The world needs new leadership, but the new leadership is about

Hear the words of Jack Ma, a man who rose from humble beginnings to shape commerce across the world, who declared: “The world needs new leadership, but the new leadership is about working together.” In this saying, there is both a call and a warning. The call is for new leadership, leadership not born of domination, but of cooperation. The warning is that the old ways—of rulers who sought to conquer, of nations who sought to stand above all others—will not serve in the age to come. The world now is bound together as never before, and its leaders must learn to weave, not to tear, to unite, not to divide.

The ancients themselves glimpsed this truth. The great empires of the past rose through power, but often they endured only as long as they could hold together the diverse peoples within them. Rome survived for centuries not merely by conquest, but by extending citizenship, by weaving many nations into one. Where it failed to cooperate, rebellion tore it apart. So too today: the leaders who would shape the future must understand that working together is not weakness, but the deepest form of strength.

Consider the creation of the United Nations after the devastation of the Second World War. The nations of the earth had seen the ruin of arrogance, the desolation of leaders who sought domination. Out of the ashes came a new vision: that if humanity were to survive, its leaders must meet not on battlefields but at tables of dialogue. It was an imperfect union, but it embodied the truth that Jack Ma speaks—that the new leadership must be about partnership, for only in unity could the world endure the challenges ahead.

History also gives us the example of Nelson Mandela. Emerging from decades of imprisonment, he could have ruled with vengeance, dividing South Africa along the wounds of its past. But he chose another path: he sought reconciliation, he sought to build bridges. His leadership was new not because it grasped power, but because it gave power away—uniting former enemies into partners. In working together, he turned the tide of a nation and showed the world what true leadership looks like.

Yet Jack Ma’s words are not only for nations or kings, but for all. In the age of technology, commerce, and global connection, no single man, company, or country can stand alone. Climate, disease, poverty, and inequality cross every border. To face them requires not the old model of isolated strength, but the new leadership of shared vision and collaboration. A leader today must be one who listens, who brings together many voices, who sees the greatness not of self, but of the whole.

The meaning, then, is clear: leadership in our age must change its face. It is no longer the lone warrior standing apart, but the conductor who brings together many instruments into harmony. To lead today is to build partnerships, to inspire cooperation, to call forth the strengths of the many. Working together is not the end of leadership—it is its highest expression.

The lesson for us is this: in your own life, whether in family, in work, or in community, do not cling to the illusion of solitary greatness. Seek instead the greatness of collaboration. Honor the voices of others, unite your strengths with theirs, and together create what none could build alone. When conflict arises, seek understanding; when division threatens, build bridges. In this way, you will practice the new leadership that the world so urgently needs.

Therefore, let your practice be thus: wherever you are given the chance to lead, make it your mission to weave unity, not division. Become the one who brings people together, the one who strengthens the whole by lifting every part. For as Jack Ma has declared, “The world needs new leadership, but the new leadership is about working together.” And in this path of shared strength lies the hope of tomorrow.