Good Stewardship

Coming from Zimbabwe as I do, I am very aware that leaders can lead with the sole purpose of perpetuating their role, or maintaining their power, and just how counter productive this can be. When leadership is not altruistic, it is likely to be harmful.

I recall one employee in the early days of Discovery Foods resisting our growth and the need to bring another manager on board at a more senior level. "It is all right for you," she said, "you will always be the managing director". In Zimbabwe, the lives of everyone in the whole country are at stake - but even in the much more humble context of Discovery, the motives of my leadership and of those around me are just as important to the success and the integrity of the business.

It was wonderfully exciting 17 years ago, when we were developing the business plan that would become Discovery. I sat late into the night, crafting the words to tell the tale of what I envisaged, and modelling the numbers. Then suddenly the certainty of it dawned on me - and the company became real. At that moment, as Discovery took on an identity and personality of its own, I seemed to lose the role of creator - exchanging it for that of a custodian; a caretaker with responsibilities that transcended my own self-interest.

This awareness was recently reheightened when I came across the concept of "servant-leaders" - the idea that the primary role of a leader is to serve those for whom they are responsible. I can see the relevance of that to our business, because my role has to be about creating the environment and providing the tools and resources with which highly capable people can go about doing what they are good at. It is the reverse of them running around at my beck and call.