Reflection allows one to get a broader understanding of an experience by placing it in a larger context.   Reflective thinking transforms one’s experiences into valuable insights.   (John Maxwell).

Reflection encompasses various interpretations among individuals. However, it is widely acknowledged that it is a highly esteemed form of thinking. Reflection has been widely adopted in higher education, especially in social work schools, as a beneficial method to help students develop the habit of deriving significance from their (intercultural) experiences.   Reflection is particularly beneficial for students during their practical placements, whether they are in their home country or abroad. It allows them to mindfully examine their role, actions, and duties, and critically evaluate and comprehend the observations and tasks they are engaged in (and connect them to theoretical knowledge).   Reflection is presented as a crucial tool for students to learn from the numerous paradoxes and intricate complexity they encounter in today’s social landscape.   The primary objective is to cultivate transferable talents that are applicable throughout one’s life and not limited to specific contexts, enabling individuals to perform more efficiently in challenging professional circumstances.   Reflective practice is deeply ingrained in the social work field and is becoming more prevalent in other caring professions including teaching.

The majority of perspectives on reflection in education are derived from the contributions of John Dewey (1910), an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer who is frequently acknowledged as the progenitor of reflective practice.   He expressed the idea that our learning does not come directly from experience, but rather from the process of reflecting on our experiences.   Reflection typically encompasses various components, such as interpreting an experience, revisiting a (critical) incident multiple times, adopting a more objective stance to gain a clearer viewpoint, seeking a deeper comprehension, striving for increased candour, evaluating both positive and negative aspects, and making impartial assessments.

Finlay provides a succinct overview of reflective practice, stating that it is often regarded as the process of acquiring new insights about oneself and/or one’s activity through learning from and reflecting on past experiences.   This frequently entails scrutinizing the underlying assumptions of common routines.   Furthermore, it typically requires the individual practitioner to engage in self-reflection and carefully assess their own reactions to practice scenarios.   The objective is to reflect on practical experiences and analyze them in a critical manner in order to acquire new insights and enhance future performance.   This is commonly recognized as an integral aspect of the ongoing process of acquiring knowledge and skills during one’s entire life. The source cited is Finlay (2008).

Interactions between different cultures and the resulting complexities often create chances for introspection.   In the contemporary era, it is unnecessary to travel outside one’s own nation in order to encounter circumstances that challenge one’s intercultural sensitivity.   The increasing interconnectedness of individuals across borders has led to a growing recognition of the need to cultivate a capacity for comprehending diverse cultures, which is now being acknowledged in several domains of society.   There is a growing recognition among individuals that having knowledge and skills related to different cultures and the ability to interact effectively across cultures are essential in the modern globalized and interconnected society.

Acquiring intercultural competences cannot be achieved through a solitary course.   Acquiring the attitudes, knowledge, and skills necessary to effectively interact, collaborate, and learn from individuals of different cultural backgrounds requires a significant investment of time and effort.   Utilizing arts-based and action-oriented methods is a valuable and captivating approach in this regard.   These inclusive approaches promote interpersonal communication, allowing individuals to engage in collaborative and organized endeavours with individuals from diverse backgrounds or various regions of Europe or the globe.   Engaging in lively, dynamic activities (such as dancing) or artistic pursuits (such as photography or music creation) within small, diverse groups allows individuals to interact with others in a welcoming and all-encompassing manner.   Several of these methodologies have already been employed in diverse environments to foster a sense of ease and familiarity among individuals in a novel group, context, or team, serving as effective means to initiate social interaction.   Similarly, they can be effectively utilized in cross-cultural environments.

When creating stimulating activities for a varied group, a facilitator must consider how each individual is expected to respond. Will participants feel at ease and comfortable? Will they perceive the activity as suitable and valuable? Will they feel encouraged to participate? Will the activity promote fairness, such as by forming a circle?   While it is necessary to create programs that involve arts and action, it is even more crucial to engage in reflection on these experiences.   Merely having experience does not automatically result in learning; individuals acquire knowledge via thoughtful contemplation of their experiences, which is where the true worth of the action is formed.   Often, a straightforward approach involves conducting a basic “check-out” or posing an open-ended question, such as: What will be your main takeaway from this intercultural activity?   May already elicit useful introspective insights from the individual participants (and question their initial assumptions).

In addition, the act of collectively discussing these introspective thoughts within an international group environment has the potential to be even more valuable, as it can result in more meaningful and impactful exchanges.   As a component of a broader initiative, a sequence of these activities, which combine artistic elements and proactive approaches, continuously culminate with thought-provoking inquiries and introspective instances. This can foster and empower participants to embrace a more contemplative mindset and improve their ability to engage in reflection.   Indeed, it has the potential to facilitate contemplation regarding forthcoming intercultural interactions (or cooperation), so fostering intercultural skills.

