The Leaders We Deserve

Lead SA was recently launched with a lot of media noise. It congratulates the country on how much we have achieved since the dark days of Apartheid. But it also reminds us of the ideals that existed in the Struggle and that too often now are taken for granted, or written off as unrealistic or, worse still, actively undermined. It was only a few weeks ago here in Trinity Hall that Rev Frank Chikane commented on how easily it seemed that one-time revolutionaries had replaced human rights with self-interest.

The Lead SA pledge puts this very forcefully: “We have lost respect for each other, for the elderly, for the young, for women. We have lost respect for the poor and for the sick. We have lost respect for our country‟s laws, and for those who wrote them. We have lost respect for the downtrodden, for refugees, for those who we don‟t necessarily agree with. We have lost respect for the moral, while giving in to the material…..We have lost respect for our own future.”

It is tempting in the face of crises to blame our leaders and it is undoubtedly true that they face a tough job and are not always adequately equipped – professionally, morally or spiritually – to cope. At the Jesuit Institute we have been working with leaders in various fields to listen to them and support them. I have heard from a senior business executive who does not feel he can stand up for his values in the Boardroom. And from a professor at a Business School who is frustrated that the next generation of business leaders are being educated to be even more greedy than the last. And from a rural primary school principal who feels overwhelmed that she has to lead 1000 learners with little help from the community. And from a young priest who wonders how he can be a true leader when his own bishops seem afraid to show leadership.

John Maxwell, a business guru, talks about 5 levels of leader. Maybe we just follow someone because of the title they have or they power they have or what they can do for us. But this is not real leadership. A „Level 5 Leader‟ is followed not because of what they do but about who they are. We have been working with business people, educators and priests to help them understand who they are (their core values) and reconnect with the inspiration that drove them to want to seek a leadership position. And what of us who are not called leaders? Well, let me suggest that in fact we are all leaders all the time. That is because we all have influence over the people around us: our families and friends, our fellow students and work colleagues. So the challenge to be better leaders is a challenge to all of us.

It is sometimes said that we get the leaders we deserve – or better we get stuck with the leaders we deserve. If we are not prepared to hold them to account, if we are not prepared to stand up and be counted, and if we are not prepared to show in our own lives a commitment to honesty and service then we are complicit in maintaining leaders who fail to do the same.

To quote Lead SA again: “Remember that we are all South Africans, and we are in this together. That we are more similar than we are different. And that everyday people can, and have, and do make a difference.”