To Go Far, Go Together: How Leaders Strengthen Teams through the Sankofa Principle

Multicultural Insights from Dr. Juana Bordas

Why are you ignoring the past?

Humans have had formal leaders for at least 6,000 years, when civilization first arose. That’s an immense amount of leadership knowledge, yet today’s leaders look only as far as this year’s trendy management philosophy – if they look at all: according to Gartner Research, most new managers (85%!) have no formal leadership training.

Enter the Sankofa Principle.

We learned about Sankofa from podcast guest Dr. Juana Bordas. Originating in Ghana, Sankofa means “Go back for what you forgot.” The point is to learn from the past to make a better future. For leaders, it means taking the rich leadership lessons of the past to become better leaders tomorrow.

So how do you gain 600 generations’ worth of leadership knowledge?

Start with yourself. You probably take it for granted, but you have your own family culture. What do you love about it? Did you have a great learning moment when your mother or father displayed exceptional parenting skills? Does your family tree have a relative whose team admired them? Sage leadership advice may be dangling over your own shoulder.

Now look to your team. Here’s where multiculturalism’s strength becomes your own. There’s a distinct cultural history behind every one of your team members — a history replete with traditions and leadership wisdom. Great value waits to be uncovered here. Learning cultural history is important: it not only reveals maxims and guidance, but helps you understand why particular employees behave or react in certain ways that puzzle you.

As the African cultural proverb says, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

MAJOR BONUS: Showing such curiosity for your team boosts their engagement; it lets them know you care about them as people, not just cogs. They become more cohesive, too, as they learn about, appreciate, and even adopt each other’s cultural traditions.

BONUS #2: Expect problem-solving skills to amplify. Having so many diverse perspectives with generations of distinct history behind them opens up possibilities a single mono-work culture cannot even imagine. Need new products or services? This open sharing of multiple cultures will take brainstorming an order of magnitude higher.

Finally, look beyond the workplace. Expose yourself to different cultural celebrations in your community. Enjoy the music and food of ethnic festivals. Chat with those new neighbors who just emigrated from overseas. Travel. Read. Just generally be curious about lives that are different from yours. Your wellspring of wisdom will grow all the deeper.

It’s wisdom that will enrich your leadership. And, perhaps, you’ll create a new, more vibrant work culture of your own.

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Leadership is a collaborative activity. We learn and grow faster when we do so together — and if we’re committed to becoming great leaders, we never really stop learning, no matter what our job titles are.

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This article was adapted by Dan Mushalko from our podcast episode Salsa, Soul, & Spirit: Leading Your Multicultural Team with Dr. Juana Bordas.

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