At That Point
  • home
  • about us
  • our services
  • our work
  • your resources
  • SA Industry News

Rebuilding trust: South Africa in dire need of humble leaders

3/4/2018

0 Comments

 
The recent behaviour of leaders in the private and public sectors greatly harmed the already unsteady foundation of trust that South African citizens have in those who claim to have their best interests at heart. Suddenly it is not only government that can be blamed for the state of affairs.
 
In fact, several corporate entities have also gained first-hand experience of the devastating impact of what Warren Buffet positioned as:  "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.". South Africans feel betrayed, deceived and manipulated like never before by those walking in front.  
 
When one analyses this more closely, it is clear that some of these leaders displayed narcissistic characteristics by being self-promoting, having a sense of entitlement and not owning up to and taking responsibility for their role in authorising poor or unethical decisions.
 
The Tarzan leaders
Renate Scherrer‚ MD of JvR Consulting Psychologists, says many narcissists are charming and seem visionary, but they also have a false sense of importance and are self-serving and entitled. It does not take long before the trust people have in a leader, who is overly preoccupied with him- or herself and their own interests, disappears.
 
“They never own up to mistakes, never apologise, are quick to blame others and to praise themselves. In fact, such a person does not shy away from taking the credit even though it is not due.” When things are running smoothly their language is lavishly sprinkled with “Me” and “I”, but when problems arise the conversation becomes a finger-pointing exercise of “You” and “Them”. 
 
This Tarzan-like behaviour (declaring himself the king of the jungle) is however often a mask or persona to compensate for a deep sense of insecurity.
 
The Humble leaders
Scherrer says mature leaders have a large dose of humility. They do not put themselves above what needs to be done. President Cyril Ramaphosa eloquently demonstrated some of this when he referred to the words of the Hugh Masekela song, Thuma Mina (Send Me).
 
“A humble leader takes responsibility for his actions, admits when he has made a mistake, and does not only focus on his own interests,” says Scherrer. In fact, a humble leader looks to himself first when trying to understand when things go wrong, but reflects on the actions of others when credit is due.
 
Humble leaders do not abuse authority and are willing to serve others first. Their language has phrases such as “We” and “Us” and they insist on honest and direct conversations with clear commitments to a shared vision.
 
Former president Nelson Mandela remains an impeccable example of a humble leader. He is quoted as saying that “there is nothing to popularize a person. Only humility, which is the ability to remain in the background and to put others in the front light”.
 
The Complex leaders

South Africa requires “complex” leaders who are Competent; innOvative; Mature; emPathetic; ethicaL; connEcted and fleXible. True complex leaders have an acute awareness of their limitations and do not try to disguise it for the benefit of the audience. They realise that ignoring their own weaknesses will lead to inevitable failure. In the VUCA-world we live in, the complex leader will ensure organisations and state entities answer volatility with vision; uncertainty with understanding; complexity with clarity; and ambiguity with agility.
 
Getting it right
According to Scherrer it is difficult to rebuild trust in an organisation or state entity if the leader displays narcissistic tendencies. Trust is based on integrity and strengthened when leaders admit and take ownership of mistakes, something narcissists do not even contemplate doing. Therefore, it is necessary to get it right from the start.
 
“When appointing people, make sure the charisma is not narcissism in disguise. It is essential to implement a scientific selection process and validate references,” says Scherrer. Listen for clues in the examples used in interviews, and to what extent organisational achievements and success are attributed to the self.
 
She adds that when people are promoted from within the ranks it is critical to continuously evaluate performance in an objective manner and not fall into the trap of ignoring the “red flags” that are inevitably already visible, even if perhaps well managed. Having more power will expose true character, so if someone is already entitled, self-centred and arrogant when they are supposed to follow, don’t be fooled to think it will become less when they lead. 
 
ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Idéle Prinsloo, 082 573 9219, idele@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za
 
ABOUT JvR Africa Group:
JvR Africa Group of companies consists of JvR Psychometrics, JvR Consulting Psychologists, JvR Academy, and JvR Safety. With it’s head office is situated in Johannesburg; the group conducts business nationally and across Sub-Saharan Africa. They work with test developers, consultants and academic institutions all over the world and supports a range of development opportunities and hosts events around People Development in Africa, a cause they feel is extremely important to the future of our continent.
 
For more information on JvR Africa Group please visit:
Website:  https://jvrafricagroup.co.za/
LinkedIn: JvR Africa Group
Facebook: The JvR Africa Group - People Development in Africa
Twitter: JvR Africa Group
YouTube:  The JvR Africa Group
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome to the JvR Africa Group Newsroom.

    Archives

    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017

    Categories

    All
    100 Most Powerful Women
    18 July 2018
    2018 Deloitte Millennial Survey
    3D Printing
    Accountability
    Angela Merkel
    Artificial Intelligence
    Aspirations
    Bell Pottinger
    Big Data
    Boss
    Business “unusual”
    Business World
    Cambridge Analytica
    Career
    Career Building
    Careers
    Company Morale
    Competent Drivers
    Complex Leaders
    Continuous Development
    Corruption
    Crime
    Dark Side Of Female Leadership
    Deloitte
    Disruptive Technology
    Diverse Society
    Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin
    Dr Gorkan Ahmetoglu
    Drinking And Driving
    Dr Jopie De Beer
    Dr Karina De Bruin
    Dr Renate Scherrer
    Dr Renate Scherrerr
    Economic Development
    Economy
    Emigrants
    Emotional Intelligence
    Emotionally Manipulate
    Emotions
    Employees
    Employment
    Engineering Safety
    Entrepreneur
    Entrepreneurship
    EQ
    Ethics
    Female Leadership
    FIFA World Cup Finals
    Forbes
    Fourth Industrial Revolution
    Gap Year
    Gill Marcus
    Global Village
    Government
    Grade 12
    Hapiness
    Harvard Business Review
    Health
    Humble Leaders
    Identifying Entrepreneurs
    Industry 4.0
    Innovate
    Insufficient Infrastructure
    Integrity
    Jacob De Coning
    Job Creation
    Job Opportunities
    Jobs
    Job Summit
    Jopie De Beer
    JvR
    JvR Acadamy
    JvR Academy
    JvR Africa Group
    JvR Consulting Psychologists
    JvR Group Africa
    JvR Psychometrics
    JvR Safety
    Karina
    Labour Market
    Leaders
    Leadership
    Learning Agility
    Listeriosis
    Madiba
    Madikizela Mandela
    Managing Emotions
    Mandela Day
    McKinsey Global Institute
    Melinda Gates
    Meta Profiling
    Millennial
    Misconduct
    Motivation
    Multicultural
    Nelson Mandela
    Niccolo Machiavelli
    Optimise Entrepreneurship
    Organisational Success
    Paperwork
    Political Leaders
    Population
    Power
    Power Of Emotions
    Problem Solving
    Productivity
    Promotion
    Psychology
    Random Acts Of Kindness
    Recovery
    Red Tape
    Regulatory
    Resilence
    Road Rage
    Self-directed Learning
    Skills Development
    Skills Programmes
    Snakes In Suits
    South Africa
    Street Wise
    Stress
    Tarzan Leaders\
    Team
    Team Rebuilding
    Technical Innovation
    Technological Literacy
    Temptations
    The World Economic Forum
    Thuli Madonsela
    Toxic Boss
    Toxic Leaders
    Traffc Congestion
    Trust
    Trust In Leaders
    Unemployment
    Unemployment In South Africa
    Unethical
    Unethical Behaviour
    Wellbeing
    Whistle Blowing
    Women's Month
    Workforce
    Workplace
    Workplace Safety
    Youth
    Youth Development
    Youth Employability
    Youth Unemployment

    RSS Feed

CONTACT US

office [at] atthatpoint [dot] co [dot] za
© COPYRIGHT 2022
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  • home
  • about us
  • our services
  • our work
  • your resources
  • SA Industry News