References:

Dewey, J. (1910) How we think. E-book on Project Gutenberg.

Finlay, L. (2008) Reflecting on reflective practice. PBPL paper 52 ; A discussion paper prepared for PBPL CETL (www.open.ac.uk/pbpl).

Anja Stofberg (2018). Reflecting on intercultural experiences. Rotterdam University of Applied Science. Retrieved from https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/blog/reflecting-intercultural-experiences.

Abstract

Although there is undeniable proof of the efficacy of certain initiatives, the peacebuilding sector as a whole has challenges in making a substantial influence on wider conflict dynamics.   In order to create and effectively showcase such a significant influence, it is crucial to have extensive cooperation, mutual learning, and unified systems for evaluating progress among peacebuilding participants.   Collective impact strategies have been successfully introduced in several disciplines, but they have not yet garnered substantial momentum within the peacebuilding community.   The recognition of the need for peacebuilders to work in a more integrated manner is growing, however there has been minimal advancement in this regard.   This study adopts the collective impact framework as a foundation due to its ability to clearly and succinctly address the fundamental challenge: How can collaboration be nurtured in a way that enables businesses to achieve and showcase a greater influence beyond their individual endeavours?   The objective is to extract valuable insights from the technique and subsequently implement them in the realm of peacebuilding.   Suggestions for future endeavours aimed at establishing collaborative impact efforts in the peacebuilding sector involve fostering collaboration across the whole project cycle and establishing a shared agenda with a distinct thematic and geographic focus.

Keywords: collective impact framework, peacebuilding, conflict resolution, sense-making, collaboration

Overview

Peacebuilding efforts inherently strive to bring about profound and substantial transformation within a society.   Collaboration is crucial in order to achieve such a significant influence, even inside the community.   At the community level, it is highly unlikely for any individual, group, or effort to independently make a significant impact on matters concerning violence and peace.   However, extensive and enduring cooperation among peacebuilding organizations is uncommon rather than typical.   This dilemma has assumed a pivotal role in the domain of peacebuilding.   In order to address this issue, peacebuilders must possess the ability to provide answers to two fundamental inquiries: 

• How can we strategically plan and execute our programs to ensure they have a wider and more significant influence?
• How can we acquire the evidence required to ascertain the cumulative effect and effectiveness of our programs? 

This challenge is not novel, nor is it exclusive to peacebuilding, but the issue has become more severe for two primary reasons.   Initially, assertions that particular projects contribute to wider societal transformation in conflict-ridden areas are becoming increasingly dubious.   The peacebuilding field has extensive historical involvement in regions such as Israel-Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, and South Sudan. Despite numerous projects that have been considered successful, they have not significantly impacted the overall conflict in these areas.   The term “project-itis” has been adopted in the field of development and peacebuilding to specifically refer to this phenomenon. 

The dynamic is associated with an increased need for accountability.   There is a growing need in all areas of social change to rely on evidence and show the effectiveness of programs.   In the context of peacebuilding, it is essential to demonstrate influence at a level beyond individual projects.   While the persistence of violent conflicts like Iraq or South Sudan does not necessarily imply the failure of peacebuilders, it does require them to show tangible influence on the broader dynamics of the conflicts in order to assert their success.

Collaborative sensemaking

Collaborative sensemaking refers to the process in which teams of individuals work together to collectively interpret and understand the knowledge they possess (Kirschner, Buckingham Shum, & Carr, 2003).   Collaborative sensemaking is prevalent in situations that demand quick reactions and the integration of various sources of information, such as in on-the-scene disaster response. These tasks are complex enough to necessitate the involvement of multiple perspectives and talents in order to comprehend and interpret the available data, as seen in intelligence analysis where large volumes of data need to be sifted through. 

In his 1993 work, Karl Weick posited that sensemaking involves the continuous process of constructing order and retrospectively making sense of events in order to shape our understanding of reality.  Specifically, when dealing with complex and ever-changing information, it is crucial for groups of individuals to not only synchronize their sharing of information, but also align their objectives, interpretations, and adjustments of previous theories in light of newly acquired information. 

In recent times, collaborative and social sensemaking systems have emerged, presenting a range of problems that need to be addressed. These problems include those related to establishing shared understanding, effective communication, seamless transitions, and efficient coordination.   Specifically, there is an increasing emphasis on comprehending how teams operating in various fields redirect their attention on an individual level, as well as collectively, to manage the tasks related to making sense of information.

