COVER FEATURE

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Sometimes, the term ’leadership’ can be misunderstood as being the same as ‘management’. As far as I know, leadership is more focused on results – the outcome of leadership should be some kind of discernible result. At this point in my career and life, trust is a big thing. So trusting the system, trusting the process, and trusting myself, means that I am able to lead from the front or the back in order to get effective results. Over time it’s also about building the trust in self to fail forward, knowing that sometimes you’ll get it wrong, but when you do, trusting that you will fail forward. Legacy is also important to me. This is about leaving a discernible positive impact that will outlive me, whether it’s a small meaningful shift in the processes at work or a significant shift in the prospects of communities. A leader should do what they can to leave a strong and positive legacy and trusting that it’ll have the positive impact that it should have, and being able to recover after falling forward.

From my experience, from looking at people who are good leaders and from what I try to do, the first thing is that a leader needs to have empathy. There is something sacred about being able to empathise with people by putting yourself in their context, so that you can visualise and see the world from their perspective, then use those insights or their qualities towards their betterment so they get closer to what you’re trying to achieve. Good leaders are able to engage, instil and ignite a reaction from their people and

the situation that they’re leading. Secondly, foresight – where are we going? What is the intention and desired outcome of what we’re trying to achieve? It’s good to learn from hindsight, but foresight allows for people to see the vision when you engage with them and to see the ultimate outcome with you, resulting in them wanting to help you achieve that. With that comes the effective use of resources, including assigning your people effectively. Once you know who has which skills and knowing how they’re different, you’re able to utilise them and engage them to the best of their ability. You can’t have someone on your team who is a fish and judge them on their (in)ability to climb a tree. You have to respect them as a fish; hire and develop them accordingly. In order to get the effective result at the end of the day. A good leader should understand their team dynamics and understand what each person brings to the table.

Certainly, especially in corporate there are many different expectations between men and women, which are very well documented, known and recognised, but nobody is doing much about it. On top of glass ceilings, we still have stiletto ceilings – where women themselves hold each other back. We have the corporate ladder – where at times it feels like it has been intentionally made difficult for women to climb. There are still expectations whereby if you get married as a woman, someone will make the comment that you may no longer to continue to be a good employee as you’ll likely have children or be distracted by your husband and building a family. So many unfair, unjustified and sometimes downright rude differing expectations between men and women. I’ve never heard of a man being told he’ll be less effective, because he got married or was about to have children. This is the global reality that many women face. There are many horror stories we can go over, but it’s important that we learn how to navigate this space. First, you need to choose your battles – you can’t fight every battle as not all of them are meant for you. Stand up for yourself and be firm on the battles you choose. Second, is the expectation that you may be coy. Speak up in meetings, be learned, research, have an opinion – say something! The worst they can say is that you’re incorrect or that they don’t agree, but you would’ve said something, you’ll be noticed. Your aim is to be deemed a good contributor in meetings, someone that brings a different view or someone who is worthwhile listening to. So, definitely speak up from a place of knowledge. Third, remember that “no” is a complete sentence. If you feel like you are being marginalised or spoken to in a certain way, or the conversation changes when you walk into a certain room – stand up for yourself and say no. Insist on being treated equally and you also don’t have to justify yourself. The fourth, thing to do is to strategise your career, and don’t expect that it will just fall in place or that someone will hand anything to you. Where do you want to go,

what you want to do, what you want to expose yourself to in your career, how do you want to achieve this, and what are your milestones? Align yourself with people, with mentors inside and outside the organisation, as well as with organisations that are influencing or are interested in achieving what you also want. If it’s not happening within your organisation, find out where what you want to do is being implemented and go there or associate yourself. You don’t have to know every step of the way – let there be room for magic to happen – but think about what you’re doing, what the outcome would be, who you would need to assist you in getting there, as well as who you can assist in their career – it’s not a one-way street. Lastly, they may expect you to be the more ‘tender’ gender…but you go on and celebrate your femininity! You are a woman – you are everything you want to be, you have a different way of thinking and approach, you can be soft or hard, whatever your femininity version is, celebrate it. Bring it to the table, bring it to the boardroom, because it makes you different and diversity is valuable in an organisation. Don’t join running or cycling clubs just because the men are doing it, do and celebrate what is authentic to you and your femininity.

My leadership style and philosophy inform each other. From a style perspective I believe in inclusivity – hearing a lot of voices and opinions then milling over them to come up with the best solution that everyone can buy into. I believe in everyone feeling like they were heard, even if you didn’t use their suggestion or it wasn’t the right fit, they can still stay engaged in the team and give the effort and impact required. I’m also very open minded, people can often come with a solution you didn’t expect and have a different way to approach things to achieve a different result. Also being empathetic is key, realising that we all wake up in order to achieve something – to fend for our families, to put food on the table, to express ourselves creatively or critically, or to spend time with people, or to do something with our lives. We wake up for something, so being an empathetic leader allows for that and creates a safe space for people to meaningfully express themselves..

