Ubuntu leadership as a predictor of employee engagement: A South African study
Kerushan Chetty and Gavin Price
With business sustainability is becoming increasingly difficult, employee engagement and productivity are two areas that can boost organisational performance. Organisational leaders who acknowledge ubuntu leadership’s fundamental principles have the potential to boost employee engagement.
The research for the article was taken from Kerushan Chetty’s MBA thesis.
Using local philosophies to enhance organisational performance
GIBS associate professor Gavin Price says, “At GIBS we don’t only teach theory coming out of America and Europe. We are interested in local theory, and this article builds on that body of knowledge.” He adds, “In the real world, it cannot be assumed that the South African environment is the same as the American or European workplace.”
Price, who is also Chetty’s MBA supervisor, noted that this is an important piece of research, as now more than ever, employee engagement is critical in an increasingly unpredictable business environment.
Why adopt ubuntu leadership?
Ubuntu is a South African philosophy that seeks to explain how one should live a life based on humanity for others. Through this lens, the research questions how to be a good leader using the principles of ubuntu, and practicing it in leadership to enhance employee engagement.
Price explains that this is especially relevant in a country like South Africa, where businesses struggle with issues around productivity. He says, “Productivity issues can often be due to a lack of engagement and that employees themselves are not as committed and engaged as they should be, and therefore are not productive.”
What is ubuntu leadership?
Price describes the idea of ubuntu leadership, saying, “The key themes of ubuntu are empathy, respect and collaboration.” He adds, “There is an African proverb that says, ‘If you wish to go fast, travel alone; if you wish to go far, travel together.’ And these days, due to increased complexity in the business environment, business sustainability requires far more collaboration between teams, together with a leadership style that promotes this culture.”
Ubuntu leadership also helps leaders see that their value is intimately entwined with their employees’ value. Price says, “How I treat you is part and parcel of my personal identity, that I am a better person. I am a more complete person when I treat others in a way that is befitting the core of humanity, that of respect and empathy.”
Enhancing engagement
He explains, “The key takeaway of this research is that leaders who engage in the practices of ubuntu enhance the level of engagement of employees.” Chetty’s qualitative research, which saw 193 participants answer an online questionnaire, supports the argument that the practice of ubuntu leadership, regardless of who is practising it (i.e., leaders from all demographics of the country), does enhance employee engagement.
While this study resonates with South Africans because it springboards off African cultural philosophy, it can be equally applicable and relevant to leadership practices in other parts of the world such as the Global North.
For the full article go to: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v22i0.2462
Gender differences in leaders’ crisis communication: A sentiment-based analysis of German higher education leaderships’ online posts
Angelos Angelakis, Petra Inwinkl, Adele Berndt, Selcen Ozturkcan, Anna Zelenajova, Veronika Rozkopal
The way leaders communicate during a crisis can directly impact how organisations effectively navigate through the predicament. In times of crisis, leadership and communication styles need to be adapted to ensure that stakeholders are supported. Dr Adele Berndt, a GIBS research associate, says, “Communication during a crisis takes on a whole new level of importance and complexity.”
Men vs women communication styles
This article by a team of researchers based in international higher education institutes (HEIs), investigated whether women are more likely than their male counterparts to use a transformational leadership communication style.
When it comes to leadership styles, the frequently discussed styles are transactional leadership and transformational leadership. Berndt explains, “A transactional leadership style is suitable during times of stability and is task-orientated, while a transformational style is focused on the organisation and the development of employees.”
With uncertainty, there is a greater demand that managers be empathetic, transparent, honest, and timely in their communication. The Covid-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to examine how leaders, particularly women, navigated these challenges and communicated effectively in such a critical time and whether the genders have different managerial styles.
This qualitative study analysed the posts of 436 rectors and vice-rectors of HEIs from 86 German universities, collecting data from social media such as LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Facebook, and university websites. The posts were then coded using the leadership styles and their associated communication aspects.
Women are more transformational
While this research was about understanding how men and women may differ in communication approaches, Berndt noted, “We found that both male and female leaders exhibited a high degree of empathetic concern for their stakeholders, contributing to the overall tone of communication.” This suggests that men are no less empathetic than women.
However, when it came to communication differences, the research found that women, who accounted for 28% of leaders in these positions, had different leadership styles. Female leaders demonstrated more positive communication than men and a stronger preference for transformational leadership, while male leaders tended to use a transactional style. Berndt expands on this and says, “Female rectors and vice-rectors communicated positively across all channels, and they appeared more empathic and supportive than their male counterparts.” In contrast, she says, “Communication between male rectors and vice-rectors was more unfavourable than that of females.”
She adds, “We also found that women kept their managerial role for a longer period, and more women were in these positions during the pandemic, supporting the view that women (as transformational leaders) are more effective during times of uncertainty.”
Ensuring your business can manage any crisis
The findings are important for all CEOs, boards, and executives. Berndt says, “The pandemic was an extreme crisis, but many organisations go through times of uncertainty, like reorganisation and restructuring. While these activities may not be on the same scale as the pandemic, the lessons taken from this research can apply to these situations.”
For the full article go to: https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2023.2246505
Adaptive leadership competencies for hybrid work teams: A study in the South African banking sector
Khanyisa Yozi and Gloria Mbokota
The Covid-19 pandemic changed the way organisations work. Realising that they could get the same level of output, even if people worked from home, many businesses adopted a hybrid working system. This, however, has created a dilemma for leaders who need to manage teams that are online and in the office simultaneously.
