By Samuel AGYEMAN-PREMPEH
In today’s corporate world, especially across Africa’s rising economies like Ghana, there is a resounding emphasis on innovation, data and outcomes.
We are building Fintech giants, expanding across borders, leading restructuring agenda and managing transformational change. Our dashboards are full, our calendars even fuller. But in the midst of all this, we are quietly forgetting to write.
And not just to write emails or project briefs, but to truly document the story behind the success — the failures, the fears, the growth and the grace that shaped us. The reality is stark: in our pursuit of performance, many of us have neglected our personal and professional narratives.
In Ghanaian tradition, storytelling was sacred. From the Akan ‘Anansesem’ to Ewe firelight tales, oral history was our way of preserving identity, legacy and wisdom. The griots of old — custodians of stories — ensured that values were passed from one generation to the next.
But in today’s corporate landscape, this culture of reflection is fading. The managing director who steered a company through a hostile acquisition has never written about it. The marketing executive who pioneered a pan-African rebranding campaign has no blog or journal to mark that journey. The administrator who held a department together through three leadership transitions remains invisible in history.
We are, in many ways, becoming invisible achievers. When we don’t document our journeys, we lose more than memories — we lose momentum for the next generation. Our young professionals stumble in areas we’ve already mastered, simply because we never wrote the roadmap. Our nations import foreign leadership models, unaware that our own models have already been tested and refined — just undocumented.
Without stories, our impact becomes hard to trace. Institutions forget the people who built them. Communities forget the voices who challenged the norm. And we, ourselves, begin to reduce our legacies to LinkedIn job titles and retirement handshakes.
The power of the pen in the boardroom
Leaders who write build clarity, empathy and trust. Whether through articles, books, podcasts or journals, storytelling allows professionals to:
- Share wisdom in an accessible way
- Offer mentorship beyond their immediate reach
- Preserve corporate culture and transformation lessons
- Inspire innovation from past solutions
You don’t need to be an author to begin. You just need to be honest, intentional and reflective.
>>>Need help publishing your book or story? You do not have to walk alone on this journey. The writer can be reached via [email protected] and or 0203433177