My philosophy is to build a legacy that leaves a discernible positive impact on all endeavours that I engage in. To build things that will outlive me and be of service to others, allowing others to develop it further. What has informed this in me, are the leaders that I’ve taken into heart, who I aspire to emulate. I’ve been fortunate to see great and horrible leaders, and seeing how the great ones conduct themselves, how they play the game and not the player, how they engage people and bring them along on the journey, how they instil a sense of confidence and trust in their people, and how they lead by trust. These leaders are fallible, they know where their short comings are and they’re not afraid to acknowledge that. This in turn then gives an opportunity for the team to come in to fill in the gaps, complement the leaders skills, and prosper together as a team.

Shared value and making impact is a massive thing for me. Utilising my talents, education, networks and work in order to make an impact through shared value is important. If we define shared value very rustically, which a lot of people misunderstand or don’t understand at all, what it really is, is ‘responsible capitalism’. It’s not about charity or giving alms or people coming to ask with hat in hand. It’s about corporations and entrepreneurs, even individuals, doing work that makes a social difference and making significant money out of it as well.

The traditional charity NGO, NPO or NPC model as it has been existing is perhaps

approaching its sunset. However, there are some encouraging winds of change in some NPCs models that are geared towards creating more self-sustaining or self-reliant communities. I’m lucky enough to be on the Africa Tikkun NPC Board as well as two other boards that I was referred to by Africa Tikkun to add value. Africa Tikkun has been doing tremendously impactful work for many years through their various development programs, but there’s also a number of initiatives that they are involved in that are focused on revitalising township economies and supporting small businesses. The organisation has also been very instrumental in setting up hubs and partnering with local entrepreneurs in townships to help people start their businesses. They’ve also partnered up with other businesses in various industries that are looking to make discernible impact.

In general and globally, there are many Shared Value businesses coming up and lots of talk around ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) and using these lenses as an investment measurement or inspection tool. There seems to be a greater awareness in the world that is being ignited about responsible capitalism and being responsible in how we engage with our clients, customers, stakeholders, suppliers, producers, partners and the entire corporate ecosystem. It’s taken a while, but I think people are starting to see that we need to have a more responsible lens. In Asset Management we are starting to look at and classify investments through that ESG lens and invest accordingly and in turn rewarding companies and investments that score highly on those ESG categories. Then translating that into a Shared Value impact approach, where entrepreneurs and companies are encouraged to get involved in business models and products that are intrinsically designed to leave people better off, while making an attractive profit. These are forprofit businesses, where nobody needs to feel worse off by investing or starting businesses that have a social impact link or agenda to them, and are intentional about social impact outcomes.

All the greed, excess and the bad associations that come with capitalism are softened by the social good we can do if we start paying attention to businesses, products and approaches that are socially aware. We need to think about how to solve social ills by combining approaches beyond CSI and B-BBEE, and incorporate shared value as a differentiating strategic approach in business models and in products.

It’s critical for women be in these spaces. The problem is that the start-up space is very scary and a lot of women tend to want

more secure ventures. We may find that many of women are breadwinners, single mothers, divorcees – whatever has happened in life – but women led households are becoming more predominant and common place. This has added to a more risk-averse mindset. Start-ups by their very nature are seen as a scary venture, because nothing is guaranteed, it may fail, it may be a success or just be mediocre – there’s also a lot of stress that goes into running a start-up. We need women to engage in the economy and significantly so. Women-led organisations are becoming more of an imperative not only because the dynamics of family life have changed dramatically, but also, because women want to! We really want to…and why not? We should get involved, be economically savvy and be in more leadership positions in our economy. It’s important for us to have women representation, for diversity in that field, across industries, within start-ups and importantly, diversity within the ecosystem of start-ups. Especially so that more women can get access to financing - whether it is venture capital initiatives, angel investors or banks themselves - we need more women representing so that there’s more trust in women, that women are deservedly seen as just as capable, demanding and needed as their male counterparts in start-ups. It’s currently very skewed towards men, with women on the safer side of things. We need to occupy that space, leaning into it and adding our diversity so that we can truly democratise access to finance and the economy of South Africa. Once women are more confident and dominant in that space, getting their voices heard and their ideas out there, it’ll encourage even more entrepreneurial women. We’ll see more female-led consortiums, we’ll see new faces, we’ll see a new breed of women, coming in stronger with more ideas and confidence. How beautiful it would be to have so many women in start-ups that we can’t even count them. To have a wide spectrum of ideas, thinking, voices, and approaches. To have those legacies created and inspire others to go for gold, even straight out of university. We can build that confidence and that ’can-do’ nature – we need that feminine boldness.

