Managing in faith: How African executives use faith to guide their actions

Abstract

Western management literature seldom considers the role of faith in how executives fulfil their obligations. But on the African continent, faith is a key element of management. A research project conducted by GIBS found that faith informs executives’ sense of who they are as individual people, and thereby constitutes an important source of their “psychological capital”. Faith also guides how they act as leaders, with many of the elements of servant leadership being in evidence. Finally, where the local institutions are weak, faith also operates as an informal institution that guides executives and their employees about right and wrong actions. Faith is conceptualised in an inclusive way, as belief in a higher power, rather than in terms of specific religion. But although executives generally acknowledge faith traditions other than their own, they often lack a detailed understanding of the practices of other religions. This means that there is a risk that managing through religious beliefs and principles can serve to divide rather than unite an organisation. Executives are therefore advised to take note of the tremendous power of faith. Their challenge is to create a workplace that acknowledges faith as a potential driver of employee behaviour, but also as a key dimension of diversity, and to create a workplace in which both elements are acknowledged.