Ethical Leadership and Corporate Citizenship: Principle 1.1: The board should provide effective leadership based on an ethical foundation (1.1.3)

What follows are some personal insights into the provision of the code set out in the King III report on corporate governance; how it affects business and how it transforms business not only into lighthouses of virtue, while maintaining the purpose of business; but it also stirs business into becoming model corporate citizens which are able to conduct their business in an effective, responsible and in a sustainable way.

Principle 1.1 of the Code : The board should provide effective leadership based on an ethical foundation:

Item 3:

"Responsible leaders reflect on the role of business in society. They consider both the short-term and long-term impact of their personal and institutional decisions on the economy, society and the environment."

It is interesting that the Code's constant emphasis on "responsible leaders"; in today's challenging times, leadership is not enough, leaders need to be responsible.
What does it mean to be responsible?

The Oxford Dictionary defines "responsible" as:

1. liable to be called to account (to a person or thing);
2. morally accountable for ones actions; capable of rational conduct;
3. ...

It should be noted that responsibility, not power is emphasised, accountability not boundless scope for action, stewardship not dictatorship or oligarchy of the board. When one moves away from stewardship mindset to the mindset that decisions made by the "dictator" or "oligarchy" the way of thinking is ultimately flawed because the context has been radically changed; as will be the perception of what is constitutes a "good" decision and what possible consequences will follow.

The call for "responsible leaders" to  "reflect on the role of business in society" likewise a wonderful point. It is often not enough for people to know what to do, they should be constantly reminded, sometimes they should be expressly told that this is what good stewards do, they reflect on the consequences for the broader community. Reflection is more than just thinking, reflection which indicates a deeper meditation or thinking upon an issue. In this case, taking into consideration the greater impact of the action or decision. This once again reiterates the stewardship role of leaders, even more so when one refers to "responsible leaders".

To this laudable call to reflection is added not limiting considerations to the short term but also to the long term; forecasting, which although near impossible calls to mind the need for making sure that leaders are skilled in so far as possible to ensure that at very least educated guesses are avoided.

It also catches ones eye the choice of including "personal" to "institutional decision" when one looks at the interpretation of the item as a whole.

Without taking the matter too far, it does appear that the authors of this item, do not just want skilled and experienced leaders of the highest ethics and virtue leading business; their personal lives must likewise meet this strict rule; truly great stewards who lead not because of greed or twisted egotistical views of the apparent power that they wield through their position; rather great men whose greatness is not theirs because of their position but rather a product of their selfless, wise and reasoned leadership; which makes them not just leaders of industry but also pillars of the community.