Conceptualising Responsible Leadership in South Africa: An Interactive Qualitative Analysis

Purpose: The studying of responsible leadership as a leadership construct is facing challenges in defining, specifically within a South African context. This has been amplified by real-world challenges such as the increased unethical behaviour. This study aims to conceptualise responsible leadership as a leadership construct across industries, encompassing both private and public sectors in the context of South Africa.Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory qualitative design is employed: The Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA), a research methodology approach qualitative in format. This involves a step-by-step application to conceptualise responsible leadership through a controlled focus groups comprising of 19 leaders representing a diverse range of industries within South African. The inductive nature of initial stages, combined with deductive techniques, facilitates detection of perspectives on responsible leadership, enhancing the exploratory aspect of qualitative research.Findings/results: Results are illustrated using System Influence Diagram (SID): Demonstrating the primary driver in responsible leadership as growth, with sustainability and planning as secondary drivers. These secondary drivers, resulted in team mental health and values as secondary outcomes, and culminated to the primary outcome of business insight. Grounded on this, recommendations for future research are made.Practical implications: The significance of the study resides in the conceptualisation of the construct responsible leadership, within the South African context.Originality/value: This conceptualisation of responsible leadership is valuable because it aids in elucidating the social and ethical responsibilities of leaders, including their accountability to both stakeholders and society.