"Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?"

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Connecting the unconnected and enabling digital transformation requires not only partnerships, financing, technology, regulation and innovation, but also global cooperation, and above all, Leadership. This session of the Road to Addis Series was dedicated to examining some of the leadership lessons from greatest leaders of all times and exploring the kind of leadership principles required to connect the unconnected.   In the Road to Addis Series, Leadership is seen as one of the six enablers of connectivity for sustainable development and a driving force to achieve digital transformation.

  • Leaders interested in driving forward the agenda of universal connectivity should enable this transformation by mobilizing people to invest in programs dedicated to upskilling populations; to flattening steep learning curves, and to filling up the voids in awareness and adoption of ICTs.
  • Being a leader involves navigating courageously through uncertainty, being bold enough to create alternative paths towards a goal, and not necessarily follow those travelled by others.
  • Leadership without action is no leadership at all. When addressing unimaginable challenges, leaders must shine by not only talking about their vision, but also by acting on it.
  • A leader is nothing without their people. For any endeavor to be successful, effective leaders must connect, listen, encourage, motivate, and be as transparent and humble as possible to move their followers forward in the same direction.
  • Leaders must always dream “unapologetically big”. A common denominator of the greatest leaders of all times has been their grandiose visions and their will to achieve something that is bigger than oneself.
  • Young people, who are looking for social change and so aim at becoming great future leaders should be politically active and use technology to expand popular participation.
  • Great leaders can recognize the differences in those they lead and inspire them to be better than what they think they can be. Aid leaders need to be able to inspire their teams to explore the boundaries of their own imagination.
  • Achieving global broadband connectivity will also require a focus on inclusion, innovation and responsibility. Leaders working towards this endeavor must not forget the importance of social and environmental contracts.
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