Effective organisational leadership (OL) is critical to achieving organisational objectives, yet understanding what constitutes effective leadership remains challenging because of its complex and context-specific nature (Grobler & Singh 2018), especially in the African context (read South Africa) (Banutu-Gomez et al. 2023). Enslin and Grobler (2025), in a systematic literature review on OL, found that although there is a plethora of research, there remains a lack of knowledge and understanding of the phenomenon in the South African context. The reason being that OL is mostly studied through the application of traditional, global and universal leadership theories and frameworks, developed primarily within the Western contexts. Kirabira, Winston and Wood (2023) suggest the need for a structured review of existing research of leadership in Africa, with Daft (2022) as well as Vilakati and Schurink (2021) calling for continuous, and more specifically, conceptual leadership research to provide clarity in terms of this complex and important matter. Rahmatika and Saragih (2023) emphasise the importance to study leadership through a contextual lens to ensure that unique cultural, societal, political and organisational nuances (found for instance in SA) are recognised.

The importance of OL cannot be overstated (Vilakati & Schurink 2021). Yukl and Gardner (2020) argue that leadership in general is a continuous social process and a highly valued organisational asset, with OL (and the nature of it) being widely discussed for decades (Northouse 2021). Universal consensus was however not found (Iszatt-White & Saunders 2020), mainly as a result of its contextual nature (Grobler & Singh 2018). Most researchers however agree that OL entails influencing others to achieve shared goals (Daft 2022), although the ‘how’ is often determined by the context (Grobler & Singh 2018). This contextual dependence necessitates the need for new research (including methods) to capture leadership’s evolving demands (Campos 2024; Enslin & Grobler 2025; Hesse 2018).

This study addresses this gap by exploring OL from a distinctly South African (emic) perspective, acknowledging and considering the local realities, including the diversity, social and cultural values, practices and behaviour. Because of the diverse nature of the South African leadership landscape, as well as the complexity it causes, it was decided to investigate OL through a social constructivist lens, as postulated by Bryman (2012) and supported by Campos (2024) who propagate more contemporary methods in studying leadership. In this study, the nature (definition) as well as the elements of OL were investigated by allowing participants to contribute to the process based on their lived experience, rather than imposing existing, global and universal leadership theories and models on them. Northouse (2021) refers to this as ethnocentrism, where one’s own worldview is imposed on others outside your reference group.

This study countered the notion of ethnocentrism, and universalism, by using the interactive qualitative analysis (IQA) methodology. The IQA is based on the facilitated and systematic collection of data, with the qualitative data analysed through participation and consensus. This technique entails group members, closely associated with the leadership phenomenon, sharing their experiences and views on OL, articulating relationships, thus contributing to the conceptualisation process. The result of the process is a system influence diagram (SID) that depicts the construct, its elements (affinities), and their relationships.

This study differs from many other leadership studies, which are often conducted on a philosophical level or through quantitative approaches (using existing models and measurements) (over 40%, according to Enslin & Grobler 2025), and thus failing to capture leadership’s complex, contextual and relational nature. Methodologically, the IQA stands out among qualitative methods because of its participatory, structured approach (Northcutt & McCoy 2004). This participatory approach ensures a more comprehensive exploration of OL, and more specifically, the elements it consists of, and the interrelationship between these elements, with the latter often being missed by studies using more traditional methodologies.

The objectives of this study were to: (1) identify the elements contributing to effective OL and (2) to determine the causal relationship between the elements, in terms of key drivers, pivots and outcomes.

The overall purpose of this study is to stimulate new ideas about OL in the South African context. The study proposes a novel and empirically justified framework to enhance leadership practices and organisational productivity, and offers recommendations at practical, organisational and academic levels.

The study aimed to identify characteristics indicative of OL in South Africa and develop an SID to illustrate the elements (affinities), and specifically the relationship between them.

This study identified eight IQA affinities, namely, leadership culture, engaging communication, support, delivering strategy, emotional awareness of leader, team dynamics, vision, and leadership style and characteristics, as listed in Table 1.

These affinities were not placed in any relational position, and to do that, a composite ART was generated, using IRD by applying the Pareto Protocol. This statistical method identifies the most significant relationships for inclusion in the IRD by precisely counting the frequency of each relationship and arranging them in descending order, as shown in Table 2.

The Pareto principle was used to determine the appropriate level of affinity relationships in the system, identifying the most critical relationships that explained the greatest variation. These relationships were then examined to identify any conflicts (Enslin 2023).

Non-conflicting relationships were recorded in an IRD matrix, which captured all evident relationships in the system, as shown in Table 3. This double-entry matrix logs each IRD twice. The IRD analysis helped identify driver, pivot and outcome variables, which were displayed in a SID. Relationships with a positive delta were classified as drivers or causes, while those with a negative delta were considered outcomes (Enslin 2023). Table 3 illustrates how participants’ lived experiences of OL were systematically structured into drivers and outcomes, providing a conceptual backbone for the conceptualisation of OL, derived from this study. The IRD, reported in Table 3, is determined by counting the number of up arrows (↑) or Outs; counting the number of left arrows (←) or Ins; subtracting the number of Ins from the Outs to determine the (Δ) Deltas.

