiveness in Africa and the African Diaspora (LEAD) research project, the authors provide an empirical understanding of African leadership styles and how businesses can harness these more effectively. Drawing on the African Diaspora’s values, beliefs, and preferences, as well as anecdotal material from African academics and managers, this book grants a realistic view of leadership in various African countries including Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, and South Africa. It will be invaluable to academics, students, and anyone interested in African and global business leadership from a non-Western perspective.

Despite all the talk about African renaissance, much of the continent is plagued by poverty and instability. To break out of that cycle, the guardians of African heritage (the old independence freedom fighters turned political leaders and their successors) and much of Afrocentric literature rightly promote African ideas and solutions for African problems. While the idea in itself is noble, the danger is for Africa to close itself off and ignore 'outside' technical and intellectual innovations that it desperately needs to advance further. Africa through Structuration Theory - ntu joins the discourse by attempting to restore intellectual freedom and convincingly defends structuration theory not only as the way forward for Africa but also as a legitimate African concept. It is innovative, refreshing and deserves to be heard across the world and appreciated especially by African graduates, current and future leaders of various African institutions or businesses, non-Africans who might hesitate to refer to such a theory when trying to understand and deal with African problems and the wider public who constitute the audience for this book.

This title combines the challenges of Africa's development with leadership theory.