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Recent discussions with a global consultant in organisatonal culture and leadership- Dr Flo Falayi have expanded my interpretation of Africa and it’s positioning on the global scene.
He once said in a tweet: “I also will like to state that the lack of a core identity destroys our interpretation and understanding of leadership”. This means whatever growth we need springs up from this question- “who are we?”
I’ll be throwing up a thought wrapped up from a merger of four different classifications of human expertise- Thinkers, Strategists, Futurists & Culturalists. My goal is to create a gusher on many other things millennials can take on in creating the future Africa deserves.
I’ll start with Thinkers!
As a man THINKS in his heart, so is he, therefore, you speak from what you think. Your words are a reflection of your heart, your heart is a reflection of your mind, your mind is a reflection of the environment and the environment is a reflection of what we know.
The larger part of an African millennial’s conversation has to do with needs; majorly an off-shoot of dependency or a sense of entitlement. This could result from the nature of our upbringing as majority of our parents were government workers, managers in organisations and hardly entrepreneurs at the time. Most and generally, everyone depended on something at the end of the month. The idea of giving authentic opinions on public issues weren’t so much encouraged, at best your voice stayed within the rooms or dining tables. This nature formed the environment of the homes an average millennial in Africa grew up in. All you need to do was agree with things and live according to what comes or the instructions given. You were not really allowed to creatively think up things, you only thought based on what was instructed by a superior. The burden on parents to get a living going reduced the attention they could give to hearing out their children, talk less of encouraging their opinions or guide their authentic thoughts on life, create new things. Those were the best ways they knew to express care and they had a good heart towards it.
Fast forward to today, do you think this gave an average millennial a good foundation for effective thinking processes?
Taking things outside, if thoughts are reflections of the environment and the environment we live in is more or less a pass down of what the colonial governors created with some authenticities based on their culture, does that make us have a clumsy interpretation of what an ideal African society/environment should be? When it comes to being the best at anything, is the orientation guiding that a little bit distorted making it less of being authentic?
The mind of the African millennial constantly straddles taking up mannerisms of the west while staying true to its own culture. At the end of every effort, he can’t sit comfortably in the center of both worlds. He then waits to get the latest way to live from an unconscious perception created and passed through the ruling media. This soon starts to form his basis for creativity or thinking.
So then, how really does an African millennial think?
I’ll continue in my next post. Please share your thoughts by tweeting @tomiwale_ #TSFC
YOMI WALE
Creative Director, GetUpInc
