The Power of 'Ubuntu'

The quote on Jackie Robinson’s gravestone came from the indigenous people of South Africa. It ultimately became the foundational ethos of its national cricket team, the Proteas.

Much like Robinson, the Proteas experienced pervasive racial segregation. In 1991, when the fall of apartheid occurred, they became the nation’s first multicultural cricket team.

From 2000-2010, they were ranked No. 1 three times — but could never seem to sustain their success, often falling quickly in the rankings.

Dr. Mohammed Moosajee, their team manager commonly known as “Doc,” said their main problem was the absence of a unifying covenant.

“There was a lack of team identity,” he said. “At those times, what we could become was undefined, unknown and untapped. Focus for the team was very much on the technical, tactical and physical aspects of the game.”

Because of their many ethnicities, different religions and cultural beliefs, the Proteas had difficulty maintaining connectivity.

So, on a retreat to help the team connect, players were shown a short film featuring a diverse range of ordinary people speaking into the camera, saying, “You represent me.”

It also featured Nelson Mandela introducing the concept of UBUNTU, which in essence says a person is a person through other persons; it says, I am human because I belong. For the Proteas, it means: “The measure of our lives is our impact on others.”

During the meeting, the players were told about the history of the flower protea, the one on their uniforms, which comes from Greek mythology, and the story of Proteus, the son of Poseidon.

Proteus’s gift was to know the truth of the past, the present and the future. When we connect to our roots, we create a powerful force bigger than any one individual.

By revisiting the past, the present players voiced their lack of trust and buy-in for fear of long-held social views. The chant of “Bokke, bokke, bokke” after wins was a ritual that felt uncomfortable and an artifact of the past apartheid era.

Some players spoke of the shame of having to chant, making the winning seem less important. The chant was supposed to further unite the team, but instead did the opposite.

Once the team could understand its past and acknowledge it, through hard conversations and by accepting responsibility, the players could finally unite and impact others around them.

Ford Motor Company used a similar method to embrace the failures of its past and use those stories to connect the present-day workforce. In this video, Ford uses the concept of UBUNTU to help foster its future.

As leaders, we must understand there is power in understanding where we come from, whom we represent, and paying homage to those before us.

Without that connection, we can never fully construct a team culture.

Jackie Robinson personified the meaning of UBUNTU, as he impacted so many.

We can never forget.