The methodology of collective impact

The phrase collective impact gained popularity following the publication of a 2011 paper in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. This article proposed a method for funders and implementers to enhance their collaboration in addressing a particular problem within a specific geographic area, with the aim of generating more comprehensive and systemic solutions.   The concept of collective influence is defined as the dedication of a group of influential individuals from many sectors to a shared agenda aimed at resolving a specific social issue.   The references cited are Blum and Grangaard (2018) and Kania and Kramer (2011).   During an interview at the 2015 Tamarak conference, John Kania acknowledged that the concept of collective effect has been around in various forms for many years. However, it is currently undergoing a re-branding process with the use of new terminology.   A growing awareness is emerging among individuals regarding the necessity for a novel type of collaboration, leading to an increased inclination towards acquiring knowledge on how to consistently contribute to their local communities.   Individuals are actively seeking resolutions, and collective effect could perhaps provide the solution.

Collaboration is a longstanding practice.   The social sector abounds with instances of collaborations, networks, and other forms of collective endeavours.   However, collective impact programs possess specific differences.   Distinct from typical collaborations, collective impact efforts entail a centralized infrastructure, committed personnel, a methodical procedure that results in a shared agenda, coordinated measurement, ongoing communication, and mutually reinforcing actions among all participants.

This study adopts the collective impact framework as a foundation due to its ability to clearly and succinctly address the fundamental challenge: How can one promote collaboration that enables businesses to achieve and showcase a greater influence beyond their individual endeavours?   The objective is to extract valuable observations from the methodology and implement them in the realm of peacebuilding, without endorsing the complete adoption of the approach or claiming it as the exclusive or optimal method for promoting substantial cooperation among peacebuilding organizations.   These questions are worth investigating.

Kania and Kramer (2011) argue that attempts to foster collaboration between organizations have failed to achieve the intended results due to a lack of long-lasting agreement on shared objectives among the organizations involved.   Moreover, Kania and Kramer elucidate that the foundation of collective impact’s triumph originates from its fundamental attributes.   Their research has delineated five attributes of collective impact efforts that result in favourable outcomes (Kania, Hanleybrown, & Juster 2014):  

(a) A shared or mutually agreed upon plan or set of goals.   This attribute enables members of the community to synchronize their interests and resources in a purposeful and enduring manner.   A common agenda entails more than just a shared objective. It involves a collective comprehension of both the means to achieve that objective and the nature of the situation at hand. 

(b) Collaborative measuring systems.   Evaluation yields data on the effectiveness of the initiative.   In the absence of a shared agenda, partners face challenges in reaching consensus on the metrics required to determine the success of the initiative.   This stage is intricate, as there is no uniformity in the measurements employed by different organizations.   Nevertheless, to ensure accurate reporting and draw dependable findings, it is crucial to establish a consensus on the timing and methodology for measuring the outcomes (Parkhurst and Preskill, 2014). 

(c) Activities that strengthen each other.   Effective cross-sector coordination entails leveraging the expertise and strengths of different organizations, rather than duplicating efforts. This allows each organization to take ownership of a specific aspect of the project.   Nevertheless, it is imperative for every business to operate in unison and adhere to the shared agenda.

(d) Ongoing contact.   Consistent, frequent, and organized communication has been recognized as crucial in establishing trustworthy connections among collective impact participants.   Without a substantial investment of time and extensive discourse, accomplishing the first two steps would be challenging.

(e) Organizations that provide support and assistance to other organizations.   The backbone support organization serves as a facilitator, project manager, and data manager for the collective impact effort (Kania and Kramer, 2011).   The organization’s staff offers administrative assistance and facilitates cooperation among all collaborating organizations to assure the project’s progress by overcoming hurdles.   Collective impact reduces competition among social change activities by promoting teamwork instead of isolated influence (Irby and Boyle, 2014). 

These five characteristics are profound, arduous to achieve, and, as evidenced by research, valuable (Parkhurst & Preskill, 2014; Stewart, 2013).   Only a small number of social change efforts can be classified as collective impact, as its unique features require organizations and community people to change their mindset from conventional methods.

In conclusion

To summarize, collective impact is a special sort of collaboration that aims to address difficult societal issues by bringing together many groups from different sectors, all working towards a shared objective.   Given the novelty of this method, it is crucial to emphasize the need for deliberate implementation of a collaborative impact initiative, encompassing all its unique features. This ensures the initiative’s success, sustainability, and optimal resource utilization. 

We urge practitioners of collective impact to ascertain the amount of analysis employed by their initiative, devise methods to measure and shape the initiative’s future, and designate a facilitator for the effort.   We also urge grantors and funders to alter their mindset when distributing resources to organizations.   In the future, it is crucial for professionals in universities, non-profit organizations, and other industries to further develop the definition of collective impact and the most effective methods for organizing, implementing, and maintaining collective impact programs.

