- Programme Director;
- Professor Garth Stevens, Deputy Vice-Chancellor People Development and Culture;
- Jerome September, Dean of Student Affairs;
- Professor Maurice Radebe, Head of Wits Business School;
- Tshegofatso Mogaladi, Deputy Dean of Student Affairs;
- Bukisa Boniswa, President of the Student Representative Council;
- Executive members of the Post Graduate Association;
- Leaders of various structures of students’ governance.
I thank the University of the Witwatersrand for inviting and offering me the honour to address this Student Leadership Conference on the theme of “Leading with integrity in an era of populist politics and mass accumulation.”
In a world where every facet of life seems to compete for our attention, leadership is being tested in ways unlike ever before. Leadership in the digital age is increasingly a complex task, especially in a country such as South Africa, where historical injustices and contemporary struggles converge. With such complex socio-political dynamics, South Africa has always provided a compelling landscape to explore and examine leadership models, styles and principles.
For students preparing to graduate and transition into various sectors — be it corporate, public, entrepreneurial, academia or civil society — being curious about varying lessons of leadership from a broad range of examples and possibilities may offer a more robust framework.
Curiosity ignites a powerful response, fostering satisfaction in learning, but it is the questions we pose to ourselves and the subject matter that truly drive our desire to know more and strive for better. This inquisitive spirit is crucial for future leaders, as it challenges existing knowledge and dismantles the power structures that may arise from oppressive knowledge systems.
Maurice Cornforth explains “The Theory of Knowledge” as follows:
“We gain knowledge, then, by working out ideas arising of problems of practice, and we test our knowledge step by step, in other words, establish it as knowledge, by reference to the fulfilment or non-fulfilment of our expectations in practice…
This is a never-ending process. For whatever may be our knowledge, new demands of practice lead to new extensions of knowledge.
Moreover, existing knowledge must always be brought into conformity with the lessons and demands of practice.” [1]
Knowledge, when paired with practice, becomes a key asset in the pursuit of a more just and inclusive society. It is not merely about how expansive our knowledge base of principles develops, but how we apply that knowledge through ongoing reflection of our experience, to foster integrity and ethical practices.
Every science, is verified by experience.
Usman’s Eight Principles, although generic as standalone values yet still germane, may be applied to any subject matter. These Principles do indeed offer a valuable starting point for future leaders because they emphasise empathy, accountability, transparency, decisiveness, adaptability, visionary thinking, communication, and integrity.
By embracing these principles, discovering other values of your own and then making them applicable to your chosen paths, as young leaders you will develop the control of specificity to mould your leadership capabilities to suit your individual fields of interest. For all leaders, this is a skill that should be acquired and applied constantly and consistently in order to contribute to the kind of world we want to live in.
It is for this reason that today’s Conference is so significant because leading with integrity is not merely an aspiration; it is a necessity for a South Africa reimagined.
Setting the Framework
To tackle the layered theme of “Leading with integrity in an era of populist politics and mass accumulation”, we will unpack the subject matter contextually, from the perspective of your journey as students and leaders in the world beyond the university campus, and then drill down more specifically sector by sector.
Over the years, Wits University continues to prove that education is a critical tool in equipping humanity with intellectual, scientific and creative means to make our world better and sustainable.
We look to education for the improvement of the human condition. Your achievements throughout your time at Wits and beyond will make notable differences in the on-going efforts to rid the world of poverty, disease, unemployment and inequality.
Always remember that yours is but a journey just begun. Ahead of you is a long winding vista of opportunity that invites you to share your integrity, skills, knowledge and experience with those around you.
Contributing to the success of your community and helping others in your families and neighbourhood, is the most fitting way to thank your parents, families and sponsors for having sacrificed so much to get you here.
Be upright, walk tall, work hard, be ethical in your future roles, and be incorruptible in your ideas as well as in your conduct, equally avoiding corruption of money and corruption of ethics.
Through this conduct in whatever organisations and institutions you will be attached to, you will be enhancing the integrity and reputation of those entities, as well as your own community. Your dedication will contribute to their success and inspire others to follow in your footsteps. Remember, the true measure of your achievements lie in acknowledging that personal gain is also found and enjoyed in the positive impact you create on those around you.
As we consider the present design of global politics, socio-economics and human rights, it is ever-clear that the echoes of the past complicate our present, creating a tangle of time that resists the neat separation of historical eras. There is much to be done, as the baton is passed to a generation of young activists and leaders from all sectors, who are continuing the work of creating truly democratic societies.
As graduates of various faculties, you will eventually be called upon to shape enterprises, conglomerates, government departments, political parties, civic organizations, religious institutions, your alma mater and transnational companies of various sizes. What connects each of these is your ability to adapt, sector by sector, situation by situation.
However, adaptation can be a double-edged sword; while it may foster resilience and innovation, it can also lead to the normalization of negative behaviours if one becomes too accepting of unhealthy practices. Therefore, it is crucial to remain aware and conscious of the direction in which you are adapting — whether towards virtuous principles or detrimental habits. Strive to ensure that your adaptability serves your personal success and at the same time rings true with the leadership principles you choose to live by.
