A leader needs to be a source of many things, including vision, support, challenge and training to their team.
I believe an underrated attribute of leadership is to be an agent of hope. I want to illustrate this point with the inspirational, and very topical, stories of two South African heroes.
Marshall Rapiya was going to be a lawyer but found himself selling insurance for Old Mutual in Mthatha in the late 70s. Nowadays, all financial services companies want to be seen to be serving the so-called ‘mass market’, but in those days, it was highly uncommon. Scepticism and racism both inside the company and outside threatened the brave efforts to extend financial inclusion to black people. It just hadn’t been done before.
The business that has grown from those humble beginnings is now a significant contributor to Old Mutual in South Africa and an example to other companies, but there was a moment in the early 80s when it was about to be closed down. A meeting was held where detractors made their case to end the experiment of selling R5 policies to the poor. That was the meeting where Marshall stood up with his message of hope. He knew what could be and he believed he knew how to go about it. The decision went his way. A lot of hard work still had to be done, but where there is hope, people are able to dig deep and do what needs to be done.
Marshall has become synonymous with Old Mutual South Africa and recently retired as the managing director of the life assurance company to become deputy chairman of the board. He has seen many customers’ lives enriched, working in mutually beneficial harmony with countless other stakeholders. And it all started with that day that he was able to convey and inspire hope.
Nonkululeko Gobodo was – almost without being aware of it – the first black woman chartered accountant in South Africa. When she qualified in the 80s, she instantly became an inspirational figure for many and broke open new paths for both women and black people in the ‘bad old days’ before 1994.
The moment when Gobodo really made her mark, however, was when she re-entered the formal accounting profession in 2010. Fifteen years into democracy, the significant auditing contracts still went to the ‘white’ big four firms. She realised that our country needed a black-owned auditing firm that was big enough to challenge these entrenched companies and played a leading role in the merger of three smaller firms to form Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo. She and her partners did not see the constraints and the status quo; they started giving flesh to the hope of what could be.
In a relatively short period of time, after both hard work and incisive strategic leadership, the firm is the fifth-largest auditing firm in South Africa and is going toe to toe with the ‘big boys’, especially in the public sector where they specialise. What started out as the hope of few has become reality and now there is hope for many.
More black accountants are coming into the profession because of what they see can be done and, more importantly, more black-owned accounting firms have been established; fruit not only of apples but also of new apple trees. Nonkululeko has stepped down as chairman of the firm, but leaves behind a company firmly established and a profession transformed forever.
Those who do not have hope see only constraints and do not see opportunity. South Africa has countless challenges, but all of these represent opportunities for those who have hope. Without doubt, many risks need to be understood and managed, but it is for taking risk that our economic system rewards us with profit. Surely one of the greatest contributions required from leaders is to galvanise people with hope.
Details: www.theseedsa.org
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