GIBS MBA alumna and private banking team leader at Investec Khanyisa Yozi questioned whether leaders had the skills to manage hybrid teams and embarked on her MBA with supervisor Dr. Gloria Mbokota, an executive coach and senior lecturer at GIBS. Her research formed the basis of this article.
Mbokota says, “Hybrid working is a new way of operating; you invariably have people working physically or virtually at any given time. This academic article addresses the leadership competencies that are required to actually lead these teams.”
The challenges facing hybrid-team leaders
The research, which interviewed managers across South Africa’s five legacy banks, revealed a number of challenges leaders had when dealing with hybrid teams, including:
- Trusting people when they cannot be ‘seen’
- Ensuring everyone is engaged and participating
- Reassuring people that their inputs are being recognised
- Providing psychological safety and showing support
- Preventing people from underworking or overworking and excessive stress
“In addition, given the various ‘distractions’ during the workday – collecting children from school and doing chores – leaders are questioning whether people working from home are able to manage the dynamics in their workspace,” explains Mbokota.
The research also highlighted additional concerns around hybrid teams. Do those working from home have adequate workspaces, which include desks and reliable and sufficient internet? There are also online security issues, which are essential in the banking sector.
How to adapt to the unique challenges of hybrid workspaces
The research found that leaders looking to manage hybrid teams effectively need to work on improving their social, interpersonal, and relational skills. “Leaders found that they need to be more empathetic about the conditions of employees and team members,” says Mbokota.
She adds that managers also need to stop counting working hours and shift their teams from being input-driven to being output-driven.
To achieve this, the research found leaders needed to work on:
- Self-evaluating their current leadership practices and assess their areas of strengths and weaknesses
- Intentionally enhancing their skills around e-communication, including active listening, empathy, and authenticity
- Increasing transparency and honesty between all members of the team
In addition, Mbokota says organisations have to increase their support; where policies and practices are adjusted to accommodate hybrid work, including training, coaching, and mentoring to give leaders and employees the capability to work online. In addition, online workers need to be given greater authority to manage their time and their workload.
One key finding of the research was that leaders need to be aware that people who work from home are more at risk of falling into depression. Organisations need to adapt their wellness programmes to support mental health in a hybrid workforce.
Mbokota says, “Hybrid workforces are a new reality, and research like this article is important for all players across the organisational structure – from the boardroom to team leaders, to human resource practitioners and operations.”
For the full article go to: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajbm.v55i1.4060
The pervasive lack of gender diversity in the boardroom: The inconvenience of ambivalent sexism
Vanessa Naidoo, Morris Mthombeni and Manoj Chiba
There is a pervasive lack of gender diversity in South African boardrooms. This article was based on research by Vanessa Naidoo, GIBS MBA alumna and global CPM PMO lead in supply chain for Anglo American Plc. Naidoo had observed this phenomenon and wanted to investigate it further in her MBA.
With the help of GIBS associate professor and partner at The Strategists Manoj Chiba, and GIBS Dean Prof. Morris Mthombeni, she embarked on a data-driven research project — and her findings were surprising.
What, or rather who, is preventing gender diversity in the boardroom?
When gender diversity is discussed, the issue of sexism is always raised. Chiba explains that sexism can be broken down into two categories. Hostile sexism is the belief that a woman cannot fulfil a role purely based on her gender. The second category is benevolent or ambivalent sexism and it is broken down into three sub-categories:
- Protective paternalism, where men take on the role of protector
- Gender differentiation, which says men and women differ and were born to fulfil different roles – such as that men are providers and women are caregivers
- Heterosexual intimacy, which is the bias that women get pregnant and give birth while men are the impregnators, and that this defines their roles in society
Using this understanding, Naidoo used a tool called the ambivalent sexism inventory, a tested sexism scale, and applied it to 172 leaders across top JSE-listed companies.
The first finding was that a lack of gender diversity in the boardroom is more a function of benevolent sexism than hostile sexism. Naidoo says, “Benevolent sexism is subversive rather than overt, and it is used to legitimise sexism.”
The second finding was that women exhibited higher scores for benevolent sexism than men, which suggests that women are party to the pervasive phenomenon and condone benevolent sexism. This finding was so surprising that Chiba said, “To be certain, I reran the data six or seven times, and the findings remained the same.”
Naidoo says the research showed that 56% more women displayed this characteristic than men. “Female bosses expect women to either perform at the same level or higher. These women are often in their late 40s or 50s and are no longer raising young families,” she explains. As such, they are not empathetic to women who are wearing two hats – work and mother.
Applying the findings to the workplace
To address this issue, Chiba says that awareness is the first step. Naidoo adds that there needs to be more education about ambivalent or benevolent sexism in the workplace. She says, “If you can make leaders aware of this theory, they might become more mindful of their attitudes and biases.”
Naidoo also believes leaders need to be intentional about changing their attitudes. She refers to Natasha Viljoen, ex-CEO of Anglo American Platinum, who hand-picked five women, including Naidoo, to develop them for leadership positions. “In doing that, she was essentially grooming us to be the next women on mining boards in South Africa.”
Finally, Naidoo says that everyone, from CEOs to board members to human resources, should embrace research to gain a greater understanding of what drives sexism in the workplace.
For the full article, go to: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v22i0.2439
