Effective Leadership And Cross-Cultural Challenges

Leadership has been recognised as one of the most important variables that affect the performance of any organisation, institution or nation. Study after study, superior financial and organisational performance, as well as other forms of success, have been linked to leadership. Scholars have opined that the success or failure of organisations and nations depends on leadership excellence and not managerial acumen.
It has been documented that the progress, development and fortunes of many nations are tied to the type and quality of the political leadership that they have had and continue to have. In a survey of 1,767 experts across the world, 86 percent of the respondents agreed that the world is facing a leadership crisis. According to Myles Munroe, the world is filled with followers, supervisors and managers but very few leaders.
Chinua Achebe argued that “the trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian Character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else.” But scholars have documented that scourges of bad leadership and signs of darkened mood are everywhere in Nigeria.
Despite the recognition that Leadership is crucial for the development of organisations and nations and that leaders can be trained, there are very few organisations especially in Africa dedicated to grooming leaders. Myles Munroe put it aptly:
There is leadership potential in every person. Despite this universal latent ability, very few individuals realise this power, and fewer still have responded effectively to the call. As a result, our nations, societies and communities are suffering from an astounding leadership void.
This is why the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD) Leadership School was initiated to build strategic leadership for sustainable development in Africa. This is why the Centre is partnering with Kebetkache to run the Port Harcourt Leadership School.
Meanwhile, leadership today requires more than the traditional qualities of vision and integrity. In diverse societies, effective leadership calls for an understanding and respect for cultural diversity. Leaders who can navigate cross-cultural differences are better equipped to inspire teams, manage conflicts, foster innovative thinking and develop their societies.
In this paper, we examine how leaders can be effective in societies with cultural differences. But first, we conceptualise leadership and what effective leadership entails.
2. Conceptualising Leadership
Like most terms in social discourse, there is no universal definition of leadership. Leadership is defined in different ways by several scholars. Myles Munroe defines leadership as the ability to lead others by influence. John Maxwell defines leaders as simply influence. This includes the capacity to influence, inspire, rally, direct, encourage, motivate, induce, move, mobilize, and activate others to pursue a common goal or purpose while maintaining commitment, momentum, confidence and courage. The most popular definition is that Leadership is influence. Influence here means the ability to move another person in a direction you believe is important. According to Bernard Montgomery, a British Field Marshal, Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence. To influence requires that your ideas are heard and accepted. You can only win hearts and minds when you respect their aspirations, interests and concerns. According to Daniel Goleman, the fundamental task of leaders is to prime good feeling in those they lead. Philip of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great said, “An army of deer led by a lion is more to be feared than an army of lions led by a deer.”
The leadership of any organization or country determines its success or failure. It is the process of providing guidance to followers- the art of influencing human behaviour to strive willingly for mutually compatible objectives. One scholar once argued that “a leader is a person who knows the road, who can keep ahead and who pulls others after him/her.” The Core Leadership Responsibilities include achieving the task, building and maintaining the group and developing the individual. In any organisation or country, it is the leadership that mobilises people to get things done.
Leaders can get things done by engaging in five practices. First is to model the way by clarifying values through giving voice and affirming shared ideals as well as setting the example by aligning actions with shared values. Secondly, leaders can get things done by envisioning the future and enlisting others in a common vision through appealing to shared aspirations. Thirdly, leaders can challenge the process by searching for opportunities through innovative ways to improve and experimenting, taking risks and learning from experience. Fourthly, leaders can enable others to act by fostering collaboration, building trust, facilitating relationships and strengthening others through increasing self-determination and developing competence. Finally, leaders can get things done by recognizing contributions through showing appreciation for individual excellence and celebrating the values and victories by creating a spirit of community.
According to John Maxwell, a good leader has 21 indispensable qualities namely character; charisma (ability to draw people to you); commitment; effective communication; competence (ability to say it, plan it and do it); courage; discernment (ability to find out the root of a matter through intuition, intellect and experience); focus (to ensure prioritization, concentration and task completion); generosity; initiative; listening; passion; positive attitude; problem solving ability; relationships; responsibility; security; self-discipline; servanthood; teachability and vision.
