First of all, we strongly believe that we can’t fulfill our mandate to bring transformation through leadership development, one community at a time, without teaming up with other strategic partners.

We have this belief because our scope is global though we focus on empowering one community at a time.

This global mandate can’t be accomplished without the active participation of individuals, organizations, and institutions that share our vision.

Below you’ll find the scope of our work. Knowing these allows you to see where you could be able to add value and partner with us.

• We empower Diaspora leaders from Emerging Economies. We understand that the Diaspora can play a significant role by becoming a bridge between hosting countries and their respective emerging economies. And therefore, they are one of the pillars of strategic partnerships.
• We raise world-class Youth and Women leaders of emerging economies. We already have so many men and adult leaders. Though these leaders are critical for the transformation of emerging economies, the participation of women and youth in taking leadership matters significantly.
• We started our mission in the DC metro area, we’ll take it to the world. PRO Leadership was formed in Maryland and has already contributed its share in raising leaders in the DMV area since its establishment. We have also begun expanding to Africa, more specifically to Ethiopia, the seat of the AU. We will continue to expand to other African countries and other emerging economies around the world.
• We lead our efforts based on a clear initiative. We’ve crafted initiatives that bridge the leadership gaps in emerging economies in Africa, Asia, and South America.
• We are bridge builders among civilizations and cultures. We’ll collaborate with Western and South/East institutions to facilitate leadership experience and wisdom exchange programs.
• We have empowering leadership programs. We’ll create short and long-term programs to bridge the leadership gaps.
• We have a long-term plan to institutionalize what we do. We’ll establish a leadership research institute that leads emerging economies’ transformation through leadership development.
• We have to have a robust media presence. To reach out, connect, partner, and achieve our goals, we need the support of the latest media platforms, and professionals who excel at communicating on these platforms.

If you would like to contribute your share for the accomplishment of any of the above works, reach out to our team at [email protected]

What does it take to create a win-win deal amidst the conflict in the Middle East?

Sustainable development and conflict are mutually exclusive

Sustainable development can’t exist while conflict and war are flourishing.

No family, team, organization, or nation achieves sustainable development and enjoys its fruits while raddled with constant conflicts and wars.

Whenever there are conflicts and wars, you only get chaos, death, and destruction. Sustainable development can’t happen without the presence of peace and stability.

Thousands of innocent people have died

We all are saddened and heartbroken to witness the death of thousands of innocent Israelis and Palestinians, and the destruction of billions of dollars infrastructure since October 7^th, 2023.

You must be a psychopath if you enjoy what is happening in the region. It doesn’t matter who you support, you should be against the death of innocent people from both sides.

A quick disclaimer

We at PRO Leadership, as an institution, we’re non-partisan. What is more?

• Talking about it, let alone trying to fix the root cause of the conflict,
• Who is to be blamed, and
• How to resolve it is beyond the scope of the organization.

Our mandate is bridging the leadership gaps globally one community at a time through leadership development.

The 1^st stage toward sustainable development is peace

We strongly believe that effective leaders can lead their communities out of poverty, chaos, and conflicts. They can transform their communities and achieve sustainable development.

However, these leaders can’t achieve the above if there is no peace and stability.

Therefore, the first duty of any leader whose community and nation are amid conflict and war is to bring peace. It is unlikely, if not totally impossible, to achieve any meaningful economic development and progress while conflict and war are raging.

Leadership crisis in the region

Right now, we’re witnessing a leadership crisis in the region. Leaders of Israel and Palestine are not talking. Yes, it may be hard for them to agree and broker a peace deal right now and immediately. But they should, at least, begin talking.

What is also disappointing is that the Security Council is unable to reach a resolution, at least, to prevent a humanitarian crisis, which further aggravates the already dire situation.

Key regional and international stakeholders are also not talking. Previously arranged multi-party discussions among nations were canceled.

There is a clear leadership gap

As you can see, there is a clear leadership gap both at:

1. National,
2. Regional, and
3. Global levels…

This is my hope that key stakeholders will soon find common grounds to negotiate, and ultimately agree how to bring a cease fire, and in turn, avoid further bloodshed and humanitarian crisis.

Everything rises or falls on leadership

That being said, the main purpose of this blog is to remind all of us of the popular saying “Everything rises or falls on Leadership.” This crisis wouldn’t have happened, once it happened, it would have been addressed quicker than what it has taken so far if there had been effective leadership at multiple levels.

Here is a fact: Great leaders prevent conflict and war from happening. Even if these things happen in their presence, they’re skillful to turn conflicts into opportunities quickly.

We desperately need leaders who turn conflicts into opportunities

I wish if the death of innocent people never happened. I wish there was no war not just in the Middle East but also in Europe and Africa. But we’re dealing with many wars globally. Humanity hasn’t made enough evolutionary progress to solve differences through dialogue.

