Abiola Salami, a performance strategist and founder of The Peak Performer (TPP), has urged aspiring young Africans to leverage their problem-solving skills to drive organisational growth, saying leaders across Africa must embrace responsibility and accountability.
Salami made this call during the launch of his new book, GRIT (Grow, Rise, Innovate, and Thrive), at the Emerging Leaders’ Summit themed ‘How to Drive Accountability and Ownership in Young Talents,’ acknowledging that office politics exists in every workplace and urged participants to leverage their problem-solving skills to drive the organization and personal progress.
Salami stated that taking responsibility helps people grow, build skills, and position themselves for new opportunities in their careers and lives. According to him, taking responsibility helps people grow, build skills, and position themselves for new opportunities in their careers and lives. “Leaders take responsibility; workers don’t. The only person we engage in this program is the one in the mirror.”
Linus Okorie, a leadership coach and founder of GOTNI Leadership Centre, also emphasised the importance of transformational leadership in today’s fast-paced world. He stated that vision is a driver of growth and that leaders must have a clear vision to inspire and motivate others.
He emphasised the importance of values such as excellence, integrity, and love for humanity in leadership. According to him, these values drive growth and progress, and he stressed the importance of having a learning system, where individuals can learn from others and continually improve themselves.
“It will interest you to know that the world has changed; everyone in this room, your competition is no longer local, your competition is now international. We are in a world where if you don’t do anything to reinvent yourself, to stay at the place where your impact is felt on the global level, you might not be able to make the kind of sustainable impact we are talking about,” he stated.
Peter Obadare, a cybersecurity expert, stated that the book ‘GRIT’ is a practical guide for personal and professional growth. He highlighted its focus on moving beyond job titles to develop a value-driven mindset.
Obadare also emphasized discipline as key to rising above current challenges and described the book as a manual for applying the GRIT principles in everyday life.