References

Blum, A., & Grangaard, R. (2018). Collaborative design in peacebuilding: Lessons from the Central African Republic. Special Report, United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved from https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/2018-04/sr_425_blum_grangaard_final.pdf (Accessed 31 March 2019).

Irby, M., & Boyle, P. (2014). Aligning collective impact initiatives. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 12 (4): 15-16.

Kania, J., Hanleybrown, F., & Splansky Juster, J. (2014). Essential mindset shifts for collective impact. Stanford Social Innovation Review 12 (4), 2-5.

Kania, J., & Kramer, M. (2011). Collective impact. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 9(1), 36-41.

Parkhurst, M., & Preskill, H. (2014). Learning in action: Evaluating collective impact. Stanford Social Innovation Review 12 (4), 17-19.

Stewart, S. D. (2013). United way, healthy communities, and collective impact. National Civic Review 102 (4), 75-78. doi:10.1002/ncr.21162.

Weick, K. E. (1995). Sensemaking in organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

The concept of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) model, which emphasizes sustainability, was initially introduced by Elkington (1997). Elkington described the TBL as a framework that considers not only the economic value generated by firms, but also their impact on the environment and society, both positive and negative (Potts, 2004). The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) paradigm, as proposed by Goel (2010), offers a means of assessing a business’s performance and the overall success of an organization through the examination of three key dimensions: economic, social, and environmental. The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework, as proposed by Elkington (1997), serves as a means to advance the environmental agenda by incorporating both economic and social aspects, hence promoting sustainable development. Simultaneously, the obstacles faced in the pursuit of the three aspects of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) can serve as a catalyst for the development of new and innovative approaches inside the participating organizations. This can lead to increased competitiveness and contribute to the advancement of society as a whole (Miller, 2023; Wagner, 2009). The notion of Triple Bottom Line (TBL) recognizes that organizations have the capacity to generate economic value, while also acknowledging their potential impact on social and environmental value (Lee, 2007; Miller, 2023).

The model diverges from conventional business models by not placing primary emphasis on the economic dimension. Instead, it highlights the imperative for enterprises to acknowledge and assume accountability for their actions within the extra sectors of interest (Gimenez et al., 2012). The foundational principles of the B-Corp movement are rooted in this framework, as Elkington devised the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) to enhance the collaborations between businesses and stakeholders, aiming to collectively pursue objectives that would be unattainable for any individual partner. This approach fosters the establishment of a community network wherein all stakeholders are acknowledged as equitable and reputable partners (Elkington, 1998, p.4). The notion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) aims to address possible conflicts that may arise between economic progress and ecological sustainability. According to the study conducted by Mitchell et al. in 2008, The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) can be regarded as an advancement in organizational thinking, as it emphasizes the equal significance of the three dimensions.

References

Elkington, J. (1994) Towards the Sustainable Corporation: Win-Win-Win Business Strategies for Sustainable Development. California Management Review, 36, 90-100. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/41165746.

Elkington, J. (1998). Partnerships from cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st‐century business. Environmental quality management, 8(1), 37-51.

Gimenez, C., Sierra, V., & Rodon, J. (2012). Sustainable operations: Their impact on the triple bottom line. International Journal of Production Economics, 140(1), 149-159.

Goel, P. (2010). Triple Bottom Line Reporting: An Analytical Approach for Corporate Sustainability. Journal of Finance, Accounting & Management, 1(1).

Lee, K. M. (2007). So what is the ‘triple bottom line?’. International Journal of Diversity, 6(6), 67-72.

Miller, K. (June 16, 2023). The Triple Bottom Line: What it is, and why it’s important. Harvard Business School Online’s Business Insights Blog. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/what-is-the-triple-bottom-line.

Mitchell, M., Curtis, A., & Davidson, P. (2008). Evaluating the process of triple bottom line reporting: Increasing the potential for change. Local Environment, 13(2), 67- 80.

Potts, T. (2004). Triple bottom line reporting: a tool for measuring, communicating and facilitating change in local communities. In Sustainability and Social Science: Round Table: Proceedings of Conference held in Sydney, NSW, December, 2003.

