Civilised versus civilisation

A few days ago, I read a comment on LinkedIn that said: “Bad leaders care about being right – good leaders care about doing right.” It’s an interesting point. It reminded me of Bertrand Russell’s thoughts: “A great failing of human nature is that we’d rather be right than be effective.”

It also reminded me of many incidents I’ve witnessed in the past: of blind adherence to outdated rules, of focus on process-steps instead of outcomes and, above all, the narcissistic idea that wealth or seniority are guarantees of being right and indemnities from being wrong.

Most of all, it reminded me of a day in South Africa in 1996.

It wasn’t long after the end of Apartheid – tensions were still high and attitudes were still sour. It was a dangerous place to be and the Soweto township was far from being a tourist destination. Nonetheless, many of my Zulu friends from work lived there and I would visit them at the weekends.?

One day, the Sangoma (a senior figure in the local culture) invited me to an indaba – a meeting of some of the senior people in the Protea district in the west of the township. Two local boys had been bullying the wife of a man who was in jail and they had thrown stones through her window. The view was that she had committed no crime and the boys should be punished by the community.

We sat in a circle, in a meeting-structure that has not changed in centuries: the Chief, the Sangoma, and the grandmothers from the community (who gain senior status automatically). Of course, the boys and the witnesses were there too.

In 2 hours of discussion, I heard no raised voices. No one spoke over anyone but instead each listened to every speaker, paused, and considered what they had heard before responding. At the end, a judgement was pronounced that involved repairs and community service. The boys accepted it obediently.

As I walked with Samgoma back to his house, I remarked that it was possibly the most civilised thing I had ever witnessed. Then, somewhat tearfully, I noted that there were people who looked upon his people and considered them to be savages.

By contrast: last week, Sir Richard Branson turned down an invitation to join a TV panel debate about the recent execution in Singapore. He said that: “Today’s TV panel debates are more about the personalities than the issues being debated.” I think he’s right.

Human societies are in a proper mess at the moment and I don’t know what the answer is, but I think I know where not to find it. Yesterday’s rules and today’s narcissism are not ingredients for tomorrow’s solutions.

We’ve forgotten much more than we need to discover.

Hambe kahle, my friends in Soweto.