The sorted IRD (in descending order of Δ) is reported in Table 4.

As shown in Table 4, the affinity with the greatest positive delta (Δ), resulting from multiple outputs (OUTs) and no inputs (INs), was identified as the primary driver, namely emotional awareness of leader. This fundamental driver influences other affinities but is not influenced by them. The secondary drivers serve as proximal causes in the system, with more OUTs than INs. They were leadership style and characteristics, leadership culture, engaging communication and Vision.

In contrast, the secondary outcomes showed more INs than OUTs, with the primary result, delivering strategy, having the most significant impact inside the system because it was influenced by other affinities but did not influence them. The secondary outcomes were support and team dynamics. The secondary outcomes serve as proximal results or outcomes in the system, with more INs than OUTs.

It is worth noting that the affinities identified (OL elements) in this study presents itself on the three levels mentioned before, namely the leader, the process and the results. The affinities are intuitively grouped accordingly. The tentative SID, with one primary driver, six secondary drivers and one primary outcome, is reported in Table 5.

The IRDs derived from this data influenced the creation of the system for the virtual focus group. In order to create the final SID, assignments were organised horizontally according to their preliminary SID sequence. The drivers were placed on the left side, and the results were placed on the right side. Arrows were added to indicate the direction of relationships between each affinity, as specified in the composite ART. Redundant links, which are connections between two affinities that can be made through an intermediary, were eliminated.

Based on the SID data, OL elements clearly displayed a primary driver and outcome, with no pivots noted in this study. The primary driver was identified as the leader’s emotional awareness, while the primary outcome was delivering on strategy. Figure 1 offers a clear visual of the focus group’s final IQA SID, illustrating the system’s dynamics and highlighting points where interventions could alter outcomes (Enslin 2023). The outcome of this procedure led to a simplified SID, which was initially shown as a provisional arrangement in Table 5.

The IQA session findings describe OL in the South African context as exhibiting strong self-awareness and awareness of others, upholding ethical standards and fostering a winning mindset in subordinates. These leaders cultivate trusted relationships with their teams, demonstrating courage, humility, creativity and integrity, all rooted in shared values. They communicate transparently and engagingly to create a safe environment that encourages risk-taking. By employing effective incentive and recognition strategies, they achieve exceptional results from diverse teams (Enslin 2023).

Africa is a unique continent (Nkomo 2011), and effective leadership is essential for the continent’s organisations to thrive (Ncube 2010). The distinct cultural, historical and social factors present in African contexts call for leadership models that are both globally aware and locally grounded. Empirical investigation is necessary to fully understand the nature of OL in Africa (Vilakati & Schurink 2021).

It is important for leaders, organisational practitioners’ and leadership development specialists to note that, in order to succeed as an organisational leader in SA, they must understand their own emotions and those of others before conveying the vision through their unique leadership style. When done effectively, this inspires the team to embrace the vision and execute the strategy successfully (Enslin 2023). This interconnected sequence highlights the systemic nature of effective leadership in organisational contexts. This is especially relevant to the South African context where thoughtful and critical introspection is required to harness diversity and draw on its strengths (Enslin 2023). The increasing complexity, ambiguity and uncertainty within organisational environments necessitate a rethinking of traditional leadership philosophies and strategies. Leaders must embrace both rational and emotional elements to navigate these evolving dynamics successfully.

Effective OL is crucial for positioning South Africa as a respected and influential contributor on the global stage (Enslin 2023). By fostering emotionally intelligent, culturally attuned, visionary leaders, South African organisations can drive sustainable development and achieve greater influence within the global economy. This research contributes a culturally grounded leadership framework, empowering South African organisations to cultivate leaders who can effectively navigate complexity, drive transformation and position the country as a dynamic force in the global arena.

Based on the findings and recommendations of this study, several areas for future research are apparent. Future studies should continue to investigate and validate new emic leadership constructs, considering the cultural nuances that impact leadership behaviours. Organisational leadership measurements or scales can be developed based on these results, which will assist researchers that adopt a more positivistic stance to leadership research. Comparative studies between emic and etic constructs would offer valuable insights into their respective effectiveness across different cultural settings. Such research could significantly enhance our understanding of culturally relevant leadership frameworks, and the universality of leadership.

In addition, it is recommended that IQA be further explored as a research methodology in OL studies. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of IQA as a systematic and rigorous qualitative research method capable of uncovering complex leadership dynamics. Future investigations could assess the applicability and robustness of IQA across various industries and cultural contexts, contributing to methodological advancements in leadership research.

Future research could also explore the leadership behaviours identified in this study and assess how they positively impact organisational performance and employee behaviour within organisational environments. This would strengthen the understanding of the unique leadership dynamics present in South African organisations and support the development of more culturally sensitive and effective leadership development strategies. Lastly, further research into leadership training and succession planning is recommended. Creating a leadership pipeline, grounded in emotional awareness and cultural adaptability, could significantly enhance organisational resilience and effectiveness. Evaluating the impact of leadership development programmes that emphasise these factors would contribute to building a sustainable leadership culture in South Africa.