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2025 Reflections: Change the World O’clock – When the Apex Becomes the Trough

December 31, 2025 User1 No comments yet

Chief Risk Officer | Global Executive PhD Cand. Business Mgt, AI & Strategy at ESCP Business School | Global Executive MBA (Manchester) | Advanced Management Program (Harvard) |

December 31, 2025

Reflections on leadership, risk, humanity and reinvention in a volatile world

Leadership Is Forged Under Pressure

As 2025 draws to a close, one truth stands unmistakably clear: leadership is not formed in comfort, it is forged under pressure. Much of the year unfolded in a constant state of urgency, shaped by firefighting, complex negotiations, persistent uncertainty, and decisions made with incomplete information. In those moments, the real value of disciplined frameworks, structured thinking, and judgment refined through executive training became unmistakable.

What also became clear is that today’s environment no longer rewards narrow excellence. While I came to fully recognize my natural orientation as a transformational leader, volatility now demands something broader. Modern leadership calls for adaptable generalists – leaders able to move fluently across disciplines without sacrificing strategic coherence.

A Global Journey, Grounded in Meaning

One of the most defining milestones of the year was graduating from Alliance Manchester Business School at the historic Whitworth Hall on Westminster Street. The setting, steeped in tradition, with unmistakable “Harry Potter” energy – combined with the presence of my mother in the front row, transformed the moment from a personal achievement into one of generational significance. It became her GEMBA as much as mine.

That moment reframed years of travel: repeated journeys to Manchester alongside long-haul commitments to Singapore and Dubai. It reinforced a fundamental truth: leadership today is borderless.

The relationships forged with my cohort and professors were invaluable. As the saying goes, we see further because we stand on the shoulders of giants. For me, Manchester was an opportunity to arrive empty and be poured into. I left overflowing – energized, equipped, and ready to change the world. My graduation lunch address as Co-Class President captured that spirit. Its theme was simple, deliberate, and timely: “Change the World O’clock.”

Operating globally is both a privilege and a responsibility. It demands continuous learning, contextual intelligence, and sustained engagement with shifts far beyond one’s immediate environment. Above all, the year taught me to be human – to lead with empathy, patience, kindness, humility, and optimism. To consistently ask: How do we make the world better? I remain convinced that the actions of one individual, executed with intent, can indeed change the world.

Storytelling as a Strategic Capability

Throughout the year, I leaned deliberately into storytelling, not as narrative embellishment, but as a strategic capability. In an era overwhelmed by data, the ability to connect risk, strategy, and leadership into a coherent narrative has become a source of competitive advantage. There is a fine but critical line between risk intelligence, strategy, and advisory.

Insight alone is no longer enough. Leaders must translate complexity into clarity, align stakeholders around direction, and instill confidence amid uncertainty. Storytelling, when done well, is not communication, it is execution.

One of my most meaningful professional milestones this year was contributing to The Banker Risk & Regulation Hub, a Financial Times publication and RiskMinds/ Informa .

I authored the following articles:

Each piece reflected a commitment to advancing the conversation at the intersection of risk, leadership, and strategy.

Academic Rigor and Next-Level Thinking

So, after Manchester, what next?

Another defining development was my acceptance into ESCP Business School Global Executive PhD programme following a rigorous and highly selective process. ESCP is not for everyone. It is for those with an appetite for next-level thinking; for those who recognize they are standing at the base of their next mountain; for those who are unapologetically bold about making a positive dent in the world.

This next chapter has already reshaped my thinking, particularly through the contrast between artificial intelligence and what I now describe as artistic intelligence.

Henry Ford once observed that if he had asked people what they wanted in the age of horses and carts, they would have asked for faster horses. Instead, he introduced the automobile. The kind of innovation I am onto, leans toward what no eye has seen, and no ear has heard – the improbable. I pray to God for a witty mind.

Artistic intelligence is the distinctly human capacity to ask better questions, detect emerging patterns early, and commit decisively to the improbable – especially as the probable becomes increasingly uncertain. It is not about computation; it is about discernment. And it will increasingly differentiate leaders navigating complex systems.

