Guide to how conscious leadership guides firms to performance and prosperity
THE STRUGGLE today is a hidden and confused one. Amid the complex maze of corporate activity, pressure, speed and the economic necessities of flowcharts, bottom line and delivery, it is easy for an organisation to lose sight of its meaning and purpose beyond profiteering. Never before have we been plunged into such uncertainty and pressure.
However, there is a profound opportunity to change the course of business by changing the shape, character and consciousness of an organisation and its leadership.
We live in extraordinary times that need a dramatic shift from the dominant ethos of power and profiteering to a balanced and conscious one. This leads us to a critical crossroad in our corporate evolution. The cyclical character of business demands that we do things differently, hence the quest for conscious companies led by conscious leaders. They are a breed apart and shape conscious organisations.
This is an era of malevolence where the good has little chance to triumph. In 1934 Time magazine named Hitler “Man of the Year”. Hitler held the world stage and slashed at his countryman. So did Idi Amin and Gaddafi to name but a few. The deeper lessons of history are echoed in modern-day business when leaders, driven by a façade of grandiosity, consider personal profit and material gain as all important considerations.
Consider the social context facing most leaders and employees in the corporate space where pervasive power struggles, self-interest and fear are the motivating force behind some of the unconscious actions that scream at us from media headlines. In a society where need, not achievement, is a source of rights and entitlement, it provides fertile ground for moochers, looters and cheaters.
I knew a chief executive who, in less than a year, destroyed the shareholder value of the company she was entrusted to lead by an estimated 75 percent. Her ego-centric “looking out for number one” leadership style was a toxic challenge to her executives. However, this didn’t deter her as she continues to sit on several boards, albeit to a lesser degree, not unlike Time magazine’s celebration of Hitler and Trump.
The current culture of excessive materialism, dishonest dealings and blind disregard for corporate governance aside, we still look to chief executives, chairmen and leaders of the day to display courage and vision. When corporate culture takes its cue from its leadership, it plays out in its reputation, performance, profit and the perception of its corporate brand.
The tone, manner, attitude and character of a conscious leader cannot be separated from the organisation he or she represents.
Found in the hidden strata of their beings, thoughts and feelings is a morally untainted view of “doing the right thing” and building the firmest possible foundation upon which the organisation rests. In expanding corporate consciousness, the conscious leader guides a company to prosper, perform and pursue profits, while placing a premium on people, community, culture and the environment beyond the bottom line. It is the essential understanding of values and ethics, reason and justice, meaning and purpose and a reason for being that sets the organisation apart.
Consciousness is a rare spark that flashes in the behaviour and actions of leaders that change the course of the organisations they are entrusted with. It is a conscious leader who, refusing to compromise on his morals and principles, instils an enduring culture of help and service to others in harmony and co-operation.
This gives a breadth and depth to the company’s idea of itself more than anything the bottom line can achieve. It is deeply fulfilling for people to be part of a conscious company led by value-based leadership. Customers and stakeholders feel valued and served and employees feel safe and have a sense of belonging beyond the pay cheque.
In the absence of this consciousness within the complex maze of the corporate space, an unpleasant chaos and insecurity permeates most organisations and they become socially irresponsible and environmentally destructive. “Fruitless and wasteful” expenditure has become the mantra of the Auditor-General.
We are at the crossroads. Operating in consciousness is a choice for leadership and given the ethical and moral agitations of our age and the country, it is a critical time to choose. The Conscious Companies Awards is a choice for reflection and transformation. To nominate your conscious company, contact http://www.consciouscompanies.co.za. E-mail: awards@consciouscompanies.co.za or call 076 591 8165.
Brenda Kali is the MD of Conscious Companies and author of Beyond Corporate Sludge: Insights to create balance and harmony in the workplace. Conscious Companies Awards 2017 in partnership with Business Report, Classic FM and Hyatt Regency.