Several Scholars give different categorisation of leadership theories. We are however adopting the one by the Centre for Leadership Studies which reviewed Leadership theory and competency frameworks and classified leadership theories into seven categories namely:
1. The “Great Man” Theories: The “great man” theories assume that the capacity for leadership is inherent and that great leaders are born, not made. These theories are based on the belief that leaders are exceptional people, born with innate qualities destined to lead.
2. Trait Theories: These theories assume that people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited for leadership. The theories argue that there are certain traits or characteristics that are present in certain persons that help them in leadership. Leaders are therefore believed to be more intelligent that the average of the group being led but may not be the most intelligent. The trait theories point out that leaders have a list of skills such as creativity, organising ability, persuasiveness, diplomacy and tactfulness, knowledge of the task and the ability to speak well.
3. Behaviourist Theories: These theories concentrate on what people do that make them to be leaders rather than on their qualities. McGregors theory X and Theory Y Managers proposes that leadership strategies are influenced by a leaders assumption about human nature. Behavioural theories are based upon the belief that great leaders are made, not born. According to this theory, people can learn to become leaders through teaching and observation.
4. Situational Leadership Theories: These theories point out that leadership emerges according to the situation which also determines the leadership style.
5. Contingency Theory: This is a refinement of the situational approach and focuses on identifying the variables which produces leaders and the style that fit particular circumstances. According to this theory, no leadership style is best in all situations; and success depends on a number of variables including leadership style; qualities of followers and aspects of the situation. The theory points out that the leadership style depends on such factors as the situation, the people, the task, the organisation and other environmental variables.
6. Transactional Theory: This theory emphasizes the importance of the relationship between leaders and followers, focusing on the mutual benefits derived from a form of “contract” through which the leader delivers such things as rewards and recognition in return for the commitment or loyalty of the followers.
7. Transformational Theories: The central concept in transformational theory is change and the role of leadership in envisioning and implementing the change. Transformational leaders are change agents; courageous; believe in people; value driven; lifelong learners; have the ability to deal with complexity; ambiguity and uncertainty; and are visionaries (have grand plans).
There are different kinds of leadership required for different eras. Scholars have pointed out that the period of crisis requires charismatic leadership with a combination of intelligence, purpose, grace under pressure and consideration for followers. The period of change requires transformational leaders who are courageous, value driven and visionary; people who are uncomfortable with uncertainty while steady times require transactional leaders who maintain the status quo and strengthen existing structures, cultures and strategies.
Inclusion is about creating an environment where everyone can be themselves, feel that they are able to contribute their views and that these will be valued. An inclusive leader is someone who has a strong self-awareness about their own preferred work style, but is able to flex this style to connect with all of their team, even those who think and work differently and who may have totally different motivators. The kind of leaders we need in Africa are leaders who will challenge conventional approaches, inspire a shared vision, promote innovation and cultivate a sense of responsibility. We need leaders who are visionary, empower others, think systemically, provide ethical leadership and inclusive leadership. We need leaders who will address bad governance, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, unemployment among youth, gender inequality and environmental degradation. We need leaders who are resilient, visionary, empathetic with commitment to integrity.
It is important to point out that leaders are ordinary people who accept or are placed under extra-ordinary circumstances that bring forth their latent potential, producing a character that inspires the confidence and trust of others. This is why Amandla, the cultural wing of the Africa National Congress (ANC) stated that leaders are not born; they are produced during the course of the struggle. Great leaders are usually ordinary people who are prepared to sacrifice and do extraordinary things because circumstances made demands on their potential. True leaders are not selfish and have no interest in themselves or position but committed to influencing others for the common good.
