Managing Director of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), Edward Ato Sarpong, has called for a renewed focus on discipline and mentorship in grooming the next generation of leaders, warning that leadership gaps continue to undermine institutions and national development.
Speaking at the Jospong Leadership Conference 2026, Mr Ato Sarpong said leadership failure often stems from a lack of discipline, diligence and clarity of purpose, particularly among younger professionals preparing to take over from the current generation.
“This African continent is in this state because we don’t have disciplined leaders and we don’t have diligent leaders,” he told participants.
He argued that leadership is not learned in classrooms but through experience and close apprenticeship, stressing that young people must be deliberately trained and exposed to responsibility.
“Nobody goes to school to be a leader,” he said. “Leadership is through the streets of apprenticeship. It is never through the classrooms.”
Ato Sarpong said discipline is the foundation of leadership, describing it as personal preparation done quietly before public responsibility is assumed.
“Discipline is preparing inwardly, internally, in silence, in order to demonstrate leadership in public,” he said.
He added that discipline must be matched with diligence, noting that the two qualities cannot be separated.
“You can’t separate them,” he said. “They are two inseparable forces.”
Ato Sarpong also emphasised the importance of identity and self-confidence in leadership, warning that many people fail not because of lack of opportunity but because they doubt themselves.
“Most people have an identity crisis,” he said. “Do you know who you are?”
He said leaders must be clear about their competence, willing to learn what they do not know and avoid feeling inferior in the presence of others.
“You must not feel inferior,” he said.
As part of efforts to intentionally develop future leaders, Mr Ato Sarpong announced plans for a mentorship session targeted at professionals under 40, to be hosted later in the year.
“We need the below 40s,” he said. “Let’s spend time on them. Let’s invest in them. Let’s pump them.”
He said the mentorship initiative would form part of a broader leadership development agenda within the Jospong Group, aimed at sustaining the organisation beyond the current generation.
“This company has a future,” he said. “The Jospong Group will live for over 100 years, but we need the next generation of leaders.”
Mr Ato Sarpong urged young professionals to see leadership as service and responsibility rather than personal advancement.
“Leadership is not about ambition,” he said. “It is about your assignment.”
