Kofi Annan was a global leadership figure and world diplomat for most of his life. He was the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, co-recipient with the United Nations itself of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, and Chairman of the Elders.
There is no leadership without humanity
One of his key contributions was the development of the Millennium Development Goals, with a focus on ending poverty and disease for humanity. He proposed that we put people first at the centre of everything the United Nations does.
As Secretary-General of the United Nations, he was a staunch critic of the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003, declaring it illegal and unjustified.
Nobel Peace Prize winner, Kofi Annan on speaking truth to power.
Speaking truth is a leadership responsibility
Here’s what we can take from Kofi’s example and pay it forward in our own lives and leadership:
Dignity.
Kofi Annan believed that we as leaders need to treat every human being with respect, and where we can assist them to lead lives with basic human dignity. All human beings have a right to be held and treated with dignity, especially the downtrodden and those living in poverty and sickness.
Speak Truth To Power.
It is no easy thing to denounce the United States on a global platform, in an international forum. The USA is a well-resourced and colossal influence. To criticise and disagree is costly, personally and professionally. It is not popular to call out a behemoth.
When we speak truth to power, we call out actions and stories that are at odds with the going narrative. It’s the courage to say, “Hey - that’s not right, that’s not what we agreed to, that goes against what we believe and what we hold dear.” This is no easy thing. However, each act of personal courage in speaking truth to power uplifts us all.
Keep going.
Kofi Annan did not see peace throughout the world on his deathbed. He felt the world had gone backwards. It had moved away from multilateralism, human rights violations had worsened, and there was a failure of diplomatic peaceful resolutions. Like other world leaders who passed before seeing final fulfilment of their vision - Gandhi, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy - the work is not done. Uplifting humanity needs daily focus.
We build a bridge one brick at a time. Each act of courage, each act of human decency, each act of peaceful resolution, brings us closer to a world we can be proud to call our home.
We can do this.
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About the author, Canberra leadership expert Zoë Routh:
Zoë Routh is one of Australia’s leading experts on people stuff - the stuff that gets in our way of producing results, and the stuff that lights us up. She works with the growers, makers, builders to make people stuff fun and practical.
Zoë is the author of four books: Composure - How centered leaders make the biggest impact, Moments - Leadership when it matters most, Loyalty - Stop unwanted staff turnover, boost engagement, and build lifelong advocates, and People Stuff - Beyond Personalities: An advanced handbook for leadership. People Stuff was awarded Book of the Year 2020 by the Smart WFM Australian Business Book Awards.
Zoë is also the producer of The Zoë Routh Leadership Podcast.