3. Effective Leadership
Effective Leadership is the ability to inspire, guide and influence others towards achieving common goals, while adapting to challenges and promoting personal and organisational growth and national development. Effective leaders inspire others, provide vision and get things done to achieve organisational goals. Effective leaders should possess qualities of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, empathy and inter-personal skills); vision and strategic thinking (clear vision and strategic mindset); adaptability and resilience (flexibility to change and demonstrating resilience in the face of adversity) and ethical integrity (to gain trust and build a positive organisational culture). Effective leaders should not be selfish and transactional. They should be transformational leaders who practice servant leadership and are able to adapt leadership styles to meet the needs of their followers.
4. Effective Leadership And Leadership Recruitment Process
Effective leaders for countries can only be gotten through a good leadership recruitment process. As the Poet Octavia E. Butler counselled:
“Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought.
To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears.
To be led by a fool is to be led by the opportunists who control the fool.
To be led by a thief is to offer your most precious treasures to be stolen.
To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies.
To be led by a tyrant is to sell yourself and those you love into slavery.” -Octavia E. Butler
Leadership recruitment process is the process of selecting the right leader for an organisation or country. For many organisations, it includes steps of listing the candidates, getting information about the candidates and selecting one of them. Throughout history, different systems have been used to recruit political leaders ranging from self governance and monarchy to complex democratic systems. It is important to note that human organisation started with families and self-governance before states arose. Since then, various systems have been experimented including autocracy, monarchy and democracy. But from experience, it has been recognized all over the world that democracy is the best form of government. Autocracy characterized by one individual making all important decisions and oligarchy which puts the government in the hands of an elite are less desirable when compared to democracy. Democracy is so important in the world today that it has become the driving force of development making many scholars to draw a nexus between democracy and development. Although different people put emphasis on different issues which they consider to be crucial to democracy, majority of people agree that liberal democracy contains some basic principles which include citizen participation; equality; political tolerance; accountability; transparency; regular, free and fair elections, economic freedom; control of the abuse of power; bill of rights; accepting the result of elections; human rights; multi-party system and the rule of law. The idea of democracy is that majority of citizens take the decisions on who governs and the policies, programmes and projects to be implemented for the benefit of the people. But the challenge especially for the working people is that it has been recognized that liberal democracy is facing a crisis of legitimacy and declining confidence in political leaders and institutions necessitating the need for democratic renewal through increasing citizen participation. The process of governance has been hijacked by the political elite and the dividends of democracy do not go to the people.
The Institute of Strategic Management Nigeria (ISMN) has documented that generally a leader emerges from four sources- tradition, conquest, election and for personal qualities. Leaders can emerge through established tradition by inheritance as a social tradition or custom or spiritual ordination. Leaders can emerge by conquest such as imposition from military coups or by use of force or intimidation or impoverishment of the people in ways that leave them with no option than to involuntarily accept or invite the manipulator to lead them. Leaders can also emerge where a leader is duly elected when he/she is preferentially chosen in an atmosphere that is free and fair. Finally, leaders can emerge by the force of their personal qualities which set them apart from and above other people.
As Prof. Austin Uwandulu has argued, selection is a process of making a choice while election is a tool or technique for selection. It has been pointed out that common errors in leadership selection is to use criteria such as seniority, loyalty, availability, religion and ethnicity. Unfortunately, in many cases, wrong selection criteria are used for picking leaders across the world.
It is important to note that different techniques have been used to select leaders across the world. Until the seventeenth century, leadership selection was through tradition and conquest. But humanity came to experience the disadvantages of selecting leaders through such techniques. As from the 18th century, elections became the dominant and preferred mode of leadership selection across the world. Modern Party system and elections developed in Britain in the 18th Century and US in the decade following the ratification of the constitution of the United States in 1788.