Since this conflict has happened and we didn’t have any ability to prevent it from happening, now we must deal with it. For this to happen, we need leaders in the region and beyond who can turn this conflict into opportunities. Leaders at all levels who are committed to bringing peace through a win-win deal.

Without peace, there is no sustainable development.

With your help, we may expand to raise world-class leaders in the region

For your information, PRO Leadership’s vision is to raise world-class leaders in emerging economies including in the Middle East who bring sustainable development to their communities.

Right now, we don’t have resources to play any meaningful role to raise enough world-class leaders throughout the hierarchy who excel in preventing, and once it happens, turn conflicts into opportunities.

Who knows, with your and other stakeholders’ support, we may be able to play a constructive role in the near future in raising world-class leaders who are skillful to turn conflicts into opportunities.

That said, here are a couple of considerations to reach a win-win deal and resolve the current conflict between Israel and Palestine:

1. Create an atmosphere of trust for talk. Experienced negotiators and mediators understand that their first job isn’t to broker a quick resolution, especially in a complex conflict with a long history where thousands of people died. They’re not naïve or ambitious to achieve a win-win deal right away. But they are realistic and seek to create an atmosphere of trust for talk as quickly as possible.
2. Active and empathetic listening. It is unfortunate to witness some politicians and diplomats rushing to put forward preconditions and propose on how the conflict should be resolved without number 1 above is met. At this stage of the conflict, understandably emotions are high. People from both sides are grieving. The world is shocked by the brutalities that have been demonstrated. This isn’t yet the time to talk about the next steps, let alone the conclusion. Though it is tough, leaders at all levels and from both sides should listen to the pains and griefs the other party is going through right now. At this early stage, they don’t necessarily need to agree on the conditions and the steps toward resolving them to listen and express empathy.  There won’t be any meaningful discussion, let alone win-win deals that resolve the conflict once and for all without both sides and other stakeholders listening to each other.
3. Far-Sightedness. Unless you live under a rock for the past several decades, the Israeli-Palestine conflict hasn’t started on October 7^th this year. Leaders from both sides and their respective supporters around the world should calm down and restrain from gaslighting the already flaming situation. You don’t want to say and do certain things that will haunt you and the next generations. This isn’t time to be short-sighted and be led by emotions alone. This is time to project into the future and engage in a win-win negotiation that leads to stability, peace, and ultimately sustainable development in the region.

The rest of the steps to reach a win-win deal become a little easier and doable if the previous three steps are done properly. This is my hope that the relevant regional and international institutions will soon come up with a clear roadmap to charter the way forward to reach a win-win deal acceptable by all parties involved…

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about PRO Leadership and:

• How we may help you raise world-class leaders in your communities who can turn conflicts into opportunities, and in turn bring peace, stability and ultimately sustainable development,
• How you can become part of our team, and/or
• How you may become a strategic partner or a sponsor, reach out via [email protected]

Hoping to hear from you soon…

The need for raising world-class leaders who build bridges, those who refrain from erecting walls and creating divisions

In the 20th C, the global socio-political atmosphere was tense, especially immediately after WWII.

• The world was divided into two camps.
• The arms race was at its peak.
• Humanity lived with constant terror of possible nuclear annihilation.
• The scarce resources of humanity, including intellectuals, were spent on how to destroy the other camp.
• It was ugly and counterproductive. No one benefited from that state of existence.

Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, it seems the next COLD WAR is in the making, if not already formed.

It is unfortunate that history is repeating itself. It is frustrating to see that we don’t learn from our past…

In this Century, by now, we should have cool-headed leaders from both camps who could take the lead and tone down the tension and, in the process, save humanity from potential extinction.

At this stage of human evolution, it is embarrassing to lack leaders who understand that no one will benefit from a nuclear exchange… No one will come out as a winner and unscratched…

• How did we get here?
• Why are we having unthoughtful leaders who are comfortable crossing red-lines?
• Why are these leaders push some boundaries carelessly and play with fire???

Anyways, at PRO Leadership, we are neutral. We don’t take sides. In this matter, we don’t think anyone should take sides and fan the flame. Both camps are equally vulnerable…

We’re also a small non-profit organization with limited scope. Resolving this conflict is beyond our pay grade 🙂

However, we call upon leaders in the west and south/east to remember those wise leaders who tamed their personal egos. Leaders like John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Nikita Khrushchev, and Mikhail Gorbachev, who stepped up to the plate when the hour called for cool-headed leaders. They took LEADERSHIP and acted responsibly during that scary time where humanity was so close to experience a devastating nuclear war, and self-destruction.

We also call upon the UN and other continental and regional institutions to continue to play constructive roles in resolving the conflict FASTER and through dialogue. This bloody conflict must stop. The death of young Russians and Ukrainians must stop NOW.

