ZIPHO SIKHAKHANE: Old-school business ethics are still cool
It can be too easy for people to ignore the fact that their leadership teams are not operating in the most ethical way
The founder and CEO of global ride-sharing business Uber, Travis Kalanick, resigned this week. He made the move after years of controversial claims against him and his business, including the use of software to bypass regulators, numerous allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment, and a recently released report by the former US attorney-general on Uber's toxic company culture. It took the shareholders leading a revolt against him for him to quit. This followed months of resignations by senior executives. It is puzzling that Kalanick remained in the role for as long as he did, a sure sign of how difficult it is for organisations to separate themselves from the leaders who created them, blindly ignoring their unethical leadership ways. A leader's DNA becomes infused in the DNA of the organisation, making it impossible to believe that such practices will stop merely through their removal. It can be too easy for people to ignore the fact that their leadership teams are not ope...
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