The Missing Dimension | 2
💬 “There is hope. There is definitely hope. And there is hope in young people.” _ John De Coninck
What does it mean to belong to a place? What should remain after a founder leaves? And how do we continue contributing when the season of being in charge has passed?
In The Missing Dimension | Part 2, John De Coninck takes us further into a life shaped by Uganda, culture, civil society, institution building and the continuing search for identity and purpose.
He reflects on the growing interest among young people in their culture and history, pointing to heritage clubs, museums and the curiosity of younger generations as signs of hope.
John also takes us into the story of the Quality Assurance Mechanism for NGOs (QAM), born from an effort by Uganda’s nonprofit sector to hold itself accountable through shared standards and values.
For John, those values remain essential.
He argues that self-regulation is still necessary and reflects on the importance of ensuring that organisations remain connected to the principles they claim to serve.
The conversation then turns inward.
After decades in Uganda, John asks:
💬 “Who am I? Am I Ugandan in some ways? Am I non-Ugandan in other ways?”
He speaks openly about the death of his Ugandan wife and the crisis of identity that followed, particularly as he realised how much of his sense of being Ugandan had been connected to her. Ironically, it was around this same period that he acquired Ugandan citizenship.
His conclusion is not a neat answer. Identity, he suggests, exists in layers and is continually renegotiated as life changes.
And leadership, too, must be renegotiated.
John reflects on leaving organisations he helped establish, resisting founder syndrome and recognising that strong institutions must eventually be able to continue without the people who began them.
Sometimes, he says, an organisation may even have completed the work for which it was created.
He recalls an idea from organisational development: “Strategic funerals for organizations.” _ John De Coninck
đź’ What do you believe should remain when a leader finally leaves the institution they helped build?
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