Posted on June 17th, 2020 by SBS-ED
Buffet, Bezos, Barra…What do the world’s greatest leaders have in common? It’s a question many have asked, with similar conclusions. Harvard Business Review (HBR) pinpoints three essential leadership traits as ‘long-term thinking, short-term savvy and a relentless focus on employees’.
The good news? These are leadership qualities that can be learned. Leadership lessons never end; leadership is a journey of lifelong learning, so perhaps the most important traits of all are a love of knowledge and insatiable curiosity.
The CEO Genome Project was a ten-year study of renowned CEOs to identify shared traits. One of its most interesting findings is that although extroverts tend to be seen as leaders, introverted CEOs usually have a better influence on the bottom-line. There have been a few examples of this during COVID-19, with empathetic leadership being lauded over the traditional ‘strongman’ approach.
Another finding showed how critical it is for leaders to be decisive. Leaders who could come to decisions quickly were 12-times more likely to be high-performing CEOs.
Here are some of the other common leadership traits that many Fortune 500 leaders have in common:
1. Think long-term – an essential leadership strategy:
This is an art that starts with learning to effectively scenario plan. Imagine all the different possible futures for your business and then pinpoint the most likely ones. Identify prospective risks and opportunities and then actively put measures in place now to encourage the best-outcome scenarios to unfold.
Most decisions have longer-term consequences; learn to keep the big picture in mind. With this inevitably comes agility. Thinking in the long-term means ensuring a business has the nimbleness to adapt to unexpected curveballs – whether that’s a short-term market downturn or a global pandemic.
2. Engage with stakeholders:
The Genome Project found CEOs that engaged with company stakeholders were 75% more likely to succeed in their roles. This aligns with HBR’s trait of being absolutely focused on employees. CEOs need to consistently engage all stakeholders in a meaningful way.
That means constantly interacting with employees on a one-on-one basis, meeting with shareholders and the board, and checking in with customers – and balancing the interests of all three. While it used to be very much about shareholder value, the emphasis has shifted to creating shared value. Engagement must reflect this.
3. Be reliable:
This is key to good leadership. Successful leaders are often those who are the most consistently reliable – who show up, make decisions, act and delegate. A large part of leadership is keeping one’s promises.
4. Improve productivity:
Part of ‘short-term savvy’ means implementing iterative ingenuity to make step changes from a productivity perspective. What are the immediate actions you can take now to improve operational efficiencies? What quick measures can you trial to fail forwards fast? To do this, a leader needs a systems thinking approach to understand how all the cogs in a business relate to one another.
5. Love to learn:
Many great leaders are avid readers, which demonstrates an ongoing quest for knowledge and a continued curiosity about the world. Learning to lead is a journey, with practical and theoretical lessons at every point. Of course, experience is always the number one knowledge instiller, but doing courses, reading, listening to talks, training, networking and engaging with a mentor are also critical ways to hone key traits.
Conclusion:
As a leader, consider enrolling in one of our leadership courses such as the Executive Development Programme. Great leaders recognise that leadership lessons never end – there’s always something new to learn and that is part of the joy of the job. In COVID-19, empathetic leadership has shown its importance and softer skills have never been as valued. It’s time to hone your capabilities and develop the top traits many of the best leaders in the world have in common.
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Posted on June 9th, 2020 by SBS-ED
When COVID-19 first hit South Africa’s shores in March, President Cyril Ramaphosa stepped up and showed the world he had the leadership qualities required to keep the country and its citizens safe. Even in his most awkward moments (that mask…), he’s shown us the qualities that make a great leader.
Here are five to cultivate and hone in your own leadership journey:
- RESILIENCE
The spirit of a true leader is not how well they perform during times of ease but rather how they roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty during times of difficulty. A leadership trait that comes with experience, resilient leaders are also resourceful and agile. President Ramaphosa showed us his resilient side by remaining positive and calm in the face of a deadly pandemic and rallied all South Africans to support the initial lockdown of the country.
2. HUMILITY
You may have heard the proverb “to err is human, to forgive is divine”. Well, Uncle Cyril showed us just how true this could be when he ended off his televised address by awkwardly fumbling with his face mask and putting it on incorrectly. The next day, in another televised appearance, he made a joke about it – at his own expense. His relatable actions and the vulnerability he displayed just made the nation fall even more in love with him.
3. EMPATHY
Understanding your employees is a key quality of any good leader. When the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) decided to extend the lockdown, the President delivered the news with a compassionate look on his face and thanked all South Africans for their efforts in the fight to stop the spread of the disease. This engagement at layman’s level endeared him to many people and stoked a connection between the president and his countrymen.
