We have voices - and never before have we had so many platforms on which to be heard. And yet, are we speaking out? In an era marked by fierce contestation and, in parts of the world, the advance of tyranny, the moral imperative to speak out has never been more urgent.
It’s difficult taking a stand; it disrupts the cozy warmth of consensus, it puts the speaker’s head above the parapet of the castle, an easy target for brickbats, bullets even, but rarely bouquets.
But speak out, we must. Pastor Martin Niemöller’s post-war poem First They Came rings as true today as it did when he wrote it 79 years ago in the first year after the end of World War 2. He penned it in a bid to make sense of how the Nazis had come to power, purging their opponents, silencing dissent and ultimately orchestrating the Holocaust.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.
You can change any of the descriptors above for any vulnerable or targeted community because, ultimately, as ubuntu teaches us, we are because of one another - in the words of Bob Marley, “One Love! One Heart!”
It doesn’t always seem like that as migration multiplies, as xenophobia takes a grip, fanning migrant hatred and fuelling the ascent of populist leaders across the world all spouting their exclusionary dogma.
But it’s not just the big-ticket items we need to speak out against such as planetary extinction or war; the seemingly little issues are just as important because they can easily metastasise into existential crises.
Lest we forget, State Capture did not emerge ready-baked and easily recognisable for what it was, but began as a series of much smaller unethical, increasingly corrupt and seemingly unconnected acts. “Join the dots,” Pravin Gordhan asked of us, and slowly – mostly too late - we did.
It’s vital to remember too that corruption by its very definition is neither victimless nor perpetrated only by the receiver of the inducement. “It takes two to corrupt,” as PV Obeng, the former prime minister of Ghana, told me once. And the tango of State Capture was aided and abetted by willing corporate accomplices, from ostensible corporate watchdogs to unscrupulous companies.
We know now that, with the exception of a few very courageous whistleblowers - including the assassinated Babita Deokaran, Themba Maseko, Cynthia Stimpel, Athol Williams - very little was said at the time by people who knew what was happening. They chose to remain silent because, to paraphrase Niemöller, they weren’t the ones who were directly affected or involved.
August is Women’s Month, a time to celebrate the courage of the 10,000 women who marched to the Union Buildings when the repression in this country was beginning to ramp up.
It’s also a time to remember the unequal burden women bear in the workplace, and especially the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) that they and children endure in this country. GBV is as great a threat to our society as corruption is. The perpetrators of both are known to those who can speak out, but choose not to.
Once again Niemöller’s injunction rings out. It’s easy to stay silent when we are not directly involved - but the truth is that we are all involved.
The other harsh reality is that the higher up the ladder we are, whether in our communities, our organisations or the businesses we work in, the greater the responsibility we have to speak out.
It is not easy, it’s not without risk, but when we do speak out, when we do take a stand, we realise as then US President FD Roosevelt said in the depths of the Great Depression, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Speaking out is important, but to be heard as widely as possible, we need to become better leaders. In this instance, VOICE is the third part of a trilogy in a new paradigm for 21-century leadership that can help us define, develop and determine the leaders we need for the world in which we find ourselves. The full model is known as HAIR, STYLE and VOICE - for memorability.
HAIR was developed by Shell in the 1970s to identify potential leaders before being adopted by the Singaporean Civil Service to identify their most senior leadership talent. HAIR is the spine of leadership and lets assessors know if the candidates they are checking can navigate complexity, think independently and balance ambition with feasibility.
It stands for whether leaders can exercise Helicopter vision, whether they are capable of deep Analysis when needed, do they have the essential attribute of Imagination and, in the end, are they grounded in Reality.
To this I’ve added STYLE and VOICE.
STYLE is not about the candidate’s fashion sense, but rather how they lead under pressure and during periods of change. It stands for Self-mastery, Transformative thinking, Your example, Learning orientation and Energy in action. STYLE is what teams feel most; it’s leadership in action and defines whether leaders can be trusted, if their subordinates can grow around them - and if those leaders’ actions amount to anything.
The final piece of the trifecta is VOICE, the influence signature, the candidates’ communication skills and their authenticity. It stands for Values in practice, Other-centredness, Influence through meaning, Clarity and consistency and Emboldening presence and empathy.
And of course, VOICE means more. VOICE isn’t speech. It’s not the noise; it’s the signal. It’s the message. It’s what we stand for. And we need it - and we need to use it.
This is not just a leadership model, but a blueprint for succession planning, executive coaching and cultural renewal. Critically, it reminds us that leadership is layered and dynamic, and is not derived from title or temperament but how we think, show up and how we affect others.
South Africa cannot afford leaders who only shine some of the time; we need leaders whose impact grows over time. We don’t need perfect leaders; we need whole leaders, whether they are parents, community leaders or managers, creating spaces where everyone can grow for everyone’s benefit, not just the elites. Most importantly, we need people who will create safe spaces for this to happen.
Who will use their voice to make this happen not just now, but for the years to come? DM