Page 12 - Forbes - Africa (March 2020)
P. 12
FORBES AFRICA
REFLECTIONS
DO WE ‘COMPROMISE’ TO ADAPT
OR DO WE TRULY CHANGE?
BY RAKESH WAHI, FOUNDER AND PUBLISHER, FORBES AFRICA
N2019,IWITNESSEDAMAJOR Sochangeistheanswertomatterswe
changeinmytelevisionviewinghabits; believetobecoretoourvalues.When
ItooktoNetflixwithavengeance, differencesarise,wemusthavethe
almostlikeplayingcatch-upfor fortitudeandcouragetoinfluenceothersto
I timelost.AmovieIenjoyedrecently bringaboutchange;italsomeansthatwhen
wasTheTwoPopes,anintensefilmwithkey wearewrong,wemusthavetheabilityto
lessonsindealingwithideologicaldifferences, changeourownmind-settosomething
confessionsandforgiveness.Itdoesnotmatter morerelevanttoourtimes.
whoyouarebutseekingforgivenessandthen Changebringsmetoanothervery
atoningforyoursinsisablessing.Thebanter topicalmatter;inequalityinthetreatment
andferventexchangesbetweenthetwo ofwomen.ItbeingInternationalWomen’s
Hollywoodlegendsinthefilmiscaptivating. DayonMarch8,andatimetoreflecton
AnthonyHopkins,asCardinalJosefRatzinger genderequality,Ithoughtitappropriateto
andfinallyPopeBenedictXVI,makesan usethisnarrativetocontrastcompromise
importantstatementwhenJonathanPryce, orchange.Lookingbackinhistorytowards
playingCardinalJorgeMarioBergoglioand alltheexclusionsmakesonewonderwhat
finallyPopeFrancis,refusestobenominatedfor womenhavegonethroughtofindtheir
Pope:“Notwantingtobealeaderqualifies you placeinsociety;Ishuddertothinkifithad
themosttolead”. beentheotherwayaroundandmenhad
It’saveryprofoundstatement. undergonethesametreatment.Tomy
Thereareexamplesinhistorywhere mind,therear-viewmirroris,proverbially
leadershaveeitherrefused(Gandhi)or speaking,areflectionofthepastandcan
relinquishedoffice(Mandela)toallowotherstolead.Itwastheir giveuslessonsandperhapsarealitycheckonprogress.
interesttobringaboutchangefortheirpeopleandnotforpersonal However,onthismosttopicalsubject,therealquestioniswhether
rewardthatdistinguishedthesegreatmenrevereduntilthisday.The wehavesimplymadecompromisesandcheckedboxesorarewe
markofaleaderisthathewilldowhatiscorrect,irrespectiveofthe trulychanging?Thisisaverycomplexissuefacingsocietyandthere
circumstances;heorshewillnotbelookingatpersonalgainwhen arenoquick-fixsolutionstothishistoricincongruity.Thereisalot
makingadecision,particularlywhennominatedtoplayarolethat oflipservicetothissocietalimbalanceandinreality,thejourneyhas
influencesthelivesofmillionsofpeople.It’salessonforeveryonebeing beenaprolongedoneembeddedwithcontention.Partofthereason
nominatedforhighofficetoreallyintrospectonwhethertheybelieve isthereisarelianceonmakeshiftsolutionsofcreating“quotas”rather
theycanfulfiltheirmandatethroughtheirowncompetenceandinner thanmakingitcompetence-based.Puttinganypersoninaroleof
beliefsonvaluesthatareneededinfulfillingthoseresponsibilities.I responsibilityonthebasisofanymatrixotherthancompetenceis
reallywonderhowmanypeopletrulyintrospectontheircapabilities settingtheindividualupforfailureandthensettingaprecedenceto
withhonestyandintegrityandthenactaccordingly! questiontheveryrationalebehindthedissymmetry.
ThenextstatementthatmadeanimpactwaswhenPopeBenedict The last decade has brought about a lot of change with more
XVIasksCardinalBergoglioifhehad“compromised”whenhe sectors opening up to women, including the police, military, aviation
adaptedtothingshemaynothavebelievedin.TheCardinal’sresponse industry and many more vocations that had exclusions earlier.
washehadnot“compromised”buthad“changed”.Thisisagaina Oneanswerliesinmoreopportunitiesatthegrassrootslevelby
defininglesson.Dowecompromisetoadaptordowechange?In makingsureourgirlsareeducatedandreceivethesameopportunities.
allourlives,wemakecompromisestoavoidconflict.Therearealot Toachievethis,moreskillsdevelopmentresourcesneedtobespenton
ofmundaneday-to-daythingsweagreetobutthosemattersdonot youngwomensotheycanbetrainedinthevocationoftheirchoosing. Photo by Motlabana Monnakgotla
deviatefromourgrainandothercompromisesthatmaybemadeto Ialsobelievesuccessfulwomenneedtopaymoreattentiontothis
arriveatamiddlegroundinanegotiation.However,compromising our importantissueandnotonlyberolemodelsbutalsochampionsforthis
values to accept something is a weakness in character. much-needed change; otherwise, it will remain a compromise.
10 | FORBES AFRICA MARCH 2020 FORBESAFRICA.COM
