WATCH: Dr Linda Ncube-Nkomo says "Leadership is not confined to job titles"

Full speech of Dr Linda Ncube-Nkomo, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund at the Executive Education Graduation Ceremony on 25 July 2025

It is an honour and privilege to stand before you today at the Wits School of Governance, a place that continues to shape public leaders to carry our democracy forward, not just with competence, but with conscience. Condolences to the Buthelezi family whose son and husband Mr Thulani Buthelezi should have graduated today with you but unfortunately passed away without experiencing this moment. 

Today is the crowing celebration of the sweet, blood and tears that goes into pursuing and completing an academic endeavour.

In celebrating this achievement, in the month that we have come to know as Mandela Month, named for one of the greatest leaders that this world has ever known, I felt it important to have a conversation about leadership. 

Please allow me to share with you one of the most profound statements that I have ever read – which I believe speaks to the responsibility each of us carries in our different spheres of leadership.

“The greatest want of the world is the want of men- men who will not be bought or sold; men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle is to pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall”.

This statement was then, and is it now, calling for what today’s leadership’s studies now refer to as ethical leadership.

A truth that we cannot escape is that our continent country, and indeed our world are crying out for ethical leadership. Nelson Mandela once said, “Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.” And that kind of leadership, grounded in integrity, humility, and courage, is what we so desperately need. 

We live in an era marked by profound public mistrust. Across the globe, there’s growing disillusionment with those in positions of power, leaders who abuse the trust bestowed upon them, leaders who chase status not to serve but to oppress in one way or another, and those who forget that leadership is not about privilege, but responsibility. We are often asked: “How do we rebuild trust in public institutions?” The answer is not found in PR campaigns. It is found in our conduct. In our decisions. In how we show up when no one is watching. The answer is found in how you will show up every day in your respective workplaces and communities.

Today, as you graduate from programmes rooted in public service, policy, governance, and justice, I urge you to remember that leadership does not begin at the Union Buildings or in the boardroom. So often we wait for leadership to come from above, from presidents, premiers, ministers. But leadership does not begin in the Union Buildings. We need to broaden our definition of leadership. 

Leadership is not confined to job titles. You can lead from wherever you are. Some of the most powerful leadership I’ve seen has come from those who never saw themselves as leaders at all: a mother protecting her child’s education, a student urging leaders to honour their commitment to free education, a public service employee ensuring a social grant is delivered with dignity; a home affairs official who will not compromise the borders of this country for “cool-drink”!

You do not need a title to lead. You need a moral compass. You need courage. And you need compassion.

I am often asked the question – do I think government is doing enough for children. Often I get despondent and respond by asking where are the children? Are they not in out homes, in our churches, in our communities. Should we not be asking ourselves if we are doing enough!

Leadership begins in your home, in your community, in your choices. 

The question is not, "What position will I hold?" The question is, "What impact will I make?" 

Nelson Mandela’s Legacy: Walking the talk 

Leadership in the public interest is not easy. It is often thankless. It is often hard. But it is always necessary. Every decision we make must be measured against the standards of honesty, transparency, and accountability. 

As South Africa, we have in our founding democratic president Nelson Mandela a template that the world envies. In his words and I quote:

"Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people." 

His life as a public servant was a demonstration of that and today every South African enjoys political freedom. But what made Mandela truly remarkable was not just his sacrifice. It was his integrity. It was his ability to lead with empathy, humility, and principle. 

He did not seek power for power’s sake. He did not seek office for personal gain. He led because he understood that leadership is not about self-interest. Leadership is about service and unplifting the most vulnerable in society. It is about empathy and doing something for those who need help. It was this heart of empathy that led to him founding the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.

"There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children." 

Madiba taught us that leadership is about walking the talk. He showed us that caring about children is caring about the future.

When we look at the state of children in South Africa today, we see what a collapse in ethical leadership has done: 

• We see children not only go to bed hungry, but whose growth is stunted affecting them for their entire lives. We see children die every year from hunger. 

