Play the Cards of Life and Leadership
We need Not be Trapped by Our Circumstances
Last week’s On Leadership edition (#3625) set homework.
You were asked to find a reference to the concepts of self‑efficacy, and personal- and social agency in the quoted go! Platteland text.
Thanks to those who have already shared their valuable insights and conversations. I look forward to receiving others.
While the thrust of the On Leadership conversation was about the imperative of being strategic in our lives and leadership, the reference I was looking for is how we respond to the unproductive consequences of strategic absence.
| In the absence of Influential Leadership, there is likely to be a deficiency of strategic thought, intent, planning and practice, resulting in long-term negative consequences. KweKwe, the young man in our conversation, is multiple generations downstream from the time at which people made unproductive decisions about others’ lives (strategic absence), but he still lives within their consequences.
However, despite his circumstances—determined by a long queue of others and ‘the universe’—and no matter he had no influence on the past, he refuses to be trapped by them. KweKwe grasps his self-efficacy from the ether to give oxygen to his agency. He also moves beyond personal agency as he considers how others like him, despite their impoverished conditions too, could also live better and beyond their circumstances. The infographic above reflects a central tenet of the Influential Leadership System—that to lead, we must influence and shape our lives, and other’s, for the better—no matter the prevailing circumstances. This is, after all, the purpose of proper leadership! |
The Universe Deals Our Cards—We Play Them
Respect. Acknowledgement. A Way Out
I am sure you have heard the cliché, to pull yourself up by your bootstraps—often directed by people with well-endowed circumstances towards those facing fragile and deeply demanding conditions, like our protagonist KweKwe.
Billions of people—actually the majority of humanity—have no boots. They exist day-to-day to survive one more day.
| About 4,200,000,000 people—52% of the world’s population—live on less than $10 per day.
Furthermore, 77 million people (<1% of world’s population) own almost 50% of global wealth, while the poorest 50% (4 million) own about 8%… |
For people gripped by poverty, poor health conditions, lack of access to education and economic participation, social dismembering and the like, it is monumental for them to break out of their circumstances. It seems almost impossible, taking multiple generations for a few to break through.
So, it is with deep respect that I acknowledge the circumstances of such people, and how enormously difficult it is for them to live and lead within such conditions.
The current situation, described above, also reflects a failure of legacy leadership—not only for ignoring these distortions, but for creating them through zero-sum thinking and behaviours.
The prevailing macro-circumstances are a powerful reason for us to invent and practice Influential Leadership—it equips us to rise above our conditions.
The latter infographic captures our reality.
We arrive in the world through no decision of our own—the universe serves our cards. But once we are here, no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in, we must play our cards as best we can.
And, let me add, the ‘best’ cards do not guarantee a life of success or meaning or value!
Strategic Consequences of Our Intentions, Plans and Actions
On the dusty streets of a Karoo dorp a white man broke a mould to be kind… a young black man applied his self-efficacy to rise above his circumstances, to restore his dignity, be creative, become an economic agent and set an example for others.
Compared to what KweKwe endured (and billions of others in similar conditions), many of us live in more accommodating conditions. That privilege (often luck) comes with responsibility. We must ask ourselves: Are we actively influencing and shaping the world for the better, or indifferent, simply watching from the sidelines, or even standing with a boot on the neck of others?
| Influential Leadership is the application of our Social Agency to influence and shape people’s lived lives and life trajectories for their better! |
Regards,
Colin Donian
Karoo Founder & CEO
Influential Leadership is our Bootstraps!
Leadership Note # 3725 | 15.09.25
e: colind@karoo.world
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