That’s really like asking “how long is a piece of string?” There’s so much that is still missing. From a woman’s perspective we still need to be blatant, brave and unapologetic about bringing femininity into the workplace. We need to occupy and speak up and do so from a learned and sharing voice. It’s unfortunate, but some people still do speak from a place of not knowing and engage in ways that aren’t moving women forward. It may be unfair, but it’s the world we live in – so you have to realise that it’s not just about you. It’s about the women that are still coming, those who are being marginalised in the workplace and the women at home that are not thought of as contributors to our economy or to business, when in fact they are the caretakers of everybody. It’s important that you realise that you are part of something bigger. When it comes to social impact, it’s important to know that not just us women, but men also, we as human beings are all part of a much bigger picture, and we can only get so far before it starts to crack because we didn’t take care of the social needs of our community, country or continent. For example, can you imagine how much the crime rate may be reduced if we focused on innovative businesses that solved the social ill of unemployment? It’s not about charity, it’s about engaging in business that is impactful, meaningful, measurable, and profitable. We also need to think about being socially responsible in a way that allows you to eat – we all want to eat, I know I do - but I don’t want to eat knowing that it’s going to catch up with me or my nieces and nephews or the people who come after me. Our capitalistic mindsets need to adjust to seeking or creating opportunities that move our societies forward, reduce or remove social ills, and leave a trail of improved conditions wherever we engage in business - you also get a just reward for being entrepreneurial.

There are low-hanging lucrative business fruit that can be picked. Plug into ecosystems where you can do more than just paint classrooms, instead do things that are effective and economically self-sustaining and viable. Start thinking more creatively, innovatively, and more drastically about the future. The way we think is missing. We still think of social as charity, we still think of women as less than, of opportunities as greed, and of capitalism as take what you need and get out. What about thinking about responsible capitalism or women leadership or sustainable social impact as a desired outcome.

There’s a lot that keeps me going. My faith in the Almighty is paramount! My family – my parents, siblings, nieces and nephews – that keeps me going quite a bit. Sometimes it’s difficult to keep going when life throws things at you, but it’s always good to know that there are people on your side, who understand your perspective or can show you a different perspective, help you lift your chin, and propel you forward. I’ve also chosen well when it comes to close friends. I have wonderful, deep, and meaningful friendships. I can lean on my friends, they are generous and very helpful, have good advice, bring additional joy into my life, and accept me warts and all. My resolve to do better and be better also keeps me going. My resolve that I love this country, this continent of Africa. I love life and building and making things better, contributing, talking, getting my perspective out there and getting people to see things differently. Also, it’s an interesting challenge to not necessarily change the status quo, but to use it to get a different result. It may sound counter intuitive, but sometimes we need to look at what we do have and what is established and what the practice is, and sometimes the way you think about it, look at it or approach it can help. It’s about creatively working with what you have to achieving a different result to what has been.

I learned earlier on to speak up and to trust my voice, as well as to lean in and get involved. I was lucky enough that I was encouraged by my various good leaders to speak up, to have something to say, to develop my thinking and my opinions. That was a positive development that shaped the professional that I became. I’m lucky in that I had great leaders who identified certain positive qualities in me and allowed me to take them forward - people who recognised my strengths and shortcomings, but focused on my strengths, which allowed me to harness those and improve on them. This really boosted my confidence. My education also helped, I made the brave decision of leaving my job and ‘cashing in all my chips’ as it were, and going overseas to pursue my MBA at Tel Aviv University – which was an excellent move – but scary! At around age 35 I left a cushy job and income, to return to student life in a new country with a different language, different people and very different culture. It was one of the bravest and most exciting things that I’ve ever done, and I came back with not only an MBA qualification, but also with a different mind-set and approach towards things, a different view of the world and life and that shaped the professional and contributor that I am. I love to contribute, I love to make a difference, but I also work hard and play hard. That has also been shaped by the good leaders that I’ve had, as they’ve helped me to be proud of how I show up in everything.

My advice is to speak up. Say something. You don’t have say something all the time, but when you do, do so from a place of knowledge and an informed opinion. Also ask, there’s nothing wrong with asking. There are platforms and forums, such as Toastmasters that help you build up confidence, formalise your

thoughts and thinking in order to deliver your message effectively. Choose your battles in the corporate world and when you do, be confident. Remember that “no” is a full sentence. You will be tested or relegated to a position or role you don’t want – in those moments, remember that it is your prerogative to say “no, not for me!” I’d also love for women to take another woman forward with them – I’ve had great male bosses, but my best bosses have been women. They really encouraged me, saw talent in me and allowed me to see what it’s like for women leaders and what it’s like to be a woman leader that brings other women along with you. It’s time we shatter the stiletto ceilings – there’s no need for them! Celebrate your femininity in the workplace, you don’t have to be a guy’s girl, you don’t have to learn golf or join the cycling club to get ahead because that’s what the boys are doing. Find your avenue, find your niche – that thing that celebrates who you are and what you bring to the table, because what you bring is important. It’s okay to be an emotional being, it’s also okay to be non-emotional. The more we allow women to have that comfort, the better they are able to express themselves as valuable contributors. The more comfortable they’ll feel in boardrooms and workspaces, and will perceive such spaces as safe zones where they can fully express themselves and bring all their creativity and brilliance to the table, be fully engaged and make a financially and socially impactful difference. Lean forward confidently, fearlessly and celebrate who you are. There’s nothing wrong with crying in a boardroom because you feel frustrated - in fact you should be applauded as you’re not going to go punch a wall (or slap a comedian)! So take back that space or occupy the space and let’s move things forward as women entrepreneurs, women in corporate and women at home. We are fearless contributors, and it is because we are self-aware that we will succeed and help each other to succeed.