4. INFLUENCE
Despite popular belief, being influential doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. The President’s first few speeches about the novel coronavirus focused on working together, keeping spirits up and appreciating the part every citizen could play in stopping the spread of the disease. This type of influence can be likened to inspiration when it is done in an authentic and transparent way.
5. DIPLOMACY AND RESPECT
These two traits go hand-in-hand. The greatest leaders don’t demand respect; instead, it’s earned through treating everyone with consideration and courtesy as well as standing up for your team.
These are just five of many leadership skills that great leaders embody. Learn these and more with our Senior Management Development Programme (SMDP), which helps prepare senior managers who want to develop a strategic leadership mindset and acquire the ability to sense and respond to new business models.
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Posted on June 8th, 2020 by SBS-ED
At USB-ED a Learning Process Facilitator (LPF) plays the vital role of mediator, mentor and advisor to participants and groups. Please let us introduce you to Roger Maitland, USB-ED LPF.
Tell us a little more about your professional experiences, particularly those not mentioned on your resume/application.
Reflecting back on my career, it was the political transition in 1994 in South Africa that shaped my career trajectory. I had a deep desire to contribute to socio-economic transformation of our country. This has taken many forms, which included leading a national youth development programme, helping to establish a tertiary institution with the vision of making counselling and psychological services more accessible in South Africa, and helping to launch the first masters and doctoral degrees in coaching in South Africa. I then co-founded LifeLab, a consulting business, and have coached leaders, teams and developed the internal coaching capacity of organisations both locally and internationally. My focus now is on contributing to the transition to a more sustainable future by applying an approach I developed in my PhD which works to build organisation-wide engagement in sustainability initiatives. Sustainability can be considered to be the greatest challenge faced by our generation and I believe that a coaching with a systemic orientation can made a meaningful contribution.
How do you define good teaching?
Good teachers, facilitators and coaches create an environment which helps people to learn. It’s important to define learning. David Kolb, well-known for his development of experiential learning theory, defined learning as “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience”. This is perhaps most important, that learning happens not in garnering new knowledge in class, but in attempting to apply knowledge in a real situation and gradually through reflection and experimentation, seeking to transform that experience. A teacher thus can’t make you learn; it is up to you to stretch yourself and step outside of your comfort zone!
What do you think are the most important attributes of a good instructor?
We face immense uncertainty and complexity in our world with the COVID-19 pandemic and the broader sustainability transition. Many of the problems we face are ‘wicked’, that is, interconnected and often symptoms of other problems. These kind of problems often require collaboration across a wide range of expertise and don’t often have definitive solutions. Good teaching today requires that we teach people to think, and to learn. Most of all, it’s about instilling humility, courage and a conscious values orientation. Good teachers resist the temptation to strip out the complexity and give in to the demand for easy-to-consume knowledge. Good teachers stay with the question longer. Good teachers learn.
Share your ideas about professional development
Whilst it is very popular these days to promote lifelong learning, I worry that this pervasive focus on professional development may be fuelling an endless quest for driving performance at all costs. I think we would do a lot better as a species if we stepped back and paused, perhaps as we are being forced do to during lockdown, to think carefully about what we are really achieving. What development is needed to experience wellbeing? What is driving our need to perform and achieve? Simply put, our professional development needs to be more personal, and consider not just ourselves, taking on a much wider perspective – have you thought about how your work or way of life is impacting on future generations or other species?
How do you engage students?
I believe that learning should be, as much as possible, self-organised. Since learning is ultimately up to the student and most often happens outside of the formal proceedings of learning programmes, it is crucial that learning is centred around aspirations or challenges faced by the student. This provides a compelling reason to learn which leads to engagement. Another thing worth remembering is that for all of us, learning started out as play, and a playful attitude is our best resource when seeking to try out something new which typically comes with a temporary dip in performance as we learn to master performing at a new level.
Why did you choose this profession/field?
To elaborate on what I’ve already said on this, I chose this field out of a discontent and concern with the state of our world – socially, economically and environmentally. I chose this field to together discover more fulfilling ways of living and appreciating this incredible world we find ourselves in.
What have you learned during your engagements with participants?
They say that the best way to learn is to teach. Ideas are not born fully formed but are incubated in dialogue with others. I have come to realise that most of what I consider to be my ideas are in reality the shared creation of the learning communities I have participated in. Most of all, I’ve discovered how little I know in the broader scheme of things, and that the best way to grasp a more comprehensive view of reality is to think with others about the things we seek to understand.
What are one or two of your proudest professional accomplishments?