Failure as Formation, Not Defeat

Not all of 2025 unfolded as planned. Alongside progress and recognition came setbacks, some deeply personal, others professionally inconvenient, all instructive.

During the year, I was unable to sit for examinations I had prepared extensively for. In doing so, I forfeited other levels I had already passed, an outcome that, in practical terms, requires starting again. On paper, it looks like regression. In reality, it was a reminder that progress is not immune to interruption.

Failure, however, has never been a terminal concept for me. I define it as FAIL – First Attempt In Learning. While we may control preparation, discipline, and intent, life still happens. Circumstances intervene. What ultimately matters is not the disruption itself, but the decision to resume – often from a different point, but with greater perspective.

There is humility in restarting. There is maturity in accepting pauses without surrendering purpose. And there is leadership in modelling resilience, not as bravado, but as quiet resolve. Setbacks do not erase progress; they refine it.

Recognition, Responsibility, and Perspective

I am deeply grateful for the professional recognition received this year, including being named Risk Manager of the Year, receiving the Rising Star Award in Corporate Governance from the The Institute of Directors Of Zambia, and becoming the first Zambian to earn the Qualified Risk Expert designation from the The DCRO Institute.

Equally humbling was being shortlisted for the Association of MBAs (AMBA) Leadership Excellence Award, alongside six peers from leading global business schools, with the final outcome to be announced in London in January 2026. (Two Manchester alumnus will be in contention for awards)

Recognition affirms, but it also amplifies responsibility. Titles matter far less than the discipline required to live up to them. The world does not suffer from a shortage of managers; it suffers from a shortage of leaders.

Creating Space for Others

Our plans are not God’s plans, He has the final say. I began the year with confirmed speaking engagements in Prague and London. Yet in some instances, I became merely a vessel, creating pathways for others to step into those opportunities.

From that emerged a powerful lesson: progress accelerates when opportunity is shared. Leadership is not diminished by stepping aside; it is strengthened by making space for others to step forward. Institutions grow when leaders learn to recommend, sponsor, and trust beyond themselves.

During the year, I also served as a guest economist at the PwC Zambia Post-Budget Analysis Breakfast, the Economics Association of Zambia National Summit, and the Norfund business networking event.

The Convergence That Matters

Intellectually, I invested deeply in the convergence of risk, strategy, and leadership. This is where analytical rigor meets human judgment, and where modern leadership is increasingly tested. The analyst in me remains fully engaged, and I will continue contributing to economic and risk discourse with discipline and curiosity.

This convergence is not theoretical. It is where real decisions are made.

Mental Health as Strategic Capital

One of the most important insights of the year emerged at the Information Security Forum Congress in Prague: mental health is not peripheral, it is strategic. For leaders and risk professionals operating under sustained pressure, resilience must be actively protected.

During a Father’s Day engagement, by When Females Lead I framed well-being as balance-sheet management. Energy, clarity, and family sit on the asset side. Stress, neglect, and imbalance sit on the liability side. Long-term effectiveness depends on disciplined investment in assets – and deliberate divestment from liabilities.

The Human Attributes That Endure

As organizations grow more complex, technical competence alone is no longer sufficient. Empathy, adaptability, care, trust, honesty, boldness, and humility are not soft traits. They are core leadership capabilities – essential for building resilient teams and sustaining performance under pressure.

Looking Ahead: Reinvention with Resolve

As I look toward 2026, one lesson stands above the rest: if you wish to lead the orchestra, you must learn to turn your back on the crowd and trust your own music. This year required exactly that. I stopped measuring progress against others, chose to take more deliberate risks, and committed to mentoring a select few with intention.

I also learned – again – that leadership does not guarantee uninterrupted ascent. Some journeys pause. Some paths require restarting. Failure, for me, remains First Attempt In Learning. What matters is the discipline to resume, without bitterness and without bravado.

What often appears to be the apex of one journey is, in reality, the trough of the next. Progress is rarely linear. Sustained relevance demands humility, resilience, and the courage to begin again, often precisely when confidence is at its peak.

That willingness to restart, with clarity and conviction, is not a setback.

It is leadership.

And that, ultimately, is the most enduring investment of all.