Build people, not just organisations – Ellen Hagan challenges leaders

Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of L’AINE Group and Co-founder of Legacy Girls College, Dr Ellen Hagan, has urged leaders to focus on building people of character and competence rather than making themselves indispensable to their organisations.

She said the true measure of leadership should be the ability of leaders to develop others who can take responsibility, sustain institutional growth and build on their achievements.

Dr Hagan made the call on Friday, August 21, when she served as Guest of Honour and Principal Voice at the Gold Coast Leadership Conversation 2.0 held at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra.

The event, organised by the University of Gold Coast, was held on the theme, “The Business of Building Leaders: Developing People Who Drive Performance, Productivity and Profit.”

“You are not really building a business. You are building people who will build the business,” Dr Hagan told participants.

She cautioned leaders against creating systems where employees and institutions become overly dependent on them for decisions, solutions and direction.

According to her, leadership goes beyond achieving results and exercising authority, and must include empowering others to develop the capacity to lead.

Dr Hagan also used the Sigmoid Curve to illustrate the need for leaders to prepare organisations for change before growth begins to decline.

She said leaders who wait until an organisation reaches its peak before preparing for the next stage risk becoming complacent and prioritising personal interests over the long-term sustainability of the institution.

Dr Hagan urged leaders to deliberately develop people who can challenge existing assumptions, identify new opportunities and create solutions rather than simply maintain existing systems.

She said effective succession planning should therefore be driven by integrity, competence and the willingness to transfer responsibility to others.

“Perhaps the measure of leadership is not how many people depend on you, but how many people become capable because of you and how many of them are prepared to build the next curve,” she said.