The history of election in Nigeria dates back to the colonial era when the Clifford constitution was introduced in 1922. The constitution provided for an income based adult male suffrage where only adult males with a gross income of not less than one hundred pounds (£100) were allowed to vote. The first election under the constitution was held in 1923. The second election was held in 1947 following the introduction of the Richards Constitution in 1946 which reduced the income qualification to fifty pounds (£50). The third election was in 1952 following the introduction of the Macpherson constitution in 1951 which removed income qualification for adult male suffrage. The first three elections were into the legislative council, central legislature and regional legislature respectively. But the first general election was the 1954 General election into the central legislature following the introduction of the Lytleton Constitution of 1954. This was followed by the 1959 Federal elections, the 1964 general elections, the 1965 western election and the 1979, 1983, 1993, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023 general elections.
All over the world today, election is the most acceptable tool or technique for selection of political leaders who lead the process of nation building or development. Tradition and conquest are no longer fashionable. Those who rely on personal qualities use it to win elections. However, when electoral processes are compromised, it becomes difficult to have effective leaders.
Unfortunately, the leadership recruitment process in Nigeria is compromised. It has been documented that a remarkable phenomenon throughout history is that humanity, it would seem performs worse on government than on almost any other human activity. Nigeria is a classical case. As an illustration, there are Nigerians in leadership positions across the world doing the nation proud. The United Nations has Amina Mohammed as the Deputy Secretary General. The African Development Bank has Dr. Adewumi Adesina as the President. The World Trade Organisation has Dr. Ngozi Okoji-Iweala as Director General. The World Medical Association has Dr. Osahon Enabulele as President who just completed his term. The ten richest people in Africa include three Nigerians (Aliko Dangote, Abdulsamad Rabiu and Mike Adenuga). Unfortunately, we have not been able to replicate good and effective leadership in the political arena in Nigeria.
One of the reasons why Nigeria has experienced poor political leadership is a faulty recruitment process by way of elections. There are a lot of challenges with the conduct of elections in Nigeria from the 1923 election to the 2023 election. It has been documented that elections in Nigeria are constant tales of violence, fraud and bad blood. The challenges include among other things irregularities which put the credibility of the entire electoral process in doubt; problems with the legislative framework which puts constraints on the electoral process; several organisations are not playing their roles to ensure credible, free and fair election; the electoral system does not give room for inclusiveness; lack of independence of electoral commissions; long process of election dispute resolution; irresponsible behaviour by politicians and followers manifesting in thuggery and violence; lack of effective democratic institutions and monetisation of politics. It has been documented that money not only determines who participates in electoral politics but that money drowns votes and voices in Nigeria as ‘godfathers’ openly confess about shady deals, funding or sponsoring elections for ‘godsons’ and purchasing electoral victory. The end result of the challenges is that the votes of the citizens do not count.
At independence in 1960, there was a lot of hope and enthusiasm as captured by the speech of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa:
“This is a wonderful day, and it is all the more wonderful because we have awaited it with increasing impatience, compelled to watch one country after another overtaking us on the road when we had so nearly reached our goal. But now we have acquired our rightful status, and I feel sure that history will show that the building of our nation proceeded at the wisest pace: it has been thorough, and Nigeria now stands well-built upon firm foundations.”
Inspite of the hope and enthusiasm, the first Republic collapsed in 1966 followed by series of successful military coup détats (1966, 1975, 1983, 1985 and 1993). Every military take over was met with hope and enthusiasm only to be dashed as a result of failure of nation building. Return to civil rule in 1979 was greeted with enthusiasm and the election of Alh. Shehu Shagari as President. But the hope was dashed with profligacy, corruption and a discredited 1983 elections. Similarly, the emergence of Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 and Mohammadu Buhari in 2015 were met with hope and a lot of expectations by Nigerians. But those expectations were largely unfulfilled. As the 2023 elections gathered momentum, there was another heightened expectation. But poor performance by INEC especially failure to transmit votes as they were being counted brought doubts about the authenticity of the 2023 election results.
