Do CEOs really have (or need) a super power? with Rebecca Harrison (African Management Institute)

Nov 28, 2024

Rebecca Harrison, the mastermind behind the African Management Institute, discusses her journey transforming business education across Africa. She challenges the notion of needing a 'superpower' to be an effective CEO and emphasizes nurturing middle management. With insights from her decade-long experience, she shares practical tips on promoting ownership over obedience. The conversation highlights the importance of adaptable leadership and aligning financial success with social impact, offering a fresh perspective on what it truly means to lead.

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ANECDOTE

AMI's Early Pivot

Rebecca Harrison's initial idea for AMI was to create an online learning platform like Coursera for Africa.
This failed because of low payment upgrades, leading to a pivot towards working with larger businesses and development agencies.

ADVICE

Problem-Focused Business

Focus on the problem you are trying to solve, not just the solution.
This helps businesses stay aligned with their mission and avoid getting stuck on ineffective solutions.

ANECDOTE

The Pirate Analogy

Richard Metcalfe discusses a client who focused on selling his business rather than enjoying the entrepreneurial journey.
Richard helped him reframe his perspective to find purpose in the journey itself, not just the exit.

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Do you need to have a super power to be an effective CEO? What happens if you don't? How can you build a pan-continental business with zero experience? And how can you empower your managers to lead effectively?

In this episode Richard speaks with Rebecca Harrison, who has spent the last decade building the African Management Institute (AMI), Africa’s leading provider of business and management learning, supporting 37,000 businesses in 39 African countries, impacting 1.5 million livelihoods and contributing more than $130M to the continent’s economies.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

What caused Rebecca to pursue a impact business in a sector and market she had almost no experience of, and what she had to learn the hard way.
Why Rebecca doesn't think she has a particular super power - what she says is important instead -- and a helpful reframe of the topic by Richard
Rebecca's three hard-won tips on building an effective middle management, even in a hierarchical culture sometimes where often the assumption is that "obedience" than "ownership" is required.

Resources/sources mentioned:

African Management Institute - https://africanmanagers.com
The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast (https://xquadrant.com/podcast/)
Join Rivendell (https://xquadrant.com/rivendell/), our exponential programme for elite CEOs dedicated to transforming themselves, their businesses, and the world.
Ready for a big leap forward in your own leadership? Elevate your leadership forever with Richard's book "Making time for Strategy: How to be less busy and more successful". Buy your book here: https://xquadrant.com/time/

For full show notes, head to https://xquadrant.com/rebecca-harrison

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

05:36 How to make an impact in Africa

13:05 Align business vision with impactful purpose

16:33 How to enjoy the entrepreneurial journey

18:13 Founder CEO: Care drives progress, not brilliance

26:40 Define management expectations for cultural clarity

34:44 Monthly cash flow and team meetings checklist

38:03 Facing fear, accepting leadership to innovate forward.