Reverend Dr. Sam Adeyemi, a global speaker, has urged African and business leaders to move beyond short-term success and embrace leadership as stewardship, warning that decisions made for quick results have the tendency to destroy long-term trust and the future of institutions.
He made the call in a presentation titled: ‘Building a Sustainable Leadership Legacy’ at ongoing 13th Annual Jospong Leadership Conference (JLC) 2026, themed: “Building Tomorrow’s Leaders Today” at the Pentecost Convention Centre, Gomoa Fetteh.
According to Dr. Adeyemi, leadership was not ownership but stewardship, adding that leaders did not own power, institutions, or people but held them in trust for a season and must pass them on stronger than they found them.
He noted that this mindset was what separated managers from true legacy leaders.
“Short-term fixes can give results today and create serious problems tomorrow,” he said, adding that many organisations suffer because leaders focused on performance while neglecting people.
Dr. Adeyemi explained that some high-performing managers often became the biggest challenge for organisations. While they delivered results and generated profit, they damaged people emotionally through harsh leadership styles. He said this often led to high staff turnover, especially among young professionals.
“Losing talent is losing money. Losing young talent is losing the future,” he stressed.
He challenged leaders to balance the pressures of today with responsibility for tomorrow, reminding participants of an African proverb which says, ‘elders give the past, but the future is borrowed from children.’
He urged leaders to always consider young people in decision-making and leadership development.
Using a biblical reference from II Timothy 2:2, Dr. Adeyemi highlighted the importance of leadership continuity and mentorship, saying, leadership should be passed on deliberately, from one generation to another, without blocking the process.
He explained that “values are easy to talk about when business is good, but they are truly tested during crises. According to him, true leadership shows up when values come at a cost.”
He cited the famous Johnson & Johnson Tylenol crisis in the United States, where the company recalled millions of products after tampering led to deaths. Though the decision cost the company about 100 million dollars, it earned long-term trust and reshaped the industry.
“Trust is a long-term asset,” he said, noting that in Africa, where trust levels are generally low, integrity has become a major competitive advantage.
Dr. Adeyemi also shared a personal story involving dishonesty driven by desperation, stressing that poverty and pressure must never justify unethical behaviour explaining that “where trust is low, organisations are forced to spend more on controls, bureaucracy, and monitoring systems.”
According to him, leadership impact was not measured by titles, profit, or applause, but by what leaders leave behind and who they empower to lead next.
He called for a new generation of African leaders built on values, trust, and stewardship across all sectors.
The Jospong Leadership Conference 2026 brought together leaders from business, government, faith-based organisations, and civil society to discuss leadership development and sustainable impact in Africa.