By Moshe Engelberg, PhD

I recently led a retreat for a great healthcare leadership team focused on achieving deep clarity and making solid commitments. I love to start leadership retreats and workshops with something that gets executives out of their busy minds and into a more creative heart-centered space. 

This time I had the privilege of bringing in a wonderful African drummer named Nana Obrafo Yaw Asiedu (“Nana” for short) to open the retreat. He has performed with Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and many other musical luminaries, and brings to bear a deep devotion to using drumming to uplift the human spirit and bring the healing value of culture back into our society. 

Turns out that drumming is also a great way to help leadership teams find a common rhythm and recognize what brings them in sync, and what pulls them apart. This ties directly to alignment with organizational vision and making everyone’s work cohesive and effective.

I Am Because We Are

To make his point about unity and teamwork, Nana shared this wonderful tale: A visitor proposed a game to the kids in an African tribe. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told the kids that whoever got there first would win all the sweet fruit. When he told them to run, they all took each other’s hands and ran together, then sat together enjoying their treats. When he asked them why they had run like that–as one winner could have had all the fruits for oneself–they said: “Ubuntu. How can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?”

Take One Ubuntu Step Toward Getting Your Team in Rhythm 

Ubuntu in the Xhosa culture means: “I am because we are.” Consider Ubuntu as a rallying cry for your team. Discuss the concept of Ubuntu within your leadership team. Set up a session where team members can safely explore what unity means to them and how they can support each other in achieving common goals. Encourage ongoing feedback on how well the organization lives up to the ideals of Ubuntu.