In a country that has seen the dark history, life is not fair. Nothing is fair in a broken country with angry, desperate and broken people. Leaders, or politicians, or powers don’t care about fairness.
The country continued the public alarm; personal fears and anxieties; the stench of corruption and the overall unpleasant situation with the grafters and fraudsters who call our politicians; an inept president; the darkness of the incessant open-release; lack of water; failed infrastructure and our economic woes have impacted the psyche of a nation desperate for some direction and leadership.
A callous lack of consideration by the leaders of this nation has us teetering on the edge. So, how can we break through the indolent stupor, self-interest and greed of some leaders in our socio-economic and political space?
A difficult question. What is the use of the Conference on Leadership and Conscious Ethics, which will take place in Johannesburg on May 11, in a climate of ignorant leaders, especially the ineffective president, Cyril Ramaphosa, who, several times, rejected the strategic presidential report, the result of the summit?
The annual summit and report provide an important new framework for this country’s leaders to help identify what’s missing, what’s wrong and what needs to be done.
However, putting the nation first, above ourselves, should be the priority of the president and the people who are happy which, unfortunately, is far from the agenda. Thinking about conscious, ethical leadership, which speaks to the human heart and soul, is about transformative behavior. It gives a sense of meaning, purpose and unity that the leaders of this country are not oblivious.
The true character of leadership around the world is being tested and exposed – the human understanding of consciousness is so small – that the challenge of implementing conscious and ethical leadership in all sectors of society is like the wind.
Against this background, trust, humanity, respect, ethical behavior and change are the main drivers that initiate the annual Conscious Leadership and Ethics Summit, especially when our leaders, globally, fail to act as a cohesive force.
This year’s top theme is conscience about compliance – a new paradigm in business – only because compliance is the end game and over-regulation is the means of enforcement and control. While life can be useful or sold for profit, employees will be responsible and the balance between human well-being and the financial impact of global chaos leaves us with no choice but to move on to the next big thing.
In this case, the next big trend is ESG (environmental, social and governance). Leaders who are forced to embrace ESG because it is a trend or compliance, for greenwashing or to improve their reputation, should think again. In this age of technology and social media, working only with renewable energy, creating zero waste and, finally, selling environmentally sustainable products as part of the company’s business strategy, is the hallmark of a leader who understands awareness.
In my opinion, ESG, ethics and purpose are parts that fall under the umbrella of conscious leadership. If we get it, then the compliance of that important segment disappears and, in its place, conscious leaders and the team set the tone – so that ESG and ethics become part of the DNA of the organization and nothing else is good. -Discussion-about the ideology of alignment or the mechanism of the moving box.
Then compliance becomes a conscience and dependence on devices, tools, metrics and repeated theories – although this has a place in the company’s machine – gradually becomes a conscious leadership in action and the will to do the right thing.
Unfortunately, this is not the case – and not just at home. It is a global malaise that the consciousness of most of our leaders is questionable. We have first-hand knowledge of how quickly companies and countries can collapse when leaders lack ethics and awareness and refuse to change their behavior.
I can cite several stories of so-called reputable leaders sitting on majestic boardrooms manipulating the system.
A prime example is Markus Braun, the Austrian tech entrepreneur who built Wirecard into one of Germany’s largest companies. He was arrested a week after uncovering a $2.1 billion accounting scandal. News of the missing funds and his arrest spread quickly.
At home, Markus Jooste, the former chief executive of Steinhoff, has not yet seen the inside of a prison cell, but he oversaw an accounting scandal that wiped $9.16 billion from Steinhoff’s market value in a few weeks in December 2017. It’s a contrast. that has a lot of head scratching as to why, on the surface, the wheels of justice grind very slowly in the southern tip of Africa.
In these anxious and difficult times, leaders must act more responsibly to implement a culture of values, ethics, social cooperation and social integration that is caring, compassionate and conscious. This is a peak aspiration.
The critical need for visionary and high-calibre leaders, who strive to create a meaningful and conscious environment to reduce suffering and stem the tide of corporate greed and scandal, is an important turning point.
They want more money, fame, status, more power, wealth and pleasure, so the leaders reject the way they are doing. The difference between leaders who get the ideology of consciousness that we carry in our bodies and the disrespectful and toxic leadership behavior of those we experience is a matter of greed and self-interest. Operating in consciousness is a choice for leadership and, given the degradation of ethics and morals in this country, it is a critical time to choose.
I really want the president of this country to choose to engage in, and understand, ethical, conscious leadership and responsibility. The president’s report, the result of the summit, will offer a solution and, if he is only going to embrace it and implement it, the leadership of this country will look very different.
But, once again, it’s a matter of choice. One must face the demons, travel through the darkness and choose the hero’s journey. The question is, is our president brave enough, or willing, to go beyond the power and status of his position before the next election to change his behavior and realize that only he can, through his actions, facilitate a South Africa that is less brutal, less corrupt and more gentle. ?
Conscious leadership is about one life affecting another, about unity, about humanity, about belonging, about trust and transparency, about care, compassion, kindness and being, where leaders see that the only resource in their sphere of influence is people. self.
It is the ethos of the Conscious Leadership and Ethics Conference that acts as a catalyst for social and transformational change, where conscious leadership is essential.
At Mail & Guardians is a partner of the upcoming Conscious Leadership and Ethics Summit.