As leaders today in your own right, you are on the brink of entering a new phase in your lives, where the professional, personal, and political spheres intersect and converge.
Many of the choices you will be asked to make daily, will ask questions of your personal belief system and philosophy; silently and stridently inquiring about the limits, strength and resolve of the principles you stand for. Leadership, after all, is the wisdom to achieve results through others, for the benefit of all.
In other words, the wisdom you develop creates a scaffold for how you as students wish to buttress your ethics and principles.
South Africa, like the rest of the world, is also forced to buttress against a polycrisis of ineffective governance at all levels, leading to lawlessness and corruption.
Sector-Specific Leadership Skills
For Usman’s principles to be truly effective in contemporary South Africa, they must be applied in a way that is context specific. For instance, transparency should not just mean making information available but ensuring that information is communicated in ways that are accessible to the public. Similarly, adaptability must be matched with policy reforms that reduce corruption in the form of maladministration and bureaucratic bottlenecks.
Fraud and corruption significantly undermine the rule of law by eroding trust in public institutions, weakening legal systems, and fostering an environment where laws are not consistently enforced.
For instance, as public officials, we have specific powers, functions and knowledge because of the positions we hold. Corrupt conduct occurs when a public official uses or attempts to use that position for personal advantage.
Corrupt conduct can also occur when a member of the public influences or attempts to influence a public official to use her or his position for purpose other than the benefit of the public.[2]
In Usman’s Principles, the concept of empathy and integrity, however, is a manifestation of consciousness.
Consciousness is what helps human beings understand what is right and what is wrong, or in simple terms, the ability to connect what you say or do to the possible consequences. So, once consciousness fails a person, venality and other forms of corruption take over.
When consciousness leaves you, it does not bid you farewell. In other words, people are often not even aware that they have lost their ability to connect their pronouncements and actions, and the consequences thereof.
Consciousness has to be constantly cultivated, nurtured and refined, in order to inculcate ethical leadership and integrity.
Ethics has been considered the bedrock of a just society. A society that values integrity, accountability, and transparency is less likely to tolerate corrupt practices. Promoting ethical conduct starts with awareness, education and socialisation. It involves instilling values of honesty and responsibility from a young age at home and in the classroom and reinforcing these values through continuous professional development.[3]
By force of example, ethical leadership, in particular, sets the tone for an entire organisation, department or institution.
This too extends to the corporate sector where ethical decision-making is tested against the bottom line, and business leaders must balance profit motives with social responsibility and ecological sustainability.
With rising poverty, conflict and environmental destruction, the world is in desperate need for not only policy reform, but an economic pathway that moves communities to realising shared, long-term value within a system that upholds sustainable outcomes.
For corporate leaders, this means replacing harmful methods with just, responsible and equitable human-centred practices that are also ecologically aware.
From the holistic perspective that Environmental, Social and Governance i.e., ESG offers as an approach to doing business, leaders are therefore better equipped to respond to pandemics, natural disasters, and economic crises.
For corporate leaders, Usman’s principle of adaptation in the modern context means rethinking mankind’s relationship with nature.
How business leaders better manage the world’s resources for the good of all humanity in the years to come, is the next piece in the puzzle of human development.
Creating meaningful and lasting change is only possible if the people are allowed to participate in their own political, social and economic development.
Civil leadership requires cooperation and communication at its core, with the battlegrounds of social justice and social change as the domain of social movements. Social movements which make up part of civil society, give dignity to those who are suffering, amplify the voices of those who are marginalised, exploited, oppressed and left behind.
A robust democracy relies on an active citizenry as the last line of defence to advocate on behalf of the marginalised. Civil society organisations must therefore be just as robust, if not more vigorous in applying their ethics and principles in order to withstand the moments where democratic and justice systems fail to protect the interests of the most vulnerable.
In such moments of challenge, hold firm in your belief that the ethics and principles that inform your actions are unassailable, and stay true to these ambitious human ideals. Build businesses and departments founded on equality, freedom and justice, standing against sexism, racism, classism and other forms of institutionalised power and privilege, and know that there is no straight line to success.
As I conclude, I want to leave you with the words of Moses Kotane:
“Our teachers must bring home to the students the fact that when the social system fails to provide peace and happiness to the majority of its citizens, that system is no more good and must therefore be changed.”
The only constant is change, therefore, whatever has been conveyed today, is itself not static but always in motion or a state of becoming.
Thank you for your kind attention.
[1] M. Cornforth, “Theory of Knowledge”, Volume 3, London, Lawrence & Wishart Ltd,1963, p. 155-156.
[2] https://www.icac.nsw.gov.au/about-corruption/what-is-corrupt-conduct/sections-7-8-and-9-of-the-icac-act
[3] https://www.transparency.org/en/news/cpi-2020-research-analysis-why-fighting-corruption-matters-in-times-of-covid-19
