Twenty-Six And Already RUNNING It

Last month I told you I would have more to share once I actually walked into the classroom.

I walked in. And that room reset something I thought I already understood.

Thirty-three young leaders. Eighteen countries. Rwanda, Nigeria, Kenya, Tunisia, South Africa, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania... and ten more.

The average age in that room was 26-years-old.

I need you to sit with what 26 looked like in that cohort. A policy analyst in the Office of the President of Uganda. An IT auditor at KPMG Tunisia. A Horn of Africa analyst for BBC Monitoring. A medical doctor. A climate justice programs lead. An engineering student at Makerere. And TEN of them... 10... already running organizations they founded themselves.

At 26-years-old, I had NO college degree was still struggling to learn how to speak up in a meeting.

Here is why that landed on me so hard, and it is not because I was impressed. I was. But that is not the point.

I have spent 30 years watching the OTHER version of this.

You are excellent at the technical work, so they promote you. Monday morning you are responsible for eight human beings, and not one person has ever shown you how to give hard feedback, how to delegate without hovering, how to read a room that has gone quiet, or how to say no to your own boss. We hand people the job first and wish them luck. We call it a development plan.

It is not a development plan. It is a coin flip.

The African School of Governance, co-founded by President Paul Kagame and former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, is doing it in the order that actually WORKS. Build the leadership muscle at 26-years-old, while they are still building everything else. Not at 45-years-old, when the habits have set in and the cleanup is expensive.

That is not catching up to anyone. That is getting out ahead of a problem the rest of us are still paying for.

So I taught them five times across three weeks of a hybrid program.

We started online on August 10, on the core principles of managing people and teams.

90 minutes. I filled 85 of them with two live polls and a breakout exercise, and not one person checked out... which, if you have ever taught anything virtually, you know is the whole ballgame.

Then three days in person in Kigali. Organizational culture. Communications simulations, where they had to lead a team through a mess in real time. Data-informed decision making. And on the final day, a Leadership Commitment Marketplace, where every single one of them stood up and said out loud, to the room, what they were going home to DO differently.

That last one is my favorite thing we did, and I want to tell you why.

Learning is private. You can nod along in a workshop, take beautiful notes, feel genuinely moved... and change absolutely nothing on Monday. Saying it out loud, in front of peers who will remember with an identified accountability partner from your cohort....is a different act entirely. It costs something. That is where readiness actually starts.

One more thing I noticed that week, and I have not stopped turning it over.

Eighteen of the 33 participants were women. And I was the only woman on the teaching team.

I felt every one of those 18 watching me. I never said a word about it... I did not need to... because I remember being the only one in the room, looking up front, hoping to find someone who looked like me. So I taught a little slower that week. A little more deliberately. Answered every question. Stayed late and attended all of the extracurricular activities to remain accessible for more questions and advice outside of the syllabus.

And then the week closed with their graduation ceremony, in a room full of people who had every reason to be proud of themselves. I just had the honor to be there, play a small part in their journey, and watch it all happen.

And I let each of them know they blessed me by making one of my dreams come true - being able to teach the next generation in Africa. My first of many more teaching opportunities to come! Stay tuned!

So let me leave you with two questions this month, and I want you to sit with the second one longer than the first.

Who on your team is going to get handed PEOPLE this year?

And what are you doing to PREPARE them... BEFORE you hand them the job?

September Observances:

• National Recovery Month: Recognizes people in recovery from substance use and mental health conditions, along with the families, providers, and communities who walk alongside them.

• National Suicide Prevention Month: A month dedicated to awareness, prevention, and dismantling the stigma that keeps people from reaching out.

• Krishna Janmashtami, Sep 4: A Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna, observed with fasting, devotional singing, and midnight prayer.

• International Day of Charity, Sep 5: A United Nations observance honoring the role of charity and volunteerism in relieving suffering and advancing human dignity.

• International Day of Indigenous Women, Sep 5: Honors the leadership, resilience, and cultural stewardship of Indigenous women around the world.

• Labor Day (United States), Sep 7: Recognizes the contributions of American workers and the labor movement that built the modern workplace.

• National HBCU Week, Sep 7 to 11: Celebrates Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the generations of Black scholars, professionals, and leaders they have produced.

• Paryushana, Sep 8 to 15: The most significant festival in the Jain calendar, observed with fasting, deep reflection, and the seeking of forgiveness.

• Anniversary of September 11, Sep 11: A day of remembrance for the lives lost in 2001 and for the first responders who ran toward the danger.

• Rosh Hashanah, Sep 11 to 13 (sundown to sundown): The Jewish New Year, a time of reflection, prayer, and the sounding of the shofar.

• Ganesh Chaturthi, Sep 13 to 14: A Hindu festival honoring Lord Ganesha, remover of obstacles, celebrated with processions, music, and community gathering.

• Hispanic Heritage Month, Sep 15 to Oct 15: Celebrates the histories, cultures, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities.

• Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, Sep 17: Commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution and recognizes those who have become citizens.

• International Equal Pay Day, Sep 18: A United Nations observance marking the global effort to close the gender pay gap... because equal work still does not reliably mean equal pay.

• Yom Kippur, Sep 20 to 21 (sundown to sundown): The Day of Atonement, the holiest day in Judaism, observed with fasting, prayer, and repentance.

• International Day of Peace, Sep 21: A United Nations observance calling for a global ceasefire and a renewed commitment to nonviolence.

• International Day of Sign Languages, Sep 23: Recognizes sign languages as full, natural languages and affirms the linguistic rights of Deaf communities.

• Native American Day, Sep 25: Honors the histories, sovereignty, and enduring contributions of Native American nations.

• Sukkot, Sep 25 to Oct 2: A Jewish harvest festival commemorating the forty years the Israelites spent in the wilderness, observed in temporary shelters called sukkahs.

• HR Professional's Day, Sep 26: A day to recognize the people who hold the culture, the compliance, and the humanity of an organization together... usually without applause.

Until next month... Be well and protect your peace!