New book on Values-Based Leadership in the South African context launched.

Johannesburg, Gauteng February 18, 2019:  Dr Ashley Frank, successful executive coach to the C-Suite of the country’s largest corporations launched his new book in Johannesburg last night (February 17). This is the former business school professor’s third book, but his first aimed at the general reader. His previous books, case studies in Investment Valuation & Markets (both published by the University of KwaZulu-Natal Press in 2003), were influential contributions to graduate teaching and welcomed by the academic and practitioner community alike.

Dr Frank’s current book provides a complete strategy for Chief Executives wishing to embed a values-based culture within their organisations. The book shows how moral obligation, when placed upon laws of leadership, result in a values-based culture, that should be rooted in values statements and lived in a corporation’s culture. It looks at several case studies to see how principles of Corporate Governance (and in particular the King Code) actually play out in society. And it offers a framework for understanding why traditional attempts to inculcate “business ethics” often fail. Unlike other books on the subject, it also considers corruption at the level of the state (political and bureaucratic officials), particularly since the public and private sectors often become intertwined at points of economic crime. It presents a complete strategy for any Chief Executive wishing to ground their leadership in moral authority, based on: assessing corporate culture, reviewing internal codes, removing conflicting objectives, being the change and practising mindfulness. Importantly, it discusses why Board support is vital to a Chief Executive and offers concrete suggestions as to how it can be engaged.

Speaking at the book launch Dr Frank explained the book’s title “Tunnel Out: A Challenge to South African Chief Executives” “The lay public may not quite get the full meaning of the book’s title but it’s a play on the word “Tunneling”, which is a colloquial term for financial fraud. Most importantly the book is written as a challenge to Chief Executives to take active steps to avoid incidents of corporate malfeasance. To this end it provides a step by step guide on how to implement a values-based culture within any corporation”. Values-based leadership is the idea that leaders should draw on their own and followers' values for direction and motivation. It’s a philosophy that observes that a person’s most natural motivators are their personal values, because these values lie at the core of a person’s identity. It is more natural for leaders to refer to their own values in creating a vision or making decisions and equally it makes sense for leaders to connect with their followers' values which makes them more likely to act. Richard Barrett, author of “Building a Values-Driven Organisation”, defines values-based leadership as "a way of making authentic decisions that builds the trust and commitment of employees and customers." Leaders who apply this philosophy are likely to experience certain inner benefits, such as making better choices (and feeling more comfortable to act upon them), building more trusting and avoiding stressful relationships with followers. The book argues that when both Chief Executives and employees feel aligned with their authentic selves, corporations can be both highly profitable as well as ethically responsible.

Dr Frank also explained the decision to launch the book in e-form only: “Digitisation is increasingly becoming the preferred way of making information available to as wide a readership as possible. We (the author and the publishers) wanted the book to be available internationally but accessible to readers in South Africa, without having them need to pay shipping and customs, to get a copy”.

The book is available for download at Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/2G0FTyd

Contact Mr. Eugene Barnabas at +27-(0)71-213-0653, to arrange a review copy or to interview the author.