A young man, whose large family I have known for many years, sent me a profile of his company because he wanted to be a supplier to our group. In his covering letter he addressed me as “Dear Uncle Nathi”.
As I passed the profile to my colleagues to assess his company as a supplier, I erased the salutation because I was wary that it might cause consternation among my uninitiated workmates, who would immediately assume nepotism. After that reflexive action I realised that the young man was merely living a value that he inherited from his good family, which is to address politely. After all, he was not going to jump up any queues.
Did my reaction imply that there is no place in serious big business for values, neither the young man’s nor my own. I know my principles and values and while I might want to use my empowerment to open doors for others, I should trust myself — that I would not buck our company’s systems or favour him in any way.
Is the empowerment we are building not too Western in its notions, too mechanistic and lacking values? To consider this I re-read the work of African National Congress founding father Albert Luthuli, who wrote: “I personally believe that here in South Africa, with all our diversity of colour and race, we will show the world a new pattern of democracy. I think there is a challenge to us in South Africa to set a new example for the world. We can build a homogeneous South Africa on the basis not of colour but of human values.”
Shouldn’t empowerment have the same ambition, to create and showcase new environments and ways of doing business that are premised on good values? We can measure it in the following ways:
• The ability for the economy to grow but simultaneously embrace new people previously unfairly excluded;
• The number of people who become upwardly mobile; and
• The change in the demographics of people who benefit from the economy.
The tendency to deal with empowerment as a system of scorecard compliance impedes transformation because there is no values-based leadership in such an exercise. Scores do not achieve wholesome change or a new way of doing business — sustainability cannot be achieved that way. We will just play musical chairs with the usual suspects getting the biggest deals, accusations of job-hopping and intractable pressure to retain the small pool now so in demand.
My view is we have landed ourselves here because empowerment, even the broad-based version, is founded on Western business principles of individualism and accumulation. African values put an emphasis on community. K Gyekye notes: “These communitarian features, … are held not only as outstanding but also as defining characteristics of the African cultures. The sense of community that is said to characterise social relations among individuals in African societies is a consequence of the communitarian social arrangement.”
We have yet to see black companies that break the mould. Failure for this to emerge will confirm that our model is assimilationist rather than transformative — a meeting of equals that allows all human values to triumph.
Every time we assess empowerment it’s little use to call for policy review — it’s up to black leaders to change the trajectory and there are some among us who have the wherewithal to do this.
If values are strong, with a matching commitment to corporate government, mshana wami can write “Dear Uncle” confidently, knowing he has something to offer that has merit. If his values are in line he must enjoy the advantage rather than be made to feel his values are out of line. Empowerment does not mean another big deal or an empowerment award. As we judge its efficacy we should use Luthuli’s words to guide us.
He wrote: “There remains before us the building of a new land, a home for men and women who are black, white and brown from the ruins of the old narrow groups a synthesis of the rich cultural strains we inherited.” This does not mean landing another big deal, being too fearful to move because scarce (white) skills will emigrate or another empowerment award.