Conscious Companies Awards 2018

Human values at the core of business value.

By Brenda Kali

I hear the noise of corporate greed, corruption, fraud, mismanagement, and a leadership crisis in both the political and business spheres slowly recede into the mists of time as we navigate massive uncertainty and anxiety in our daily lives.

Reflecting on the past year, we have seen more than our fair share of looters and cheaters, pervasive greed, raw ambition, and dishonest dealings by our leaders. This begs the question: in a country that gave birth to the King IV report, where we should be a global beacon of conscious leadership, ethics, and governance, why are we so severely compromised?

Where is the moral muscle of our leadership? We are facing a gargantuan leadership crisis in both our political and economic spheres, exacerbated by the elaborate façade of outwardly impressive leaders who remain inwardly impoverished by greed, ambition, and power.

The Steinhoff debacle, costing shareholders a colossal R300 billion, is no minor feat for a once-celebrated leader. Markus Jooste, with an estimated net worth of R5.8 billion, was entrusted with millions from shareholders and pension funds. Yet, while living a life of decadent luxury, he lost millions for South Africans. Driven by greed, his actions had disastrous consequences for the overall well-being of the collective.

Following the scandals involving KPMG, McKinsey, and Eskom, a week without corporate controversy hardly exists. These incidents have pushed us to the brink, exposing the unscrupulous antics of unconscious leaders through dramatic headlines and public dismay.

Corporate indifference, trickery, and thievery have become all too insidious. It demands that we evaluate and examine the behaviour of leadership. Too often, we create icons and heroes out of liars and thieves, of the fraudulent and corrupt. We revere the drugged athlete, the sushi-guzzling entrepreneur, and the flamboyant, whisky-swilling executive without so much as questioning their actions.

I spent the better part of last year writing extensively about ethics and governance, advocating that conscious leaders shape conscious companies. So, what is the lesson here? As we choke on techno-embellished information, we are starved of wisdom, clarity, and awareness.

Ben Horowitz, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, posted a blog entitled “What’s the Most Difficult CEO Skill?” In it, he spoke frankly about managing one’s own psychology. “Organisational design and process were all relatively straightforward skills to master compared to keeping my mind in check,” he wrote. “It’s like the Fight Club of management. The first rule of the CEO’s meltdown is—don’t talk about the CEO’s psychological meltdown. Shareholders and employees suffer the consequences of the mistakes you make. Admitting to your employees that you have mental difficulties is extremely hard. It’s a huge admission of weakness. As a chief executive, you are very aware that people are already questioning you.”

This brought to mind a conversation I had some time ago with Discovery Group’s Adrian Gore, a leader who changed the face of health insurance in this country. “Most people can lead if they have a purpose,” he told me. “The most powerful leadership is authenticity. If people believe that your purpose is authentic, it is not very difficult to lead. I do not compromise on anything. Decision-makers are good at compromising. Life is compromise, but I am not sure I am good at making them. What I do not compromise on is honesty, integrity—without doubt—and family time. I never want to lie awake at night thinking that we had done anything wrong.”

Despite this leadership vision, Discovery has had its share of challenges. However, when the leadership of an organisation has passion, purpose, and an innate calling to do the right thing, they stand at the shore without instruction—as courageous leaders who are willing to utilise their resilience and resources for the greater good.

In my quest to identify courageous, conscious leaders and companies driven to prosper, perform, and pursue profits while placing a premium on people, community, culture, and the environment beyond the bottom line, I discovered the reality of a very fallible leadership—made up mostly of imperfect men and some women. But among them were a few profoundly perceptive CEOs who displayed courage, commitment, care, compassion, and a code of ethics that saved the day.

“Your profession is not what brings home your pay cheque. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do with such passion and intensity that it becomes a spiritual calling.” These are the words of Vincent van Gogh. If only they had been heeded by former President Zuma, Steinhoff’s Markus Jooste, Brian Molefe, and the leaders of KPMG, McKinsey, Eskom, and PRASA, we could have had a very different scenario today—and the headlines would have been a tad more generous.

However, I pray that as we move into a new era of leadership in South Africa, we take cognisance of the fact that a crisis is an opportunity—one that should give rise to an intense dialogue among an organisation’s leadership. This dialogue must herald positive change, forging a new path of awareness, integrity, ethics, and a sense of purpose, performance, profit, and perception of its brand in order to create a truly conscious company.