As we commemorate Human Rights Day, my mind goes to two maverick South African leaders who have brought the notion of sound leadership into the public consciousness.
At a recent convening of citizen leaders hosted by leadership development organisation, Symphonia for South Africa (SSA), Dr Reuel Khoza, a thought leader, businessman and unapologetic Africanist, spoke to the function of and need for conscious leadership in society.
He boldly stated: ‘’Leadership should be predicated on the main pillars of competency, accountability and ethical conduct. These pillars equate with legitimacy and practical respect for human rights. If leaders fail these tests, they also fail the tests of morality, efficacy and trust. They cease to be credible and should step aside. This is crucial in a world where tyrants abound in corporations and in states.’’
Only a few days ago at the School Leadership Forum also organised by SSA, Professor Jonathan Jansen, Distinguished Professor of Education and an ever-astute social commentator, put it to an audience of school leaders from across the country.
‘’In light of Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine, what can we, school leaders, learn from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s leadership? Is your leadership [like Zelenskyy’s] present, spiritual, emotional, selfless and sacrificial?’’
If nothing else, their utterances drove home one point: leaders, whether they serve in schools, governments or business, hold the power to influence the transformation or, sadly, the regression of society. Ultimately, a modern society bereft of conscious, ethical leaders is a society on the precipice of turmoil.
Of particular interest to me is Dr Khoza’s take on ‘servant’ leadership, an emerging leadership philosophy that is moral-based, and where leaders prioritise the fulfillment of the needs of their followers rather than satisfying their personal needs.
In a nutshell, Dr Khoza asserts: “It’s the kind of leadership that is catalytic. It resonates with the essence of Ubuntu, that is, we are an inter-dependent species. Only leaders with Ubuntu can understand inter-dependence – and only those leaders are servant leaders.’’ His mention of Ubuntu, a distinctly African concept, and how it intersects with the western construct of servant leadership, is deeply relevant. In a world dominated by western leadership intellection, he makes a compelling case for the intentional inclusion of the Ubuntu philosophy in leadership practice.
Ubuntu, rooted in the history of many indigenous cultures of South Africa, means ‘humanity’. At the core of this is the idea that ‘an individual learns to be a person through others’. Popularised in the 90s by the now late Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former statesman Nelson Mandela, Ubuntu has been described as the antithesis of apartheid, which literally translates to ‘apartness’ or separation.
Scholars believe that the values embedded in the Ubuntu philosophy have a significant bearing on personal, organisational, community and governmental leadership in the 21st century. This is because its components provide a perspective of leadership that reflects the needs of the world we currently inhabit. Ubuntu espouses the principles of care, mutual support and psychological safety, and rejects the ‘us and them’ culture so rife in politics, corporations and conventionally led organisations. It is a stepping stone to leadership that propels our society towards economic, social and environmental sustainability.
Although not explicitly, SSA, through its flagship programme Partners for Possibility (PfP), promotes the inculcation of Ubuntu in leadership practice. The locally and internationally acclaimed leadership development programme pairs school principals with business leaders in a 12-month collaborative and practical leadership journey. Through this process, principals are empowered to embed their schools at the centre of their communities and to improve the quality of education being offered to our youth. Business leaders develop their leadership ability through hands-on experience in an environment different from their day-to-day working life.
Its unique leadership model places interconnectedness and humanity at the heart of change – at the micro, meso and macro level. There is an emphasis on conscious, ethical leadership. This is can be witnessed, in particular, as the leadership skills of business leaders grow significantly through working with school principals. Participating business leaders report that they become more skilled at working across sectoral and cultural boundaries, more willing to collaborate widely and engage others in change processes and better able to influence others in situations where they have no direct control. They learn the importance of leadership in the spirit of solidarity, and they begin to lead with more compassion, respect, empathy and with cognisance of every individual’s inherent dignity.
Dr Khoza has always maintained that leadership should ‘’take us from where we are to our desired destination as a nation’’.
We are all leaders in our own right. We owe it to ourselves to embrace the tenets of Ubuntu so that we map a path to our desired destination – in collaboration, solidarity and with human rights top of mind.
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