The scale and persistence of public-sector and, acutely, police malfeasance are getting the necessary societal attention. Laws, regulations, fines, jail sentences for offenders and ethics courses in business schools, to the contrary, illegal actors, bad players, toxic organisations and unprofessional corporate cultures inflict quite a toll.

Unless society, in all its organised formations, takes the issue of ethics seriously, the context of doing business might project corruption as what characterises that society. Societal conduct is a fundamental determinant of economic development; it builds business and investor confidence, both of which are to a free market system what oxygen is to human life. 

It is how leaders of sound character, as a collective, shape the overall trajectory of the leadership function, which will determine the direction of society. Their ability to make sound moral and ethical judgments and follow through on them, time and again, forms societal character. Posterity always judges present character at a time it has no opportunity to explain itself. 

When those who lead confront the truth about…how accountable or responsible they feel for the beliefs and values that form the bedrock of their sense of right and wrong, society, as followers, will move inexorably toward living an authentic life. 

Building a moral operating system requires dedication of those who lead. A context where leaders, either as individuals or entities, mistakenly consider their ideological or political beliefs indisputable and react with anger or disdain when anyone disagrees or contradicts them, is never conducive to being a leader of society. 

The power of habit as one of the substrates of culture to undermine society’s valued moral code is real and undeniable. What gets normalised through the neglect of normative guidelines can easily characterise society. It is never instinctual to lead with character; context shapes it. 

The brute truth is that the forces of corruption, greed, hypocrisy, immorality and evil are real and formidable. Evil is omnipresent. They can change even the most forthright of humanity. It is how those with the duty of leadership prevail against their basic instincts and look beyond self-interest to live consciously and build an exemplary moral fibre.

To own our character as a society or nation requires that we intentionally and consciously build it. We are the only architects of it because it belongs to us. Character is neither given nor inherited. It is what we would have constructed based on our lived experiences. 

Have a good day.