In times of crisis, the need for good leadership is paramount, but how can we develop more leaders who are able to meet the moment with wisdom and compassion?
leadership
Posted inEquality
Why is it still so hard for civil society to talk about internal racism?
Appointing Black women to leadership positions is a drop in the ocean of the real work that needs to be done to truly transform organisations, especially in the nonprofit world
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics, Tech
Can SAA attract the “one percenters”?
By Dale van der Lingen My previous piece here centred on lessons for South African Airways (SAA) from Ford’s upending of Ferrari’s decades long dominance at Le Mans in the 1960s and our very own Springboks’ miraculous turnaround from a place where, to paraphrase Mike Tindell’s post-match analysis, they couldn’t win a raffle 18 months […]
Posted inEquality, General, Health
Committed to teaching in the midst of smog: Five turnaround strategies for rural schools
By Lehlohonolo Mofokeng There is no shortage of evidence that our basic education is in shreds. That being said, the question that we should be asking ourselves is: how do we get out of this mess? How do we ensure that our learners, in spite of an already established culture of mediocrity, start to believe […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
Stop feeling guilty for living in your strengths
It strikes me when doing work on strengths-based leadership that the biggest hindrance to people connecting with their strengths is a subconscious and unhealthy attachment to GUILT. Our education drums into us this idea that functional humans must spend a disproportionate amount of time working on their weakness so that they can be ‘well rounded’ […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Beyond Trevor Noah and Mandela’s rainbow: Towards a politics of empathy
I’ve been thinking about Trevor Noah’s op-ed in the New York Times, and its angry critiques, since the Day of Reconciliation in South Africa on December 16. Reconciliation is a thorny topic in our moody democracy, a reminder that the road to postcolonial hell is paved with good intentions. If you missed it, Noah argued […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Self-serving black leaders: why the masses are “forgotten”
By Sebenzile Nkosi Africans have fought long and hard for independence from colonial rule. Leaders of the struggle have been hailed for their self-sacrifice, many of whom have been prepared to pay the ultimate price of death at the hands of their colonisers and allies, for the course. A large part of this struggle, not […]
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics
Thank you, Mr Trump!
Dear Donald Trump, Thank you! In the days following the election I have seen numerous articles highlighting the follies of your choices, the irresponsibility of your comments, the virulence of your campaigning and the divisiveness of your words. In spite of all this, I would like to take a moment and say thank you. Thank […]
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics
Selfless leadership could fix South Africa
The #FeesMustFall movement is a dress rehearsal for the revolution South Africa will face unless we fix our socio-economic conundrum of inequality, poverty and unemployment. This will require leadership! It will require “bridge builders” who are not beholden to vested interests and can lead for the common good. It will require technical skill to empower […]
Posted inBusiness, Equality, General
Our fragile economy demands leadership with strategic foresight
Economic prosperity for any nation is not an outcome achieved on the basis of one policy focus and strategy. It is a result of a carefully chosen and managed set of development drivers and priorities in a complex system with a causal network of linkages that must work together to deliver the economic growth and […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
African leaders, please give us back our dignity in 2016
[dignity / noun, the state or quality of being worthy of honour or respect.] It’s taken me a short while to figure out what upsets me so much about power cuts in Africa. The experience is in both measurable and immeasurable ways un-dignifying. You are in the middle of cooking a meal for the family, […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle, News/Politics
Dear young African, it’s time to wake up
No, this is not about #FeesMustFall or #RhodesMustFall. It’s about stepping up to the leadership plate when the doors to lead are flung open for you to walk through. Are you well-equipped to take up the leadership mantle and lead when the old-guard fall by the wayside? Where is your attention? What are you focused […]