Sometimes you hear a phrase that resonates because it so beautifully reflects a truth that you aspire to embrace as a leader. Then you hear the phrase again, but in a different context, and it takes on an even more powerful meeting.
That happened to me recently when I was reminded of the word ubuntu.
If you work in computer programing, information technology, or some other related field, you might know Ubuntu as the brand name for a Linux operating system. The rest of us, however, are more likely to know it as an African expression that was popularized globally by leaders like Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela.
Frankly, it had been years since I had given the word much thought. Then in a span of a couple of weeks I heard it used in two very different settings — once while preparing for a conversation with a physician from Rwanda and another time during the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics.
In its simplest form, ubuntu means “humanity,” a word I use interchangeably with “heart” when I talk about my 3H-Core (the other two H’s are honesty and humility). But a richer way to define ubuntu is, “I am because we are” or “people are people through other people.” Thus, the expression sums up a philosophy for bringing humanity into the way we go about life in community with other people.
Kirsty Coventry, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is from South Africa and referenced ubuntu in her speech on February 6 during the opening ceremonies in Milano, Italy. It’s the idea, she said, “That we can only rise by lifting others. That our strength comes from caring for each other.”
Never miss a post about leadership, transparency, and trust by signing up for my weekly mailing list, delivered right to your inbox. Sign up here.
That’s the spirit of the Olympic Games. They represent an ideal – a standard and an ultimate goal in athletics but also, and more importantly, in the way humans can set aside differences and bring out the best in one another.
“Here, athletes from every corner of our world compete fiercely – but also respect, support and inspire one another,” she said. “They remind us that we are all connected, that our strength comes from how we treat each other, and that the best of humanity is found in courage, compassion and kindness.”
That’s an ideal that’s not always achieved in the Olympics, much less in other areas of life. And the temptation is to look at the world and see ubuntu as an utterly unrealistic concept, fine for idealists and dreamers but not something we can expect in everyday reality.
“The Olympics?” we might say. “Well, people can come together and play nice for a few weeks when it’s necessary. But governments, protestors, counter-protesters, mercenaries, terrorists, and the like will have no part of it over the long haul.”
That might be true. But what about you? And me? Can we embrace it in our families, in our work, and in our communities? The answer to those questions should be “yes,” and Dr. Christian Ntizimira, my upcoming guest on Off the Rak, provides an example of what it looks like.
Dr. Ntizimira, who grew up in Bukavu (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) and in Rwanda during genocidal civil wars that tore those countries apart, went into palliative care when he decided his calling was to bring ubuntu to end-of-life medical care.
“Ubuntu brings a balance,” Dr. Ntizimira once wrote, “between the modern and traditional through emphasizing dignity, compassion, harmony, and reconciliation.” And he uses the concepts of dignity, compassion, and harmony to bring about reconciliation in his work.
“From my experiences, when there is a life-limiting illness in a family, a psychosocial and spiritual fracture between the patient, their disease, their family, and the community automatically follows,” he said. “In my practice, I use Ubuntu to reconcile the patient with their diagnosis, reconcile family and community with the patient through appropriate reengagement in support, and sometimes even reconcile families and their physician.”
Like Dr. Ntizimira, we all have a personal responsibility to figure out how we might bring dignity, compassion, harmony, and reconciliation to the world around us – to be people serving other people for the common good.
As Nelson Mandela once put it, “Ubuntu does not mean that people should not address themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve? These are the important things in life. And if one can do that, you have done something very important which will be appreciated.” In other words, while we can’t control much of anything in the world, doing our part in our families, our communities, and our workplaces will make the world a better place.
Coming Soon to Off the Rak: Leading Better in Crisis Through Compassion with Dr. Christian Ntizimira
Compassion is synonymous with community — who we are is how we show up for one another. Transformative leadership can reshape the care organizations provide. Watch/listen on demand on March 3, 2026. Details here.
