Conscious capitalism in the boardroom: Beyond profit to stewardship

By Nqobani Mzizi

For decades, the boardroom's sole mantra has been clear: Maximise shareholder profit. The shareholder-first model has dominated governance thinking, with directors expected to deliver returns above all else. Yet in today’s interconnected world, profit alone is no longer enough.

Society demands that leadership is exercised with responsibility, care and consciousness. The idea of conscious capitalism, a philosophy that argues business should serve all stakeholders ethically and purposefully, challenges boards to move beyond profit to stewardship. It recognises that long-term value depends not only on financial outcomes but also on how organisations treat people, society and the environment.

King IV places leadership at the foundation of governance, reminding us that good governance requires an ethical and effective governing body. Principle 3 calls on boards to ensure responsible corporate citizenship, which means decisions cannot be limited to financial considerations. They must reflect the organisation’s role in society, its purpose and its contribution to sustainable value creation.

This aligns with ISO 37000, which defines the very purpose of governance as enabling organisations to fulfil their purpose, generate positive outcomes and create sustainable value over the long term. It further emphasises that sustainable value creation is not confined to financial returns, but extends to the well-being of people, the stewardship of natural resources, and the trust that underpins social legitimacy.

A profit-first approach is not only limited but dangerous. The record of corporate history is filled with examples where short-term financial ambition undermined long-term viability. Enron once dazzled investors with profit growth, but its culture of financial manipulation destroyed the company and eroded trust in corporate America. Closer to home, Steinhoff’s collapse revealed how unchecked pursuit of expansion and profit led to inflated results and governance failure. Both cases show that when boards focus narrowly on outputs measured in financial returns, they risk losing legitimacy and causing widespread harm.

Profit remains essential, but leadership that defines success only by financial metrics misses the point. Conscious leadership recognises that boards hold a duty of care not only to shareholders but also to employees, customers, communities and the environment. This shift reframes the director’s duty of loyalty as stewardship of the six capitals defined in the Integrated Reporting <IR> Framework: financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, social and relationship, and natural. It accepts that profit is a necessary condition for survival, but not the sufficient measure of success.

Conscious leadership is values-driven, inclusive and long-term oriented. It requires boards to look beyond quarterly results and ask how their decisions create enduring prosperity. It is not about philanthropy at the margins but about integrating purpose into the very heart of corporate strategy. Frameworks such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and integrated reporting encourage boards to consider how their decisions affect broader society. Investors too are demanding it, as ESG metrics increasingly shape capital flows and reputational standing.

Examples of conscious leadership are already visible. Discovery in South Africa has adopted a shared-value model where business growth is linked to healthier behaviour among its customers. By rewarding wellness and prevention, it creates benefits for members, savings for the healthcare system and sustainable profits for shareholders.

This model has proven highly effective; for instance, Discovery’s Vitality programme demonstrates that physically active members have hospitalisation probabilities 20% to 40% lower than inactive members, showing the link between well-being and financial sustainability. Discovery illustrates how stewardship can enhance resilience and trust while still delivering financial success.

Boards are uniquely placed to entrench this form of leadership. The boardroom can serve as the platform where stewardship is advanced and the balance between profit and purpose is set. This requires deliberate practices.

The first is purpose alignment. Boards must define and regularly revisit organisational purpose, ensuring it remains the compass for decision-making. The second is stakeholder oversight. Directors must ensure that diverse voices are heard, that risks to communities and the environment are considered, and that stakeholder trust is measured and reported. The third is ethical decision-making.

Boards must rise above legal compliance to act with moral authority, setting a tone that places integrity at the centre of governance. The fourth is long-term value focus. Directors must avoid short-termism and balance immediate returns with sustainable prosperity, recognising that enduring value depends on responsible leadership.

Conscious and responsible corporate leadership is not an abstract concept, but a mindset shift that boards must actively embrace. It calls for courage to resist narrow definitions of success, and wisdom to integrate multiple perspectives into decision-making. In an age of climate change, inequality and declining trust in institutions, boards cannot afford to govern without consciousness. They must be custodians of purpose, values and impact.

The challenge is not to reject profit, but to reframe it. Profit must be seen as a product of stewardship, not the sole purpose of governance. When boards embrace conscious capitalism, they create legitimacy that strengthens relationships with stakeholders and resilience that sustains long-term value. They honour not only their fiduciary duties but also their moral obligations to society.

Conscious leadership requires boards to ask deeper questions about their role and impact. The future will judge directors not by the profits recorded in a single financial year, but by the legacy they leave for generations to come.

So, boards must deeply reflect:

• Are we leading for shareholders alone, or for all stakeholders who determine our legitimacy?
• Does our boardroom conversation reflect values and purpose as much as financials?
• How do we balance immediate returns with long-term stewardship of people, society and the environment?
• Will history remember us as profit maximisers, or as custodians of sustainable value across the six capitals?

Because leadership in governance is not about what we gained today, but about the future we shaped for tomorrow. Conscious and responsible boards will be measured by how well they stewarded the six capitals and judged by their contribution to the broader global agenda.

When boards embrace this broader perspective, profit becomes a product of stewardship rather than its sole purpose. This is how governance builds trust, legitimacy and value that endures beyond a single financial year. This is the task of conscious capitalism: to lead with purpose, create with responsibility and leave a legacy of sustainable value.

* Nqobani Mzizi is a Professional Accountant (SA), Cert.Dir (IoDSA) and an Academic.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.

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