OPINION LEADERSHIP
Balancing tech with humanity
Celiwe Ross, Old Mutual Director of Group Strategy and Human Capital, highlights Africa’ s need for leadership grounded in empathy, ingenuity, and purpose.
Celiwe Ross
The modern leader must be more than a strategist. They must be a storyteller, a coach, and a meaning-maker.
Leadership today is no longer defined by command and control. It’ s about clarity in chaos, courage in contradiction, and compassion in complexity. As an African woman and an engineer working in financial services, I’ ve seen firsthand how the expectations of leadership have shifted from technical expertise to human-centred wisdom.
The modern leader must be more than a strategist. They must be a storyteller, a coach, and a meaning-maker. Financial performance still matters, but it now shares the stage with disruption, Generative AI, human potential, and trust. These are the new currencies of leadership.
As Leena Nair, Global CEO of Chanel, reminds us:“ Do the tough things, do it decisively, but do it with compassion. Do it keeping the human being at the end of it in mind.”
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