Sometimes the most important leadership lessons happen when you step away from the work.
For a few days in Johannesburg, I had the privilege of doing just that, joining school leaders from across Africa at the 2026 African Leadership Festival as a Fellow in Cohort 6 of the African Leaders for Education School CEO Fellowship.
I arrived ready to learn.
I left thinking more deeply about the kind of leader I am becoming.
Stepping Back to See Clearly
Leadership can become deeply operational, decisions to make, problems to solve, and an endless list of what’s next.
It’s easy to focus on what needs doing without pausing to ask whether you’re building what truly matters.
Through sessions on the Whole Child Model, vision, people leadership and systems thinking, the Festival gave me that pause.
It reminded me that building an extraordinary school isn’t simply about solving today’s problems.
“It’s about building something that can thrive beyond you.”
That means building strong systems, empowering people, creating the right culture, and developing leaders who can carry the work forward.
Leadership Is Not About Doing Everything
One reflection I’m taking home is that leadership isn’t measured by how much I can personally carry.
It’s measured by what I can build and sustain through others.
If everything depends on the leader, the organisation hasn’t really grown.
Good leadership creates capacity. It gives people room to think, make decisions, take ownership and grow.
That is something I want to be increasingly intentional about.
Focus and Resilience
Two frameworks particularly stayed with me, the Hedgehog Concept and the Stockdale Paradox.
What should we remain deeply committed to despite competing priorities?
And how do we hold on to hope while being honest about the realities in front of us?
These questions extend directly into my work at Dolly Children Foundation, where there will always be more needs than resources.
Leadership isn’t pretending those realities don’t exist.
It’s facing them honestly while refusing to lose sight of what’s possible.
Returning With Questions
I return to Dolly Stars School with fresh perspectives, renewed energy and, perhaps most importantly, a set of questions:
What kind of school are we building?
What kind of leaders are we developing?
What kind of future are we preparing our children for?
These aren’t questions with quick answers.
They require us to continually examine our systems, our culture, our leadership and the experiences we create for children.
For me, that is the real value of professional development.
“It shouldn’t simply give us more information. It should change the way we see our work and ultimately, the way we lead.”
Learning Alongside Others
Some of what I will carry with me most from the festival, though, are the people.
The shared stories.
The laughter.
The honest conversations.
The quiet exchanges of encouragement.
I learnt alongside school leaders from Nigeria, Uganda, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Kenya and beyond.
Different countries. Different contexts. Different challenges.
But a shared commitment to creating better futures for our children.
Being in that room reminded me that leadership does not have to be a solitary journey. Sometimes, another leader’s experience helps you see your own work differently.
Onward, With Renewed Purpose
To the African Leadership Academy, thank you for creating a space where educators could pause, reconnect with purpose, learn from one another and return renewed.
This experience has strengthened not just my leadership, but my belief in what is possible when African educators learn and grow together.
I return to the work with new perspectives, deeper questions and renewed purpose.
Onward.
If you are a school leader on a similar journey, or if you would like to support or learn more about the work at Dolly Children Foundation and Dolly Stars School, I welcome you to connect or reach out.
