By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji, has urged the agency’s leadership to embrace self-examination, adaptability, and a culture of empowerment, warning that unexamined beliefs could undermine the institution’s transformation agenda.
Adedeji made the call on Tuesday, 10 February, 2026, during his opening remarks at the 2026 NRS Leadership Retreat held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, where he challenged senior officials to rethink entrenched leadership assumptions and adopt new approaches suited to what he described as a defining moment for the organisation.
Addressing participants, the NRS boss began with what he termed “an unusual request,” asking leaders to “suspend the comfort of familiarity” and temporarily set aside the reassurance of titles, tenure, and established habits.
Instead, he urged them to imagine “the leader this moment in our history requires you to become, not the leader you have been.”
He stressed that the Nigeria Revenue Service represents a decisive departure from legacy structures, noting that “new eras demand new postures.”
According to him, the success of the transition would not depend on the weight of positions, the strength of résumés, or the familiarity of existing systems, but on the collective capacity to adapt, stretch, and lead with excellence.
“What brought us here will not be sufficient for where we are going,” Adedeji said, adding that institutional renewal requires more than technical competence.
Drawing from a recent reflection on the Harvard Business Review article, The Hidden Beliefs That Hold Leaders Back, Adedeji argued that leadership failures often stem not from a lack of intelligence or strategy, but from “invisible beliefs” leaders carry about themselves and others.
These beliefs, he explained, quietly shape decisions, behaviours, and outcomes, often without conscious recognition.
He observed that while leaders may develop sophisticated strategies and reform frameworks, such plans could be derailed by “internal blockers we rarely acknowledge,” including unspoken assumptions about delegation, control, and performance.
In institutions like the NRS, he noted, these barriers rarely manifest as overt resistance. Rather, they appear subtly, frequently disguised as good intentions.
He cited instances where leaders equate leadership with always having the answer, thereby leading by instruction instead of empowerment, or mistake tight control for accountability, inadvertently creating bottlenecks.
Adedeji further warned against expecting uniformity in work styles and execution, emphasising that strong outcomes can be achieved through different paths.
He also cautioned that projecting certainty at the expense of honesty could create environments where staff feel unable to ask questions, admit gaps, or challenge assumptions.
“Perhaps most dangerously,” he said, “they show up when we cling to familiar systems and legacy norms, even when the moment clearly demands a fundamentally new way of working.”
He underscored the broader implications of such beliefs, noting that they shape organisational culture, influence performance, and ultimately determine institutional futures.
Consequently, he declared that the retreat’s first priority was not strategy, structure, or technology, but “leadership self-examination.”
“Because if we cannot confront our internal barriers, we cannot credibly lead thousands of people into a new institutional era,” he stated.
Adedeji, however, made it clear that his reflections were not directed at others alone, openly acknowledging his own leadership assumptions. He recounted a long-standing belief that if he could execute tasks in a particular way, others should be able to do the same.
“On the surface, it appears harmless, even noble. In reality, it distorted how I set expectations, how I reviewed performance, and how I delegated authority,” he admitted.
He explained that his inclination to expect others to move at his pace and conform to his definition of quality often led him to tighten control when outcomes did not align with his immediate expectations.
He traced this mindset to a personal history shaped by perfectionism and high achievement, where mistakes were perceived as unacceptable.
Over time, Adedeji said he recognised that the deeper issue was a fear of being held responsible for the failures of others, a concern that quietly fostered rigidity and pressure.
“My unblocking came when I accepted, without defensiveness, that efficiency does not require uniformity, that excellence does not require my style, and that trust is not the absence of oversight, but the willingness to allow people to rise,” he said.
He added that this shift helped him focus on outcomes rather than “policing the journey,” reinforcing his conviction that leadership is fundamentally about elevating others rather than replicating oneself.
Presenting his experience as both a warning and an invitation, Adedeji urged participants to deliberately discard inherited notions of leadership.
He called on them to “take off every hat, suspend every title, release every inherited script,” and commit to leading with humility, courage, and clarity.
In his closing remarks, Adedeji reminded the gathering that the NRS would ultimately be judged not by discussions at the retreat but by tangible changes in leadership conduct and institutional performance.
“The Nigeria Revenue Service will not be defined by what we say in this room. It will be defined by who we become after we leave it,” he declared.
He described the agency’s ongoing reforms as one of the most significant institutional transformations in Nigeria’s history, noting that the credibility of the nation’s revenue architecture and broader economic confidence rest heavily on the service’s shoulders.
“If we walk into this future with rigid beliefs, we will build walls where bridges are required. But if we lead with honesty, courage, and an open mind, we will build an institution worthy of this moment,” Adedeji said.
He concluded that “this is our mandate! This is our responsibility! And this is our legacy! Colleagues, let us begin again, honestly, expectantly, and with renewed minds.”
