Understanding Principled Leadership Through the Lens of Fraud Diamond Theory.

The paper emanates from the inaugural lecture that I presented on the 22nd of November 2022 at the University of South Africa. It is well known that "The Zondo Commission" revealed numerous crises with principled leadership poisoning organisations in South Africa. The world is becoming more conscious of ethics and ethical leadership because of the numerous scandals that have occurred in a variety of sectors, such as state-owned corporations and government institutions owing to unethical conduct by those organisations' leaders. It would be wrong to think that because corrupt behaviour had been exposed, the golden era of frauds had ended and that organisations had reached a turning point due to democracy and open management. If fraudulent actions continue to deplete organisations of resources and offer difficulties for managers and leaders, I contend, principled leadership is becoming toxic in organisations. These leaders need to be visionary. They must be able to communicate with members of their team. When leaders and their teams communicate, trust and confidence are increased. They should inform team members of their decisions rather than forcing decisions upon them. Leaders should consider all relevant factors before making judgments. They ought to enforce their influence by persuasion rather than by pressure. They must be creative in coming up with new solutions to challenges, taking chances to support organisations in minimising toxic inclinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]