Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
leadershiplatest news & developments

Next UN secretary-general must be a woman

For eight decades, the UN has championed equality, yet its highest office has remained closed to women. This article argues that the next UN Secretary-General must be a woman to…

Former president Thabo Mbeki

To honour Mbeki is to reclaim the African voices history tried to bury

This tribute to President Thabo Mbeki on his 84th birthday goes beyond mere praise, focusing instead on his life's work of returning African people to the centre of their own…

Behind the March and March hype

In the current hype surrounding 'mabahambe' (they must go) in South Africa, we risk losing an important opportunity for serious intellectual and analytical engagement. This piece…

What youth leadership looks like in practice

The third annual Connect Youth in Dialogue Summit in Johannesburg shifted the conversation from youth participation to implementation, focusing on accountability and action.…

Singularity Summit South Africa 2026 deepens the conversation on quantum computing, AI and human potential

As quantum computing edges closer to practical reality and artificial intelligence continues to accelerate, Singularity South Africa has announced another wave of influential…

Constitutional amendments: The changes will make it easier for the ruling party to hold onto power and elect the candidate it wants as president. Photo: Parliament of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s constitutional debates: Lessons from Mugabe, Nkomo and Tsvangirai

Zimbabwe is once again grappling with how leaders gain, maintain, and transfer power. Proposed constitutional amendments by the ruling Zanu-PF party aim to extend presidential…

Leadership: South African voters must move beyond personality-driven politics and adopt a more disciplined, evidence-based approach. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

How can South African voters avoid electing a Trump-like leader?

Drawing parallels with Donald Trump's presidency, this article explores the potential emergence of a similar leader in South Africa and outlines critical steps citizens can take…

Shaky ground: the social foundation of industrial experience has been undermined by systemic inequality,
inadequate investment in vocational education and poor alignment between education, skills development
and industry demands. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

A focus on one faltering building block

The country presents a clear illustration of how a weak social foundation constrains industrial development and reinforces structural inefficiencies but we can change that

Video

Mzansi Unicorns: Hope is our biggest export: With Lebo Rasethaba – Podcast episode 6

Mzansi Unicorns is a podcast spotlighting exceptional South Africans making a global impact across culture, business, sport, and social change.

Video

Mzansi Unicorns: Leveraging technology and AI to solve BIG problems: Melvyn Lubega – Podcast episode 5

Mzansi Unicorns is a podcast spotlighting exceptional South Africans making a global impact across culture, business, sport, and social change.

We like to think allegiance is simple and that you play for the country where you are born and raised. But in a globalised world, allegiance is fluid. Photo: Themba Hadebe, AP

Boks’ win raises questions of allegiance, privilege and the test of leadership

The rugby team’s victory over the All Black was way more than a record win; it was a symbolic one too

Visionary: An example of a good leader in the corporate world is Maria Ramos (above), who headed Absa, and in the public sector the former public protector, Thuli Madonsela, stood out. Photo: World Economic Forum

How to find the right leader

All too often known underperformers are recycled or ‘friends’ are selected to lead boards, councils and companies

Gift: Vus’umuzi Phakathi, winner of this year’s Toastmasters’ Southern African Champion of Public Speaking award. Picture: Supplied

The architecture of speech: How to be heard

Southern Africa’s top speaker, Vus’umuzi Phakathi, unpacks the architecture of a powerful speech, mental illness, transformation and becoming visible in white spaces in an…

Leaders such as , Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu pursue power at the cost of people. (File photo)

After the hashtags: A letter to the youth left with debris

South Africans’ history taught us the cost of inhumanity and that it was defeated by resistance, so we must not be indifferent to those building inequality in the world

Too often politicians talk about ‘our people’, yet seem not to care deeply.

We need a values-based, not an ‘out of sight out-of mind’ leadership in South Africa

A values-based, empathetic and compassionate leadership style is necessary to address issues such as poverty and inequality

African Development Bank Group headquarters in Le Plateau, the business district of the Ivorian capital Abidjan. – (Photo by ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP via Getty Images)

A woman leading the African Development Bank would be a strategic investment

The AfDB has been led by men since it was founded in 1964.

ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula.

‘Mammoth task’ ahead, says Mbalula of reconfigured ANC in KwaZulu-Natal

Outspoken secretary Bheki Mtolo has been kept on the books as the convenor of policy, planning and monitoring

Showing the way: Lumkile Wiseman Nkuhlu, author of Purposeful Leadership For Africa in the 21st Century.

Are we ready for this vision?

Book about effective leadership makes the case for Africa’s path to sustainable prosperity

Red-letter day: Leader of the EFF Julius Malema. Photo: Frennie Shivambu/Gallo Images

EFF conference expected to deliver Malema’s third term

Former secretary general Godrich Gardee appears set to be elected as deputy president

Premier Panyaza Lesufi at the release of the quality of life survey by the  Gauteng City-Region Observatory  (GCRO) at Radisson Blu on October 22, 2024 in Sandton. (Photo by Luba Lesolle/Gallo Images via Getty Images)

Succession fuels Gauteng coalition woes

Strain over the ANC coalition with the EFF in Ekurhuleni seems linked to leadership battles