Wagner, M. (2009). Innovation and competitive advantages from the integration of strategic aspects with social and environmental management in European firms. Business Strategy and the Environment, 18(5), 291-306

I am on the view that the answer to this thought-provoking query is deeply rooted in human history. According to Ryne A. Sherman (2022), the selection process for leaders is the primary cause of modern leadership incompetence. Unlike our ancient ancestors, most businesses today select leaders based on office politics and nepotism, not on their experience, expertise, sound judgment, and ability to coordinate a group effort. Also, most contemporary leaders are selected through a political process that frequently has little to do with performance or results (Sherman, 2022). This begs the obvious question: what is the solution to the challenge of leadership selection that produces such poor results? The answer is a superior method of selection. There are currently typically three data sources that can be used to determine who should be promoted to a leadership position: supervisor ratings, peer ratings, and subordinate ratings. According to the data, superiors tend to evaluate employees based on how much they like them, how few problems they cause, and how effectively they advance the boss’s agenda. Peers, on the other hand, tend to evaluate promotion candidates according to how much of a menace they perceive them to be, particularly in terms of competition for the promotion. Subordinates evaluate these candidates based on their genuine leadership performance. Ask a person’s subordinates if you want to know how they will perform in a leadership position. Sadly, despite the soundness of this advice from a logical standpoint, the majority of organizations continue to select leaders based primarily on supervisor judgments, rarely asking subordinates for input or severely discounting their opinions. This plays directly into the hands of corporate politics experts, resulting in a constant turnover of ineffective leaders.

Ultimately, it would be prudent for organizations to learn from our prehistoric progenitors. Leaders should be selected based on their ability to establish an effective team, treat people fairly, resolve conflict, and exercise sound judgment for the group’s benefit, and not on their personal wealth, power, and glory. The answer is known by subordinates, if anyone is prepared to listen.

References

Sherman, A. R. (2022). Leadership and the nature of human nature. Deveoping Leaders Quarterly. Roland Deiser and Roddy Millar.

(Pfeffer, 2015) There is a vast, ever-expanding leadership industry comprised of an almost infinite number of books, articles, speeches, workshops, blogs, conferences, training sessions, and corporate leadership development initiatives that have existed for decades.

The period witnessed the emergence of a set of recommendations for improving group and organizational performance that were largely stable and sometimes supported by research. The recommendations include, but are not limited to, the following: leaders should inspire trust, be authentic, tell the truth, serve others, be modest and self-effacing, demonstrate empathic understanding and emotional intelligence, as well as other similar-sounding platitudes.

On the other hand, there is abundant, if not overwhelming, evidence of workplaces filled with disengaged, dissatisfied employees who do not trust their leaders and whose most frequently expressed desire is to depart their current employer. Not only is the world rife with dysfunctional workplaces, but leaders are also struggling, as they face shorter job tenures and an increasing likelihood of enduring career derailments and being fired. The situation described above is an appropriate example of leadership failure. Leaders are in decline. The leadership industry continues to fail in its mission to produce effective and successful leaders, and it has failed to produce enough talent to cover leadership vacancies.

Why, then, and what are the causes?

According to Stanford Graduate School of Business professor Jeffrey Pfeffer, “the fundamental problem with this industry is the disconnect between what we say we want from our leaders and how they actually manage organizations.”

Pfeffer argues that the quality of our leaders will not improve until we evaluate them and our leadership development practices with a more clinical eye, utilizing useful, objective metrics, as opposed to handing out questionnaires at the conclusion of leadership development activities and asking participants if they enjoyed it. Pfeffer writes, “The leadership industry is so obsessed with the normative — what leaders should do and how things should be — that it has largely neglected to ask the fundamental question of what is actually true and why.”

Without data that allows us to make accurate assessments of leaders, we are unable to make significant enhancements to their development. Pfeffer argues that nothing is likely to change until leaders are evaluated based on their actual accomplishments and held accountable for enhancing both their own behavior and workplace conditions.

Conclusion

In this brief article, I show the enormous disconnect between decades of leadership writing, development, speaking, blogging, etc., and the sad condition of workplaces and leadership. I argued that the emphasis on emotion over science and on positive emotions over reality contributes to the continuation of workplace and career issues.

I conclude this article with an interesting quote from Schott and Zaretsky (2013):

“Set aside what you would like to imagine…Machiavelli writes, and instead go straight to the truth of how things really work…like the…moralizers Machiavelli aims to subvert, we still believe a leader should be virtuous…Yet Machiavelli teaches that in a world where so many are not good, you must learn to be able to not be good. The virtues taught…are incompatible with the virtues one must practice to safeguard those same institutions…The proper aim of a leader is to maintain his state (and not accidentally, his job)…there are never easy choices, and prudence consists of knowing how to recognize the qualities of the hard decisions you face and choosing the less bad as what is the most good.”

To change the world of work and leadership, we need to get beyond the half-truths and self-serving stories that are so prominent today.

References

• Pfeffer, J. (2015). Leadership BS: Fixing workplaces and careers one truth at a time. Harper Collins.
• Scott, J.T., & Zaretsky, R. (December 9, 2013). Why Machiavelli Still Matters. New York Times.
• Zimmerman, E. (September 9, 2015). Jeffrey Pfeffer: Why the Leadership Industry Has Failed. Insights, Stanford Business.

Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has published Ghana 2022 Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey (AHIES) Third Quarter Labour Statistics. According to the report, there were approximately 1.76 million unemployed individuals in the third quarter of 2022. Two out of every three unemployed members of this population were female. Approximately 157,000 people experienced unemployment in each of the three quarters, or were unemployed in each quarter. Out of the roughly 11 million people who were employed in each quarter, approximately 7.5 million remained employed throughout the three quarters. This shows that over the course of the three quarters, approximately 3.5 million people entered and exited the labour force, highlighting their vulnerability.

According to Felic Kwame Quainoo, Ghana’s current unemployment situation can be compared to a patient on life support who requires urgent and critical medical attention, a situation which, if left unchecked, could be disastrous in the near future unless immediate steps are taken to reverse the situation. It is alarming, a “ticking time bomb,” and a national security concern.

The magnitude of the adolescent employment problem in Ghana necessitates a comprehensive, deliberate, and consistent response.

Priorities for promoting youth employment in Ghana include:

• Aligning formal education programs and skills development initiatives with a labor market that is rapidly changing and requires new and diverse skill sets, and adapting to new technology.
• Collaborate with the private sector, such as by involving employers in the design of training programs and introducing certifications for occupational standards, to adapt to the future of work.
• Integrate pre-employment support activities into the current education system in order to better prepare young people for the transition to the workforce.
• Promote social inclusion initiatives to improve access to credit and management training for women entrepreneurs, as well as to improve infrastructure and equipment for people with disabilities, ensuring that no one is left behind.
• In addition, we emphasize the need for increased collaboration between various stakeholders in order to reduce duplication and fragmentation of adolescent employment programming.

To equip the large number of graduates who enter the labor market each year with employable skills, Ghana’s educational system must be reformed to meet labour market demands. Providing coordinated and comprehensive preemployment support services, such as internships, job search and help, coaching and mentoring training, as well as shaping digital skills, soft skills, and work ethic, is essential for preparing young people for the rapidly evolving global labor market. The aforementioned list of support services must be effectively incorporated into the Ghanaian education system in order to prepare undergraduates for a seamless transition into the workforce.

Finally, we suggest establishing public-private partnerships by providing private sector partners with incentives to train their employees, involving employers in the design of training curricula, introducing certifications for occupational standards, and encouraging private companies to engage young people. Targeted initiatives, such as enhancing female entrepreneurs’ access to credit and management training, as well as enhancing the infrastructure and instruments available to young people with disabilities, can promote social inclusion. These efforts will be essential to increase youth participation in the labor market and ensure that no one is left behind.

Taking into account the options outlined in the report, future policy planning for youth employment should not only address youth unemployment but also construct the human capital required to sustain Ghana’s economy.

References

Dadzie, C. E.; Mawuko, F., & Suleiman, N. (2020). Youth Employment Programs in Ghana: Options for Effective Policy Making and Implementation. International Development in Focus;.Washington, DC: World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34349.

Fosu, K.Q. (September 29, 2020). Addressing Youth Unemployment in Ghana Needs Urgent Action, World Bank Report: Press Release. No. 2021/045/AFR.

Ghana Statistical Service (March, 2023). Ghana Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey. Quarter 3 of 2022 Labour Statistics Report.

The Fundamental Strategic Role of Top Leaders in Organizations

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29: 18).

The strategic leader faces many obstacles because he or she must balance the need for continuity with the need for change. Strategic leadership determines the organization’s directions, meaning, purposes, and objectives. Besides many other skills, a long-term perspective is required.

Bass and Avolio (1993) assert that Strategic Leadership is an internal group process. To lead, a leader must take part in group activities. Leadership transcends mere authority. According to Ireland et al. (1995), Strategic Leadership has six components: 1) determine strategic direction 2) use and maintain important competencies 3) develop human resources (human capital development), and 4) sustain an effective cooperative culture 5) Emphasizing moral conduct 6) implementing strategic management. Moreover, Ireland and Hitt (1999) define Strategic leadership as a person’s ability to anticipate, create a vision, maintain flexibility, think strategically, and collaborate with others to implement changes can improve the organization’s future. (Chinoperekweyi, 2019) Building successful organizations necessitates identifying and focusing on factors important to all stakeholders, and promoting the prudent and strategic use of organizational resources.

Strategic leaders constitute the dominant alliance in any organization, which typically includes senior management, the board of directors, the CEO, and other senior-level figures (typically those who report directly to the CEO or the board of directors) (Finkelstein et al., 2009; Hambrick and Mason, 1984). In terms of organization development and leadership in the 21st century, strategic leadership is a crucial component. Strategic leadership practices and methods must be recognized as an integral element of organization development in order to achieve better and more effective strategic change results. Effective strategic leadership is essential for a company’s decision-making in a volatile and dynamic business environment to achieve both short- and long-term objectives.

