Managing Director of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), Edward Ato Sarpong, has described leadership as a lonely and demanding responsibility that requires sacrifice, self-denial and resilience.
Speaking at the Jospong Leadership Conference 2026, Mr Ato Sarpong said many people admire leadership from the outside without understanding the personal cost that comes with it.
“Leadership is a very lonely exercise,” he told participants.
“You see leadership as glorious on the outside, but within it is lonely.”
Using examples from sports, corporate life and personal experience, he explained that leaders often have to forgo comfort and personal enjoyment to fulfil their responsibilities.
“You think that Messi didn’t want to go and play with his friends? He wanted to,” he said. “But you can’t do that because you are a leader.”
Ato Sarpong said leadership demands a high sense of responsibility, especially in difficult moments when decisions must be made under pressure.
“There are meetings where everybody is looking at you for the next decision,” he said. “Everyone is looking.”
He explained that such moments test a leader’s resilience and ability to remain firm despite uncertainty and opposing views.
According to him, leadership is not about commanding people but about taking ownership of situations, even when they are uncomfortable.
“The room is messed up and you are part of fixing it,” he said, recounting moments when senior executives personally helped reorganise conference spaces instead of leaving the task to others.
Mr Ato Sarpong stressed that leaders must be obsessively driven by purpose, noting that purpose is what sustains leaders through difficult and lonely periods.
“Leadership is not about what you want,” he said. “It is about what needs to be done.”
He also cautioned that leadership is never neutral, warning that leaders either influence people positively or negatively.
“Leadership is either for good or for bad,” he said.
Mr Ato Sarpong urged young professionals aspiring to leadership to prepare themselves mentally for sacrifice, pressure and accountability.
“If you want to lead tomorrow, you must be resilient,” he said.
He reminded participants that leadership should be measured not by comfort or recognition but by the impact left behind.
“Leadership is not about your life,” he said. “It is about your legacy.”