• Who walk kilometres to school and swim across flooded rivers to access education. 

• Who live in communities ravaged by violence and poverty. 

• Who are treated as statistics instead of as futures.

 Ethical leadership means we cannot turn our eyes away from this. It means we must be the kind of leaders who care deeply about children, about education, about opportunity, about dignity. 

It is not enough to tweet about justice. It is not enough to denounce wrongdoing. Ethical leadership demands that we do something. That we show up. That we walk the talk. 

Madiba taught us that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. In this context, ethical leadership is not the absence of pressure, but the commitment to principles despite that pressure. 

That the arc of history bends toward justice, but only when enough of us are willing to do the bending. His legacy is not one of empty gestures. It is one of deliberate, ethical choices - choices made in the service of others. 

Ethical Leadership: A Mandate, not an option 

Today, ethical leadership means standing firm when it is easier to stay silent. It means doing the right thing when no one is watching. It means leading with conscience when the crowd calls for convenience. 

But ethical leadership must also be collective. It must be inclusive. It must be inspired by empathy and driven by impact. 

Affirming the responsibility of a new generation 

My leaders, as you graduate today, remember that your education gives you tools, but your values will determine whether you will use those tools to continue the downward spiral of ethics or whether you will use them to make an impact – a sustainable positive change in the lives of those who depend on you as leaders. What kind of leader will you be? Will you lead for self-enrichment, or for social impact? Will you lead with ego, or with empathy? Will you be a bystander or a bridge builder? 

You are stepping into a society that is at a crossroads. Institutions are being tested. Trust is being broken. And hope is flickering. But you are also stepping into a time when your skills are desperately needed, when your voice can be catalytic, when your leadership can be transformative. 

You have a choice. And the choices you make will shape our country. 

Call to action 

Exactly a week ago, on 18 July, South Africa was abuzz with 67 mins for Mandela in commemorating his 67 years of service to us as a nation. What South Africa needs desperately right now, is a generation of leaders that is focused, every single day, on being servant leaders, leaders who are prepared to pay the cost of creating a better economically equal South Africa for all.

I hope that you will choose to wage a war against corruption and the collapse of ethical leadership with the same determination and courage that Nelson Mandela and those of his generation did against apartheid. 

We need a leadership ethos that is echoed in his words that "A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of." 

To our graduating leaders, congratulations once again. Your journey speaks of discipline, structure, and vision.

To the Defence and Security leaders: You are leaders in a system that must evolve to reflect a democratic, ethical defence of the people. Carry this qualification as a mandate to serve and protect with integrity. You are the pride of our nation. 

To the City of Joburg Leaders: Governance begins with the basics. The potholes, the budgets, the policies. Yours is the closest form of government to the people. Your leadership must be visible, accountable, and compassionate. Humility will take us to places that arrogance can never reach.

To the Public Transport Leaders: You represent the heartbeat of movement in our cities. You are entrepreneurs and community anchors. You are shaping not just mobility, but opportunity. 

To the Public Leadership and Governance Leaders: You remind us that access to education must be equitable and lifelong. Your success is a win for the many who were told that doors were closed to them. 

What kind of leaders will we be? 

In  Madiba’s words: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others.” 

As you step into the next chapter of your leadership journey, I ask you: What kind of leader will you be? What is the legacy you want to leave and the impact you want to have?

Will you be the kind of leader who seeks to be served or the kind who serves? 

Will you protect what is easy, or fight for what is just? 

Will your name evoke fear, or disgust or hope? 

The choice is yours. The responsibility is ours. Together, we must lead not only with our heads, but with our hearts. Not only with strategy, but with soul. 

“The greatest want of the world is the want of men- men who will not be bought or sold; men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle is to pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall”.

Leaders, go forth and make that difference and close the gap of ethical leadership. 

Thank you, and congratulations.