The quest for Great Heart Leadership to activate and promote the ending of violent conflict in Africa

Abstract

Inspired by the never-ending quest for the end of violence in some African communities, the author asks what kind of leadership is required to lead a community from violent conf lict to peaceful coexistence. The aim of the article is to propose some principles for leadership in situations characterised by violent conf lict. By departing from a conceptual framework to explain holistic leadership, conf lict leadership and peace leadership, the author explains what Great Heart Leadership is, citing several examples to illustrate these concepts. The author argues that a leader with a ‘great heart’ is a leader who is able to apply analytical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual/normative leadership to activate peaceful change. This argument is applied to the challenge of leading people towards lasting peace in Africa, offering the specific case of a San community in South Africa to illustrate Great Heart Leadership.

Keywords: Holistic leadership, Great Heart Leadership, African conf lict, peace, conf lict, San community