According to Minja and Kirimi (2012), the majority of corporate failures stem from a lack of strategic leadership practice, which results from leaders’ inability to effectively communicate the organization’s vision to its followers, inability to inspire followers to be passionate about their roles, and inability to inspire employees to be loyal to the organization’s vision.

Competitive and dynamic markets necessitate strategic leaders who are proactive in ensuring the participation and alignment of all organizational members from the planning stage through execution, so as to achieve the highest level of cooperation and coordination among colleagues. Strategic leadership relies on participative approaches to promote organizational and team performance to support organization development concepts. Participation by employees improves morale and motivation, resulting in increased results and productivity.

The current global business environment is more complex, demanding, and replete with competitive threats and opportunities for businesses. Organizational survival and expansion are significantly dependent on effective leadership practices. Hitt and Ireland (2002) argued that strategic leadership practices help firms improve performance while bringing about the desired change in a volatile business environment. Without strategic leadership, Ireland and Hitt (1999) believed that the likelihood of an organization achieving superior or even adequate performance when confronting the challenges of the global economy would be substantially diminished. Understanding the characteristics and skills of strategic leaders is essential for assuring the success of organization development initiatives.

References

Bass, B., & Avolio. (1993-Spring). Transformational Leadership and Organizational Culture. Public Administration Quartely, 17(1), 112-122.

Chinoperekweyi, J. (2019). Comparative analysis of organizational effectiveness in banking: A case study of the Zimbabwean banking sector. International Journal of Commerce and Management Research, 5(1); 13-21.

Finkelstein, S., Hambrick, D. C., and Cannella, Jr., A. A. (2009). Strategic Leadership: Theory and Research on Executives, Top Management Teams, and Boards. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Hambrick, D. C., & Mason, P. A.(1984). Upper Echelons: The Organization as a Reflection of Its Top Managers. The Academy of Management Review, 9 (2), 193- 206

Ireland, R. D., and Hitt, M. A. (1999). Achieving and maintaining strategic competitiveness in the 21st century. The role of strategic leadership. Academy of Management Executive, 13(1); 43-57.

Ireland, R., Hitt, M. &Hoskisson. (1995). Strategic Management Competitiveness and Globalization Consept. St. Paul MN, West Publishing Company.

Minja, D., & Kirimi, A.B. (2012). Transformational corporate leadership. Uitgever: Andrews UK Limited.

According to Albert Chinualugomu Achebe, in Things Fall Apart, “A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to redeem them from Starving. They all have food in their own houses. When we gather together in the moonlight village ground, it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. Therefore, let us continue with the team spirit and enjoy the power of togetherness. Let’s smile not because we don’t have problems, but because we are stronger than the problems” (1996, p.118).

Chinua Achebe is right. We need teams in practically every aspect of our lives. To drive an organization forward, the top team (functional, exeutive & strategic aspects of leadership) must work together like a well-oiled machine.

Given the inadequate research on the topic of top team working in higher education, there is undoubtedly a need for further research in this area. One outstanding interesting area of potential research borders on the issue of team development in Ghanaian higher education institutions.

A discussion on the meaning of teamwork, particularly in top teams, from the higher education and corporate sectors based on the following literature (Bensimon and Neumann, 1993; Katzenbach, 1998; Wageman et al., 2008) is critical and to relate the findings to the challenges of upper echelons (Hambrick, 2018; Hambrick and Mason, 1984) team working in higher education settings.

The focus of the research should be on the theory and practice of teamwork in top management teams in higher education institutions; in particular on the value of teamwork, and what characterizes effective team working in the upper echelons in both the corporate and higher education sectors. It would be valuable to carry out a more systematic study of the approaches to team development that are in existence, the advantages of each, as well as the usefulness of developing tools and practices that could be of high importance for the sector.

Literature Reference

Achebe, C. (1996). Things Fall Apart. Britain: Heinemann,  p.118.

Bensimon, E. S. and Neumann, A. (1993) Redesigning Collegiate Leadership: Teams and Teamwork in Higher Education. Baltimore, MD: The John Hopkins University Press.

Hambrick, D.C. (2018). Upper Echelons Theory. In: Augier, M., Teece, D.J. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-00772-8_785

Hambrick, D.C., & Mason, P. (1984). Upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers. Academy of Management Review, 9, 193–206.

