It feels strange coming back onto Thought Leader and reading some of these fascinating blogs after an absence of almost a year. Still picking on the poor politicians I see, and still stressing the superficial differences as if our lives depended on it. December 16th is a South African public holiday. We celebrate Reconciliation Day. […]
Dumi Magadlela
Dumi works with people.
He does not like boxes and pigeon holes, especially those that we like to slot others into in our minds. He tries not to judge or label anyone, and does his best to take everyone as they show up, and not as as he would have them show up.
He is an avid reader, and is fascinated by people's reactions to their own mirror images and to change, all kinds of change. He is an aspiring, eclectic, writer. He writes about anything that catches his fancy, mainly about people and their stories, real or imagined.
His message? 'No boxes please, we are still evolving...'
Posted inGeneral
(Mis)understanding ubuntu: A reply
The concept of ubuntu has been bandied about quite freely and mostly carelessly by writers who associate the term with the language in which it often appears. Ubuntu is bigger, broader and deeper than its Nguni “appearance”. I do not recall ever reading or hearing anyone say that ubuntu means that black people are morally, […]
Posted inGeneral
Mentoring and coaching in diversity
Different versions of mentoring and coaching have been around for centuries as forms of skills transfer and passing along valuable trades from older members of society to the younger generation. Experiential on-the-job training comes a long way as a form of education and skills transfer. It is only recently, as late as the 1960s, that […]
Posted inGeneral
It’s resonant leadership, silly
Too late to be part two of the “IQ is dead” piece The recent intense discussions about leadership on Thought Leader speak volumes about our diverse understandings of what leadership really is. There seems to be as many different views about what leaders are expected to be and do as there are readers out there. […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle
IQ is dead!
Part one: Emotional Intelligence 101 The one thing that tickles me endlessly on Thought Leader is the creativity in mixing serious issues of national concern with rib-cracking humour. I find some of the humour deliciously irreverent, and often laced with allegedly life-changing “lessons” and self-deprecating tips on how to cope with crap from fellow humans, […]
Posted inGeneral
Rigours of reconciliation: An inside job
I’m still relatively new to the blog scene. My first posting on ubuntu leadership had quite a number of spicy responses. I wasn’t sure what to do with them. I decided to let the comments be. Although I was itching to write back, I decided to stick to the fact that the purpose of the […]
Posted inGeneral
Foreign flags on rear-view mirrors: more messed-up-identities
Someone please tell me what is “so cool” about having an American or British flag in your car dangling from your rear-view mirror day in, day out? No, I have nothing against those two former great powers. I think some people need help knowing who they are. Why are you wearing another country’s flag as […]
Posted inLifestyle
Who are you? Changing identities and un-belonging
There is a disturbing “crisis of identity”, especially among young South Afrikans today, and it cuts across ethnic groups, racial categories, social and economic classes. Questions of belonging abound among a generally disconnected people, right around and possibly within you. People ask: Who am I? Where do I fit in? What do my clothes, car, […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Ubuntu: Myth or antidote to today’s socio-political and leadership challenges?
South Africa’s current conditions of misunderstanding and intolerance of difference, of leadership disconnection with the people and of business misalignment with holistic human development are screaming for something fresh. The manner in which we relate to each other as people sharing the same space (in all its manifestations!) is unsustainable and demands change. Here’s an […]