From the above, it is clear that the process of recruiting leaders in Nigeria have not resulted in effective leadership leading to putting round pegs in square holes. The opportunity presented by the electoral process to recruit leaders is truncated by manipulation of the electoral process. Political parties are captured by money bags. The nomination process is hijacked by a few politicians or in some cases by one politician. The party officials are bought to cook results of nomination process. At the general elections, thugs and violence are unleashed on the people. Money, wrappers, motor cycles etc are used to induce voters. Accreditation of voters is compromised. The BVAs is by passed. Even after voting, electoral officials are compromised to inflate figures.
This is why scholars have argued that leadership recruitment at all levels of governance is central to Nigeria’s national predicament and getting it right is key to the resolution of poor governance and national development. It has been documented that there is a band of bad people who dominate and control our political and governance processes in Nigeria.
5. Effective Leadership In Cross-cultural Contexts
Effective leadership requires an understanding and respect for cultural diversity. Leaders who are able to navigate cross-cultural differences are better equipped to inspire teams, manage conflicts and get things done. Cross-cultural leadership involves understanding and navigating cultural differences that affect communication, decision making, team dynamics and conflict management. Cultures vary in communication styles. When Nigerians speak in conferences in East Africa, participants normally complain that they are shouting. In Africa, decision making is better done through consensus with the philosophies of Ubuntu or Omoluabi. Ubuntu is a South African Philosophy that emphasizes the interconnectedness of all people and the importance of community, compassion and mutual respect. Ubuntu is derived from a South African local language which means “I am because we are.” Omoluabi philosophy is a Yoruba concept that embodies the values of good character, integrity and responsibility. The term is derived from Yoruba which translates roughly to “a person of good character” or “a person born well.” In the United States for instance, individualist cultures and personal responsibility is prioritised. Individual rights is the king. But in Africa, we talk about collective and community rights. Conflict Management styles differ by culture. The African way of conflict management is not adversarial. It is characterised by mediation, adjudication, reconciliation, arbitration and negotiation.
Therefore, effective cross-cultural leadership requires that effective leaders develop empathy and respect different perspectives. It also requires that effective leaders listen actively to followers and take followers concern and needs into consideration in taking decisions. In addition, effective leaders must be adaptable to suit the cultural context. Finally, effective leaders in diverse societies must be deliberately inclusive and encourage followers and teams to share ideas openly to lead to more intense engagement and productivity.
6. Conclusion
In a world that grows increasingly interconnected, effective leadership demands not only vision and competence but also an acute sensitivity to cultural diversity. Leaders who excel in cross-cultural contexts are uniquely positioned to inspire and unite teams, manage conflicts harmoniously, and drive sustainable development in their communities. This paper has underscored the essential qualities and practices that effective leaders must cultivate to navigate the complexities of diverse societies.
As demonstrated, understanding cultural values such as Ubuntu and Omoluabi offers leaders in Africa and beyond a pathway to more inclusive and empathetic leadership. By respecting these perspectives and fostering collaborative decision-making, leaders can build cohesive teams that transcend cultural barriers. Furthermore, the challenges facing leadership recruitment processes in Nigeria and other nations highlight an urgent need for systemic reform to ensure that the right leaders—those who embody integrity, resilience, and inclusivity—emerge to drive national and organisational progress.
Ultimately, developing cross-cultural leadership capacities and refining recruitment processes are both pivotal to addressing the crises of leadership that affect many regions. Leaders who commit to these principles can transform the societal landscape, creating environments where diversity enriches the collective vision, and where progress is achieved for the common good.
Nigeria is a potentially great nation. It has historically lacked strategic and effective leaders that can bring about national development. But there is a lot that we can do to change the narrative. The students graduating today can be part of the change that we have been waiting for.
– By Otive Igbuzor, Ph.D, Founding
Executive Director, African Centre for
Leadership, Strategy & Development
(Centre LSD). Headquarters: 3B, Niger
Avenue, Villa Nova Estate, after Cedar
Crest Hospital, Apo Dutse, Abuja,
Nigeria.
Website: www.centrelsd.org; www.otiveigbuzor.com
E-mail:tiveigbuzor@yahoo.co.uk; otive.igbuzor@centrelsd.org