Putting people first: It’s not just a strategy for Instagram but a real recipe for success

From sweatshops to plastic straws, consumers have always had considerable power to hold even the largest corporations accountable for their ethical and operational conduct, and the age of social media has only kicked this up a notch. A central truth of global business today is that people and perceptions matter, and leaders ignore them at their peril.

The flipside is also true. Purpose-driven organisations outperform their peers; retain their employees at higher rates; and are perceived better by their customers. And those are just the benefits on the business side. Purpose-driven can also have massive positive socioeconomic impacts, including creating jobs and providing solutions to local challenges from financial inclusion to healthcare. For a country like South Africa, still battling economic stagnation in an increasingly hostile global environment, this difference could be transformational.

So, how do we create more purpose-driven businesses? At a recent panel discussion at Henley Business School in Johannesburg, two leadership titans – who are also united by a strong sense of purpose – Lincoln Mali, the CEO of Lesaka Technologies, and founder and former owner of Ella’s Kitchen and Chancellor of the University of Reading in the UK Paul Lindley, shared how it can be done. Four common themes emerged.

1. Know that your brand starts from the inside

Because an enduring brand starts from the inside out, you’ve got to ensure that your business is authentic all the way through – even after scaling. And that means you need to know what you stand for.

For Lindley, who started Ella’s Kitchen on a shoestring when his daughter, Ella, was a baby, it was important to him that the business maintained an ethos of parents speaking to other parents about the benefits of giving children more choices and more nutritious food, even when they were selling a hundred thousand meals a day. So, if a parent contacted Ella’s Kitchen with a serious complaint, Lindley would make a point of being the one to speak to them personally.

This transparency and authenticity paid off, Lindley says. The same people who had complained could later become the brand’s biggest champion, if they had been treated with speed and empathy.

It’s a minor detail, but that’s the point: that sort of humanity is in the intricacies, and it has to go right to the core of what you do because in the age of social media, it’s too easy get caught up in the notion that you can portray a certain version of yourself on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok – a version where you champion social causes – but then behave otherwise in real life. People are savvy. They’ll see right through this.

Having this kind of unshakeable core is helpful, says Lindley because it keeps you going in the right direction, even on the bad days.

Lincoln Mali agrees. ‘You have to be clear about your north star, especially in business when there is pressure to report quarterly earnings. You have to know where you are going so you make decisions that align to that larger purpose, you have to care about more than just looking good for the Board in the short term.’

For Lesaka Technologies, that mission has always been to leverage fintech to provide access to banking for underserved communities, and it strives to live this purpose every single day.

2. Leaders cannot afford to have their backs to their people

A leader is like a conductor, they need to face inward towards their team, not outwards to the rest of the world. A leader must love their people. Without love, employees are less likely to engage fully – to give that final push you might need in difficult times. That’s not something a budding business can afford, especially in South Africa, where almost 80 percent of small businesses fail within the first five years.

Entrepreneurship is a notoriously grueling, lonely practice. You’ve got to be able to keep people with you and ensure that they are as passionate about your idea as you are. Lindley points out that in business, you are basically in the game of persuading people to change their behaviour, whether it be to buy your product, lend you money, or go the extra mile in the workplace. It’s all about people. If you get that right the money will follow, he says.

This can be as simple as letting people know their work is valued, or making a phone call to a client. Empathy is key, agrees Mali.

‘If a business is struggling, so are its people,’ he says.

A little bit of humility goes a long way, Mali adds. ‘In my career, I have received my fair share of promotions. They have come with bonuses, increases in salary, yes – but one thing they’ve never given me is extra IQ.’

Just because you are in charge, it doesn’t mean you have to know everything, he adds. Rather, a good leader can create an environment where everybody is able to contribute their ideas. It’s a behaviour that’s been shown to boost productivity, inclusivity, and innovation. Recently, Lesaka took this one step further, launching an Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) that uniquely allows qualifying employees at all levels to share equally in the long-term success of the company, in line with its values of inclusion and shared ownership.

Lindley agrees with this kind of approach, saying you need to empower your people to make mistakes and be themselves and recognise their value and contribution. Whether they are the receptionist, or in the C-suite, you can build an inclusive powerhouse team that can’t be stopped.

3. Always ask why and think like a five-year-old to unlock innovation

Business is this unique thing in society, it creates innovation and it creates prosperity – nothing else does both of these things. And Lindley emphasises that we need both of those things: innovation to do things differently and solve challenges we face in the world and profits to do more and to do the right thing when it counts.

Human beings have a unique ability to imagine something that doesn’t exist and bring that into existence, he says. For himself, he says he has the naïve enthusiasm of a five-year-old, which gives him the ability to tackle any challenge with curiosity and excitement. ‘Always ask why’ is the advice he gives others. It’s a simple but powerful route to innovation.

4. Start small, and find ways to give back

Businesses can’t be about pure profit. In a resource-sparse country, we’ve got to maximise what we have. So: meet people’s needs. There’s little point in starting something that doesn’t improve people’s lives.

This means taking a step back before you begin. Consider a design thinking approach, the first phase of which is to get out into the world and research. You speak to people, hear their stories, and try to understand whether or not you are able to provide a solution to some of their challenges.

If you can – great. If not – keep looking.

Both Lindley and Mali have succeeded in helping people who otherwise struggle to access support – children and people in underserved communities. By doing so, they have improved millions of lives. But, of course, they didn’t start like that.

Initially, it was not even in Paul Lindley’s mind to open a business. What he wanted was a simple thing: to feed his fussy toddler, Ella, better. For Lincoln it’s because somebody saw something in him when he didn’t see it in himself and he’s motivated to find ways to do that for others. Crucially, both of them were brave enough to take that first step towards making a positive difference. DM

The Henley Business School brand of education sets out to serve a greater purpose: to change the future of the continent by changing the futures of its people through helping them get better at building, leading and managing businesses and organisations that in one way or another make people’s lives better and contribute to growing economies.

To find out more how Henley Business School Africa supports purpose-driven business and capacitates purpose-driven managers and leaders, please click here.