Ethical Leadership: Lessons from African Americans
If Africa’s greatest deficit is its dearth of moral leadership for social transformation, can Africa learn something from the example of African Americans?
Daryl Balia, Division Head, Governance and Corruption Division, ISS Cape Town
If
Africa’s greatest deficit is its dearth of moral leadership for social
transformation, it is fitting to ask how such an enormous challenge might be
taken up in small steps. Which hero’s and role models can we hold forward to
inspire ethical conduct amongst our leadership? Can Africa learn something from
the example of African Americans?
Firstly
there should be a global consciousness about the project of ethical leadership
itself, something so aptly done by someone like Martin Luther King, Jr. in his later
years. In deliberating about the prospects for a new cadre of ethical leaders
to emerge in American society, Walter Fluker (2009), who once headed the
Leadership Centre at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, says that, ‘the
issue at stake is how we might learn from traditions that have provided hope
and a sense of community in the past in order to refashion and inspire a vision
for the future.’ He proceeds to develop a model for integrity development based
on the use of narrative, or story. If we accept that a good case study should
read like a good story, it can be a most useful medium or tool for teaching
ethics.
One
example would be the current President of the United States, who has openly
acknowledged his debt to the black church tradition and the influence of Martin
Luther King, Jr. on his own life. Excitement and controversy is unavoidable when the name Barack
Obama arises, but he is still a good subject of discussion for
leaders-in-training.
Women, children and other disadvantaged
groups in society have traditionally been excluded from power structures and
have not been valued for contributing to knowledge production. Unequal power
relations will continue to dominate university establishments until it becomes
clear that epistemology is political in nature and is not about facts and
figures for their own sake. Focused study and reflection on ethical leadership
should involve teachers ‘bending over backwards’ to ensure that all
marginalised voices and relevant interests are taken into consideration. This
presupposes a democratic principle where the values of tolerance, respect and
mutuality are promoted through ‘social negotiations’ among participants
If one studied the Civil Rights movement,
particular attention will have to be paid to the role of patriarchal
hierarchies where women were mainly confined to secondary roles and where those
with differing opinions were often strictly sanctioned. An exception might have
been the case of Rosa Parks who became known as the ‘the first lady of civil rights’
or the ‘mother of the freedom movement’ when she triggered the fight against
race discrimination. The challenge posed by someone like Marable Manning (1998)
will also be critical, as for him, it might involve African Americans being
able ‘to move away from the charismatic, authoritarian leadership style and
paternalistic organisations toward the goal of “group-centred leaders” and
grassroots empowerment.’ There is also the question of the extent to which
ethical leadership demands placed on leaders (of colour) usually include
political compromises with the expectations and hopes cherished by others
(whites). In Martin Luther King’s case, there seems to have been deliberate
pressures to foreground the influence of Western philosophical influences in his
thinking to the detriment of African American scholars and preachers, and this
extended to his initially muted criticism of American involvement in the
Vietnam War. This dilemma seems to have been revisited upon Obama in his
efforts to secure the Presidential nomination at the Democratic Party National
Convention when he was accused by Jesse Jackson, a Civil Rights leader, of
‘talking down’ to African Americans.
The adoption of a power tactic or peaceful
means in confronting manifestations of evil in the world is associated most
prominently with a trio of ethical leaders: Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela
and Mahatma Gandhi, who each constituted a movement of liberation in his
respective time. There were remarkable differences between the famous trio, but
they share the same method of confronting systemic injustice, and the
underlying moral structure of their universe is worth understanding. Teaching
leadership on the African continent can become an exercise of hope when we
learn from those who inspire us and if we direct ourselves towards those who
have shown us the way of how to get to the top. It will also teach us to do our
best when we are in leadership positions, and know when it’s time to walk away
from power when our time is up.
