Developing the board leader: Beyond compliance, to stewardship and leadership development

Abstract

Despite having one of the best codes for governance in King IV, South Africa has still experienced numerous corporate failures. What is missing in our holistic understanding of board leadership? What competencies do leaders need to develop to ensure that corporate governance in practice lives up to the promise of our highly regarded codes of governance and legislation? It could be said that in light of recent corporate failures, the pendulum has swung too heavily towards compliance, and therefore boardrooms are missing an ethos of stewardship. Compliance and a narrow shareholder responsibility to “know your business” are simply not enough anymore. Leadership development with a focus on creating a stewardship mindset through interpersonal and intrapersonal leadership competencies is possibly the most powerful framework for board leaders and those in leadership development to consider today