Blog

History doesn’t end. It shows up in our workplaces – in who gets heard, who gets promoted, and who feels they belong.

When my big sister Adaobi Oniwinde shared the Ogoni of Nigeria/Shell story recently, it struck me deeply. The Ogoni people’s struggle is a painful reminder that histories of exclusion don’t just disappear. Their ghosts walk with us: into our homes, our communities, and our workplaces.

It mirrored a piece of work I was called to do across Africa during one of the most trying moments of my life – just after my dad passed away.

By then, I had already spent months preparing:

• With marginalised communities and staff, supporting them to articulate their concerns constructively, without fear of retaliation.
• With leaders in power, preparing them to receive difficult feedback without defensiveness, and to hear voices that had long been excluded.

With trust established, my dear dad died shortly before the final big session was scheduled. I decided to go ahead – not because it was easy, but because so much had gone into getting to that moment and it simply wasn’t one I could delegate.

The nerves were everywhere. The history was heavy. The stakes were high. And yet, what unfolded was one of the most fulfilling and moving conversations I have ever facilitated.

It reminded me that every workplace, every organisation, carries its own ghosts:

• Ghosts of history – colonialism, war, systemic inequities.
• Ghosts of exclusion – who gets heard, who gets promoted, who feels they belong.
• Ghosts of silence – the unspoken tensions that quietly erode trust.

As leaders, we may be tempted to ignore these ghosts because they feel “too big,” “too political,” or “too sensitive.” But ignoring them doesn’t make them disappear.

Even in silence, we are communicating. We are telling our people how much – or how little – we care.

That’s why, in the Leader as Coach programme, grounded in the principles of my book Let Go Leadership, we emphasise creating space, asking better questions, and practising deep listening.

Letting go doesn’t mean doing less – it means letting go of certainty, so leaders can invite others in and co-create new ways forward.

Now more than ever, leaders and organisations must choose openness over avoidance. Because when we create space to acknowledge the ghosts, we also create the possibility of healing, trust, and growth.