Katzenbach, J. R. and Smith, D. K. (1993) The Wisdom of Teams. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Kennie, T. and Woodfield, S. (2008) The Composition, Challenges and Changes in the Top Team Structures of UK Higher Education Institutions. London: Leadership Foundation for Higher Education

Kezar, A., Jude Paul Matias Dizon, & Scott, D. (2019). Senior Leadership Teams in Higher Education: What We Know and What We Need to Know, Innovative Higher Education, 10.1007/s10755-019-09491-9

Wageman, R., Nunes, D., Burruss, J. and Hackman, J. (2008) Senior Leadership Teams. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Woodfield, S., & Kennie, T. (2008). Teamwork or working as a team? The theory and practice of top team working in UK Higher education. Higher Education Quarterly, 62(4), 397-415. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2273.2008.00399.x

Credibility is the foundation of leadership (Kouzes & Posner, 2011). People will voluntarily and cheerfully follow their leaders if they have faith in the people who lead them. Credibility is about how leaders gain the trust and confidence of their subordinates. It concerns what people demand of their leaders as a precondition to freely giving their hearts and minds to a common cause. It is also about the actions leaders must take so as to strengthen their constituents’ commitment.

The Problem

Since the last three decades, faith in organizations and leaders have started to fade away, and trust, the key element of credibility has taken a nosedive. No single event explains the whole decline, but a lot of people point the finger at Enron as the beginning of the fall. WorldCom, Tyco, Fannie Mae, other corporate accounting scandals, and illegal trading in mutual funds confirmed the suspicions of many about corporate greed, with persons like Bernard Madoff and Calisto Tanzi of Italy’s Parmalat only reinforcing these fears (Umar, Gungormus, & Kuzey, 2017). Sex scandals surfaced in churches (CIASE, 2021), as well as in the houses of parliament and statehouses. A housing and mortgage crisis in the United States, with a corresponding collapse in the financial markets, set in motion a prolonged economic recession that had the potential for bankrupting countries around the globe (FCIC, 2011). Millions lost their jobs; millions lost the roof over their heads; millions watched helplessly as the value of their retirement savings dwindled or disappeared. Adding to the anger of ordinary people was the fact that once-powerful organizations were given government bailouts while at the same time paying massive bonuses to their top executives (FCIC, 2011; Man and Ciurea, 2016; Umar et al., 2017).

To worsen the situation, in the recent past, environmental disasters have shattered entire populations and cost jobs in already unstable economic countries (Ritchie and Roser, 2021). In addition, the politicians on the campaign trail state publicly in their political billboards that their adversaries were liars, as opposed to offering answers that might help. The contagion effect was that public trust in all politicians weakened (Ikhariale, 2018). People are growing more reluctant to have confidence in their co-workers and their neighbours, especially in highly diverse organizations and societies where people are unaccustomed with the standards and expectations of their teammates.

Why Credibility Matters

Credibility matters influence employee levels of organizational commitment. According to Covey (1992), a high level of commitment generates an environment of cooperation and collaboration whereby leaders and constituents gain from open communication, benevolent interaction, and harmonious good organization thus producing a dedicated win-win performance bond. “Trusting other people encourages them to trust us; distrusting others make them lose confidence in us” (Kouzes and Posner, 2011, p. 106). In a nutshell, Leaders who demonstrate credibility create an organizational culture with increased morale, effective relationships, and high team performance.

Questions For Reflection

Leaders must accept that it is their responsibility to take the first step in earning back what has been lost and then further steps to sustain it.

• So, what can leaders do now to restore trust and confidence?
• What positive actions can leaders take to increase credibility over time?
• What can you do?

References

Covey, S.R. (1992). Principle-Centred Leadership. New York: Simon and Schuster, 31.

FCIC (2011). Final Report of the National Commission on the causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis in the United States. Retrieved from: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-FCIC/pdf/GPO-FCIC.pdf (Accessed 18 July 2022).

Ikhariale, M. (2018). Politicians on the Campaign trail. Independent. Retrieved from: Politicians On The Campaign Trail – Independent Newspaper Nigeria (Accessed 18 July 2022).

Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z. (2011). Credibility: How leaders gain and lose it. Why people demand it. San Francisco. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Man, M., & Ciurea, M. (2016). Transparency of accounting information in achieving good Corporate Governance. True view and fair. Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 3(1), pp 41-62).

Posner, B. Z., & Kouzes, J. M. (1988). Relating leadership and credibility. Psychological Reports, 63(2), 527–530. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1988.63.2.527

Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2021). Natural Disasters. Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: https://ourworldindata.org/natural-disasters (Accessed 18 July 2022).

The Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church (CIASE). Summary of the Final Report. Retrieved from: https://www.ciase.fr/medias/Ciase-Summary-of-the-Final-Report-5-october-2021.pdf

Uyar, A., Gungormus, A. H., & Kuzey, C. (2017). Impact of the Accounting Information System on Corporate Governance: Evidence from Turkish Non-Listed Companies. Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal, 11(1), 9-27.