Systems value creation: The new currency of governance

GOVERNANCE in South Africa has entered a new season. With the arrival of the King V code, boards are being called to widen their field of vision and recognise that value no longer belongs only to the organisation that creates it. The Code introduces the idea of systems value creation as the defining purpose of governance. It signals a shift in how leadership understands responsibility, resilience and legitimacy.

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Systems value creation recognises that every organisation exists within an intricate web of relationships. Its success depends on the health of the systems that surround it — the economy, society, the environment and the people who give it meaning. The concept asks a simple but profound question: what kind of value do we create for the systems that sustain us, and what do we take from them in return?

Where previous governance frameworks placed emphasis on sustainable value creation, the new Code expands the focus. It describes governance as the creation, preservation and possible erosion of systems value. The governing body’s focus thus expands, from ensuring the organisations continuity to encompassing its influence on the stability and wellbeing of the systems that enable its existence. This is governance seen through a lens of interdependence.

When a board adopts this perspective, its conversations begin to change. Decision-making becomes less about immediate performance and more about continuity and consequence. Each strategic choice carries both internal and external effects that must be understood. The question is no longer how to extract value from the system, but how to contribute to its strength so that long-term value can exist at all.

Some South African organisations have already embraced this thinking. Clicks Group is one example. Its integrated report reflects a board that leads with awareness of the broader context. It describes its role as providing direction and oversight to ensure value creation within the triple context of the economy, society and the environment. That language reveals a board conscious of its ecosystem. Its focus on responsible retailing, local supply chains and health access demonstrates how systems thinking shapes both resilience and reputation.