Page 16 - IRMSA Risk Report 2021

1.5 CONTINUED DEMAND FOR VISIONARY LEADERSHIP

“The quality of leadership is a primary determinant of whether an
organisation or even a country succeeds or fails,” notes Basani Maluleke,
CEO of African Bank. When we look at current global leadership, it is not
particularly encouraging, reflective of the events in the results of the recent
US election and the BREXIT saga. The pandemic has reinforced the need for
global coordination, which requires strong, ethical, and decisive leadership.
Further, the increase in technological disruption has the possibility of
increasing inequality, both within and between countries, at a time when we
need global coordination in dealing with the pandemic as well as as well as
support for local trade.

In South Africa we face similar leadership challenges. Whereas the President CLICK TO
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enjoys a level of credibility, he is faced with the ongoing challenge of
balancing public and political interests, which creates challenges in holding
leaders accountable and ensuring service delivery. These challenges have,
however, presented opportunities for increased involvement by corporate
and civil society. There are green shoots and we seem to be on the right path, BASANI MALULEKE
CEO - AFRICAN BANK
however there is a long way to go. This emphasises the need for visionary,
ethical leadership at all levels.
From a corporate perspective, Jacques Celliers reflects that, “as a leadership team, our focus is typically on returns, but we need to
realign our focus, working hard to minimise damage and maintain business capability. The digital strategy has been expedited as a
result of the crisis, and the old ways of doing business have been challenged with a positive move to change across the business.
The level of innovation has been higher this year than ever before. Risk matters are high on the Board agenda. The long-term risk
frameworks have assisted in managing risk in the short term. The more difficult challenge was managing operational realities”.

1.6 CHANGES IN THE CORPORATE AND SOCIAL FABRIC

According to Suresh Kana, Chairman of the King Committee and Non-
Executive Director serving on many South African boards, “we’re moving
from an authoritarian world driven by a chain of command into a world
web of connection, driven by developments like the Internet of Things,
and made up of democratised social networks. We are also moving from
a world of competition to a world of collaboration, driven by the major
challenges that the world faces. No country or nation can sort themselves
out on their own. Think about climate change; think about peace; these
are issues faced across the globe”.
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In the past, shareholder primacy has been key. We have been talking about
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stakeholder primacy for a number of years, but this debate is just now
surfacing in the western world and has a different impact on how risks
are prioritised and how organisations govern themselves. There is also a
SURESH KANA move from elitism to populism, driven by factors like structural inequality.
CHAIRMAN - THE KING COMMITTEE
From a corporate perspective, there is a lack of institutional respect, and corporates are facing a crisis of trust with their stakeholders.
It is, however, encouraging to see the move of corporates from “greed to green”. The pandemic has also had a significant impact in
reprioritising company focus. Economic sustainability is key. Every employer, every company and every economy are thinking about
sustainability, managing cash flows and the impact of supply chain disruptions. Choices have had to be made between lives and
livelihoods, with the detrimental impact on mental health of the workforce being one of the unintended consequences.

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