Mediocrity: the silent killer of society and organisations
Protests over water outages in Johannesburg and mounting political pressure on local government spotlight a nationwide crisis in basic service delivery, revealing how complacency, systemic neglect and weak accountability have normalised…
Firefighters Offer a Blueprint for Ethical Leadership
Firefighters Offer a Blueprint for Ethical Leadership During December 2025 and January 2026, the Western Cape was ravaged by multiple wildfires that, in some cases, burned for days on end. News reports carried image after image of…
Protecting truth in the face of fear
Every act of whistleblowing begins with a choice. A choice to stay silent or a choice to speak up. That decision rests on whether employees believe their organisation will protect them and not punish them. Effective reporting systems are…
King V – Building South Africa’s Ethics Infrastructure
South Africa is living through an era of intense impunity - an era where wrongdoing flourishes, yet few consequences follow. Despite a comprehensive collection of anti-corruption laws, investigative commissions, and integrity frameworks,…
A Time for an Ethical Shift
The horizon of 2026 is pulling closer as 2025 slowly folds into memory. It feels like yesterday that we stepped into a new year with excitement, loud celebrations, and the hope that this time things might turn out better. That excitement…
Between a rock and a hard place – Middle management and ethical leadership
Whenever ethics in organisations is discussed, ethical leadership appears to be the default topic of choice irrespective of the media used to convey authors’ and speakers’ messages and their intended audiences. Unfortunately, content that…
Use of emojis in the workplace
The use of the emojis and WhatsApp messages in the workplace has taken centre stage in the sexual harassment hearing against Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge. Closing arguments were presented before the tribunal on 21 October…
Building Ethical Culture Through Values-Driven Institutional Policies
When we discuss institutional policies, a few thoughts come to mind, and they are mostly related to rules, conformity, and sanctions. They often carry a reputation for being rigid, restrictive, and bureaucratic. Institutional policies are…
Is Workplace Psychological Safety a Buzzword or an Ethical Imperative?
Recent scandals involving Nestlé executive Laurent Freixe and AI startup Astronomer’s CEO Andy Byron, both of whom engaged in relationships with subordinates, highlight deeper ethical failures beyond personal misconduct. From South African…
Women Leaders Finishing Strong Against the Odds
At the front of an unforgettable 9 August 1959 transformative and revolutionary march stood Lilian Ngoyi, Rahima Moosa, Helen Joseph, and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, leaders who risked opposing apartheid pass laws and chose to stand anyway.…
A busted myth, or scientific possibility?
We live in a time when ethics often feels more like a buzzword than a benchmark. Especially in recent years, it has become a headline grabber, frequently quoted but rarely practised. From scandals to whispered cover-ups, society has good…
A Lesson in Ethical Leadership from a Retired Police Officer
In a country overwhelmed by reports of crime, corruption, and endless commissions of inquiry, a retired police officer in Gauteng reminds us that true justice comes from individual courage, compassion and constructive action. Scanning…