That said, our scope is limited. We’re committed to bridging the leadership gaps in emerging economies one community at a time.

We are highly concerned about this conflict because of two reasons:

1. First, we are human beings and deeply feel the pains our brothers and sisters at war are experiencing.
2. Second, the conflict has created global divide and led to another COLD WAR, affecting our mission and many other critically important undertakings in emerging economies.

The conflict is coming in the way of raising world-class leaders who may transform their communities by tackling the dire challenges their respective communities are facing such as the lack of:

• Quality infrastructures like hospitals, schools, roads, transportation vehicles…
• Adequate clean water,
• Enough nutritional foods, and so on.

Emerging economies now have to divert their resources, attention, and focus away from the dire needs of their communities because of this emerging COLD-WAR tension among big dogs.

Remember:

• Emerging economies are victims here.
• Even if they’ve not played any role in what is happening, they can’t escape the consequences.
• They’re forced, directly or indirectly, to take sides.
• They’re paying dire prices because of high inflation, consumer prices, and demand-supply route disruptions.
• And more…

It doesn’t look good for emerging economies… They had to overcome so many chronic challenges. And now, they’ve to deal with this HUMAN-MADE divide, which isn’t their own making?

We strongly believe that there are lots of things both the West and East/South commonly share. What units us outweighs what divides us.

The stake is high. The challenges we all humans face demand us to set aside our differences including how this conflict should be resolved, BRIDGE the GAPS, and work together on those common agendas that affect all of humanity.

That is why we at PRO Leadership create programs that raise world-class leaders in emerging economies who create synergy with other leaders by focusing on what units us. Leaders who refrain from erecting walls and burning bridges…

Our programs are also designed to empower leaders who are skillful in negotiating win-win deals on those issues we have differences. Leaders who avoid war and conflict by employing skillful diplomacy.

Unfortunately, long-term initiatives like ours take the back burner whenever communities deal with pressing issues like the one we are now facing. It seems every essential and long-term project has been frozen, both in the west, and east/south and everything is centered around this conflict and the cold war in the making.

This is the 21st C. Humanity has come a long way.

We should continue to evolve mentally and spiritually to defeat humanities common enemies:

1. Poverty,
2. Conflicts,
3. Diseases,
4. Environmental degradation,
5. Terrorism,
6. Corruption, and more.

This isn’t the time to reverse gear, slow down, take the down spiral path, and self-destruct.

Of course, we’re mindful that we’re a non-profit. We help communities raise extraordinary leaders. We don’t have the mandate, abilities, influence, or resources to play any meaningful role in bridging the global political divide.

However, we firmly believe that small organizations like ours, community organizations, and individuals like you and I can make a difference if we use whatever little influence we have to play our fair share in promoting tolerance, peace, unity, synergy, and collaboration… If we act as BRIDGE BUILDERS…

Of course, we don’t give up. Even if our journey is slowed down and taking a back burner, our long-term vision is to see LEADERS in emerging economies who:

• Transform their respective community once and for all.
• Defeat poverty, conflicts, and corruption.
• Learn from those leaders who have already achieved economic development.
• Share the leadership wisdom they gained that worked in their respective communities with other leaders in the West.

As you can imagine, this goodwill, collaboration, and exchange of wisdom can only happen if there is peace. It can only happen if leaders in the west and south/east see each other as strategic partners, not as rivals. While the cold war is waged and the political atmosphere is tense as it is now, it is hard to build bridges and learn from one another.

What is worst? While we’re in this COLD WAR mentality,

• Chances are, we may all DIE if someone crosses the proverbial red line.
• Even if we SURVIVE for now, the fight against poverty, corruption, and environmental degradation takes the back burner.
• Our civilization stalls, if not goes backward decades, as creative minds and resources are invested in creating weapons.
• It takes us decades to trust, reengage, and collaborate again, wasting precious time and opportunities that could have advanced our collective human evolution and civilization.

As you can see, leadership makes or breaks. Leaders can lead us into WAR and DESTRUCTION or into PEACE and PROSPERITY.

The problem is severe when the leadership gap is at the national and global levels. It tricks down…

Though our programs and initiatives may not dent the direction of this conflict or what is happening globally, if PRO Leadership and other stakeholders continue to raise world-class leaders at family and community levels, chances are these leaders one day will become national and global leaders. That is our mission and mandate, and that is our vision and what we see… Raising leaders who will bring a lasting transformation in emerging economies playing their parts for a better world!!!

• If you share our cause and vision, why don’t you join us?
• If you would like to see world-class leaders in your community who build bridges rather than erect walls and create barriers, why not join the movement?

Reach out via [email protected]

We look forward to chatting with you and seeing how you may involve according to your passion, talent, and experience.