I used to work for a banking corporation in South Africa. As part of my role of leadership and management development for the bank, I travelled all over Southern Africa, visiting branches to train and coach current and future leaders. While visiting a branch in an outlying town, I happened to walk in on a…
Many years ago, I had the privilege of working in conjunction with the UNDP in Namibia as part of a team who took the government ministers away for a weekend to Walvis Bay on a leadership development exercise. The Prime Minister, ministers and all the deputies were present at the venue at this coastal town….
I had the privilege of a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in early 2012, to coach some managers whom I had trained on a previous workshop. On an off day, sitting at a roadside café drinking coffee, I noticed about 65 high school students walking past on their lunch break. What was surprising about this…
1. Absent leadership can’t address important issues. I was fascinated reading a tweet recently regarding the lack of visible and relevant leadership by the president of the country and I quote from David Kibuuka: “It is sad that I have to get inspired by other peoples’ presidents, ‘cause our guy is busy at Builders’ Warehouse”…
I enjoyed playing golf in earlier years and attempted to swing the irons at least twice a month. On one such occasion, I played at a club in a mining area of South Africa, a picturesque layout with long fairways, surrounded by tall trees and occasionally bordered by large lakes. After completing about a third…
One of the most impactful African words that I have ever come across is the North Sotho word “seriti”, meaning breath, spirit, presence or “shadow”. The word, in one of its renderings, refers to a person’s “presence” or the shadow that is cast by the character and personality of the person. This shadow is unique,…
One of the more “revealing” experiences that I have had upon arriving in my mid-life years is that of realising that the 20/20 vision that I had as a younger man is not going to last forever – a visit to the optometrist is becoming a necessity. Imagine for a moment that you need to…
I love watching soccer and religiously follow my favourite club’s exploits – FC Barcelona is “my team”. Their style, skill, finesse on the ball and the brand that they represent seem to lift the game of football to new heights. I am generally proud of them. Imagine, however, this scene– Lionel Messi scores a magnificent…
In the movie, The Matrix, one of my personal favourites, I am captivated with the scene where Neo meets Morpheus for a secret meeting. This is the first time that they have ever met, even though they seem to have been searching for each other for most of their lives. The dialogue is fascinating: Morpheus:…
I grew up in a loving family, with good parents – I was a privileged child along with my brother and sister. There was one thing, however, that my family, and particularly my parents, did not do well – handle conflict. In fact, they avoided conflict at all costs. Whenever there was value difference, one…
I am sure that you have heard those words from people on countless occasions. Other forms of the same expression include “that is not my role”, “that’s not in my employment contract” or “I can’t do everything in this organisation, you know”. People that use expressions like the above tend to pass the buck, make…
Dr Stephen R Covey passed away on Monday 16th July 2012, after suffering injuries in a cycling accident about 3 months prior to his death. You may remember him as the author of the best-selling business book of all time (more than 20 million copies sold), “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and many…
