Some of my most valuable leadership conversations have happened on a golf course.
Away from boardrooms, presentations and formal introductions, I have had opportunities to engage with business leaders whose journeys I have followed and admired.
Recently, at a golf event bringing together several CEOs, something stayed with me: some walked over and initiated conversations themselves.
Their openness made engagement easy. Perspectives were exchanged, experiences shared and connections formed without the usual formalities of corporate hierarchy.
It left me reflecting on a question: how many opportunities could organisations unlock if that same openness became part of everyday working life?
How we present ourselves matters. Our preparation, communication, appearance and ability to listen influence how others perceive us. Being ready to contribute thoughtfully can turn an unexpected encounter into a meaningful conversation.
Leaders also carry a responsibility in that exchange: to remain curious enough to see beyond a title, an unfamiliar face or an established impression.
A valuable contribution may come from someone who has never been invited into the strategy room.
Creating room for possibility
The late Chris Kirubi offered a powerful example of this outlook. Writing about young people and mentorship, he observed: ‘We can all learn from each other.’
In the same article, he encouraged readers to find a teacher: ‘who is easily accessible and is willing to walk with you all along the way.’
Kirubi described how listening to young people’s ambitions strengthened his desire to mentor them. His willingness to engage created opportunities for learning in both directions.
For me, that is a practical lesson for corporate leadership. Experience should deepen our ability to recognise potential. It should make us better listeners.
A junior employee may understand a customer frustration that has not reached management. A frontline colleague may see an emerging market opportunity before it appears in a report. A new team member may question a process everyone else has learned to tolerate. The opportunity begins when someone takes their contribution seriously.
Responsiveness is part of execution
One quality I have appreciated in several senior leaders is their willingness to respond. Sometimes it is a brief acknowledgement, sometimes a referral, sometimes an invitation to discuss the matter later.
A response need not be immediate or lengthy to be useful. It needs to provide clarity. Leaders cannot personally pursue every proposal.
However, when ideas routinely receive no acknowledgement, the organisation risks losing more than a conversation. A customer problem remains unresolved. A partnership loses momentum. An employee stops offering suggestions.
Aliko Dangote raised a relevant question in a conversation with the International Finance Corporation: ‘How do we get this potential into reality?’
He was discussing Africa’s economic potential. I believe the question applies equally within organisations. We speak confidently about talent, innovation and opportunity. The leadership task is to create the conditions through which those possibilities become results.
That requires a route from contribution to consideration, from consideration to decision, and from decision to accountable action.
Access and responsibility
Those who manage access to senior leaders occupy an influential position. Their judgement can help an important issue reach the right person, with sufficient context and at the right time.
Protecting a leader’s focus is necessary. So is recognising when an unfamiliar person brings something worth hearing.
The useful questions are practical: What problem is being raised? What is its significance? Who can evaluate it? What happens next?
An employee should have a credible route for a sound idea to receive consideration, even without a personal relationship with an executive.
My own interactions with Raila Odinga also shaped my perspective on this. Having known him personally, I valued the human connection that could exist alongside his stature. Those encounters reminded me how lasting an impression a leader can make when someone feels acknowledged.
I carry that lesson into my understanding of leadership: people remember how you received them, and whether you made room for their voice.
Small contributions deserve a hearing
Wangari Maathai expressed the value of individual contribution simply:
‘It’s the little things citizens do. That’s what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees.’ (serresforunesco.org)
For me, her words offer a useful lens for organisational life.
We should be attentive to the modest suggestion, the local observation and the small experiment. An employee proposing a simpler customer journey may be identifying the beginning of a larger improvement.
People need room to contribute before they can demonstrate the full value of their thinking.
Leaders can create that room by asking questions, giving useful feedback and allowing promising ideas to be tested with clear objectives.
People need pathways to participate
Barack Obama’s journey from community organising in Chicago to the presidency is an inspiring example of how leadership can develop through public engagement. (millercenter.org) His words capture the responsibility each person holds:
‘We are the change that we seek.’ (millercenter.org)
I take from this an invitation to act: prepare the proposal, offer the insight, take responsibility for the next step.
There is also a challenge for those already leading. If we want people to take initiative, our working practices must give that initiative somewhere to go.
Teams spanning generations bring different experiences and expectations. Leaders should remain curious about those differences while establishing clear ways for everyone to contribute.
Digital tools can make submitting ideas easier. Accountability determines whether anything happens afterwards.
A useful process identifies who will assess a proposal, provides a reasonable timeframe for feedback and assigns ownership when an idea moves forward.
Openness must be matched by preparation
Employees have a responsibility too. A strong proposal explains the problem, the evidence, the expected benefit and the decision required.
Leaders should respond with equal clarity. Even a decision not to proceed can preserve trust when the reasoning is explained respectfully.
The leadership culture I believe in combines accessibility with judgement, and initiative with discipline.
My experiences on the golf course have reminded me how much a simple conversation can unlock. The challenge is to make that openness part of how we work every day.
Somewhere in an organisation, someone may already see the next opportunity for growth.
Will our leadership practices help that idea reach the people who can act on it?