Most of you have probably heard of the news of the total leadership failure going on right now in Zimbabwe. The situation there is an enormous mess that has developed into a full-blown humanitarian crisis that will likely get much worse before it gets better.
I suspect of my readers see this news and file it in the same file of the cost of corrupt, rogue leaders around the world, but this case is altogether different and deserves a little background research if you want to squeeze a personal leadership lesson out of this crisis. I follow African politics very closely and have a number of African friends whose families are in politics or leadership throughout the continent.
Robert Mugabe is 84 years old and has been in office since 1980. During that period, he has been celebrated, rightfully so, as one of the most progressive, visionary leaders in the world. For years after colonialism, Zimbabwe was used as a shining example of how a country can rebound from oppression. Mugabe won award after award around the world and was very able to be a player on the international stage. Knighted by Queen Elizabeth, celebrated by the United Nations, loved by all of his peers throughout Africa – Mugabe was a good leader during tough times.
It is in the midst of this great success. many years ago, that we find the pivotal point where the threads that were holding him (and Zimbabwe) together began to unravel. Robert Mugabe began to believe that he was the only person that could lead his country. Instead of seeing the beauty and reward of training successors, he began to feel threatened by emerging leaders. Most of this is ego rooted in the false belief that HE was the best (and only) person that continue leading the country he loved.
For the past ten years he has squashed uprising, political opposition, and free press – to the surprise of his friends around the world – many who have stuck with him in spite of his errors. Now, when a qualified opposition leader caused an election runoff (and probably won the general election the first time around), Mugabe and all of his followers, have been brutally violent to anyone that threatens their future in power.
Now, because of Mugabe’s inability to let go of power and inability to see a future beyond his own nose, he is ruining a beautiful country, its economy, its people, and its good name.
Listen – this lesson applies to all of us. Do you know when to let go? In arguments, do you know when to let go? In leadership, do you know when your time has passed? Do you have successors in place? If not, you may be more like Mugabe than you know.