Reconceptualising Boardroom Leadership: An Integrative Framework of Ubuntu and Indigenous Feminist Epistemologies in Post-2010 South Africa

This original research addresses the persistent dominance of Eurocentric leadership models in South African corporate boardrooms, which remain misaligned with the nation’s socio-cultural context. It argues that a decolonised leadership framework, synthesising the African humanist philosophy of Ubuntu with indigenous feminist epistemologies, is essential for transformative governance. Employing a rigorous qualitative, multi-method design, the study analyses data from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with twenty women board members and executives (2018–2023) and a thematic analysis of corporate governance reports (2010 onwards). The findings reveal a complex duality, where participants frequently suppress indigenous knowledge to assimilate into prevailing Western norms. Crucially, the analysis identifies and systematises key principles for an integrative framework—such as relational accountability, collective wisdom, and an ethic of care—which are already practised tacitly and in fragments. The article contends that formally legitimising this syncretic model can enhance board efficacy by fostering inclusive decision-making and robust ethical stewardship. Its significance lies in proposing a concrete, contextually grounded leadership model centred on African epistemologies. This contributes directly to decolonising business scholarship and offers a vital resource for policymakers and corporate boards seeking to cultivate genuinely transformative and representative leadership in post-apartheid South Africa.