What do you mean by “leadership and management studio”

We call ourselves a leadership and management studio because we believe it is important to revisit leadership and management challenges - intangible by design - with a creative, open-minded, and innovative spirit. Just like innovation studios leverage design thinking, we use our proprietary methodology to help our clients improve their strategy and design new ways of working.

Why do both advisory and research?

We are particularly keen to maintain a dual practice of advisory and research, as they feed each other and enable us to test concepts in real life or design new solutions from the experience gathered in specific contexts.

Are you for-profit or not-profit?

Tembo Citizen is… both. Our advisory work is for-profit and operated under Tembo Circle SAS, a company registered in France. Our research work is not-profit and operated under Tembo Citizen, an association registered in France as well. Our hybrid model enables us to establish meaningful partnerships with academic institutions, leadership networks and other not-profit entities.

What is your proprietary methodology?

Leveraging over a decade of conflict resolution and management experience, we have designed several frameworks and tools at the nexus of leadership and management. All are designed to improve awareness on the skills, processes, perceptions, and cultural factors that affect decision-making.

Are you still relevant in the age of AI?

AI is a ground-breaking evolution in ways of working and will bring about change at a scale we have still to fathom. That’s why organisations need to be very clear about their strategic positioning, the value they create and the values they uphold. In other words, they need to explicit and manage the social contract they have with their stakeholders. And that’s exactly where we can help!

Why did you choose that name?

In Swahili, ‘Tembo’ means elephant. We are inspired by those magnificent animals as they convey quiet strength. They have no predators and are predators to none. ‘Citizen’ reflects the importance of understanding the social contract underlying the way organisations work or societal challenges are addressed.

What is the relation between Tembo Citizen and its ecosystem?

Tembo Citizen is part of an ecosystem composed of the Tusker Club, and The Mouse. While Tembo Citizen strives to support organisations who lead change, the Tusker Club, as a home to a community of driven and singular leaders (from executives to young professionals), strives to support individuals who lead change. The Mouse is Tusker Club’s blog, also publishing quarterly briefings (The Meridian), taking a step back to address classic leadership and management challenges.