Thinking back, many moments are etched in my memory. The ones that stand out the most for me are not the accolades but the more subtle moments. It’s the moment when a person catches a glimpse of the potential that lies beyond a limited view of themselves, the moment when a team lets go of internal competition and discovers what is possible when they truly collaborate. These are moments that make me proud, not so much of me, but to be human.
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Posted on June 5th, 2020 by SBS-ED
This past week, South African Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga announced that learners would begin returning to school on 1 June, starting with grades 7 and 12. This, after more than two months which saw academic institutions pivoting their operations to remote or distance learning in response to COVID-19.
While many have equated remote learning with online learning, there is a difference – and it’s important to understand the limitations of each in order to reap the full benefits of learning while at home, no matter your age.
What is the difference between remote learning and online learning?
Remote Learning
According to Susan Grajek of Educause, a non-profit association based in the United States, remote learning is a “quick, ad hoc, low fidelity mitigation strategy” that is a response to the lockdowns and social distancing currently seen across the world. Basically, this type of learning allows teachers and learners to stay connected and engaged with their curriculum while working from home.
One of the most common drawbacks, which has proliferated during the COVID-19 lockdown, is that remote learning is typically linked to emergency situations and teachers and learners are often not accustomed to the distance they will experience.
Preparedness, technology tools and support infrastructure are key aspects of remote learning, says Tech & Learning, and something many of South Africa’s learning institutions were unprepared for. Additionally, a lack of access to internet services due to the inequalities in our society has also made it extremely difficult for learners and lecturers to pursue distance learning in this way.
Some solutions that have proved useful are mailed assignment packs, the use of social media, educational television and radio programmes, and zero-rated educational content where data charges do not apply when accessing a specific website.
Online Learning
Online learning is often a well-designed system that prioritises engagement, interactivity and immediate measurables. Freedom Learning Group (FLG) CEO Nathan Ecelbarger describes online learning environments as sites that are easy to navigate, clear and concise, that build intentional learning experiences. They also encourage research and critical thinking instead of memorisation.
The most prolific use of online learning can be found in higher education institutes targeted at postgraduate students or professionals. In these settings, classes are formal and led by a professor or an expert in the field of study – and they are accessible from anywhere as long as you have a working internet connection.
The beauty of online learning also lies in its ability to go at your own pace (within reason as you’ll still have deadlines for assignments) as well as the access you have to additional resources and video conferencing or direct messaging with your lecturers.
How online and remote learning can work for you and your employees during the COVID-19 pandemic
USB-ED is well-versed in online learning but since the nationwide lockdown, we’ve also pivoted to providing remote learning for all our usual face-to-face programmes. Both these learning options provide employers and employees with an opportunity to upskill themselves from the comfort of their homes, ensuring you are a flexible resource for your business, which, like many companies across the world, is most likely looking at streamlining its workforce in an effort to keep its doors open after the pandemic.
That said, USB-ED’s remote learning programmes incorporate live, synchronous class schedules that enable classroom interactions via technology and immediate engagement. You’ll not only enjoy distance learning but will benefit from a highly collaborative online education platform, too.
Conclusion:
Now is also the best time to upskill yourself as it will not only take your mind off the current situation but prepare you for a world post-COVID – one where personal resilience and adaptability will be valued.
Still unsure whether online and remote learning are for you? Click here to watch our DigiBytes video for the low-down on all things digital learning.
Posted in Career Development |
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Posted on June 1st, 2020 by SBS-ED
USB-ED is fortunate to have access to more than 300 part-time faculty, consultants, business leaders and industry experts who facilitate on our programmes.
Today we would like to introduce you to Nicholas King.
What is the toughest leadership challenge businesses face today?
The social licence to operate (SLO). Any business today must be able to show it is first and foremost necessary, relevant and contributes positively to wider society’s longer-term goals, for example the SDG’s. Profit is a luxury after that, other than what is necessary to get and keep the business afloat i.e. profit is not the objective but the means to the end. Dedicated, transparent and verifiable efforts to maximise resource efficiency, minimise/eliminate waste and pollution, optimise employee benefits (and wider social contributions) and restore ecological degradation are all part of the ‘bottom-line’. Very broadly for example I would argue that the sugar and tobacco industries cannot meet these requirements, and that they utilise precious resources such as land, water and energy, generate wastes and pollutants, and severely compromise human health, all in the name of profit. Imagine the societal benefits if we could grow food crops and/or restore ecosystem integrity and biodiversity on the land under these crops? The business of business is not business, but social benefit – and the SLO will increasingly demand this.
What is the most valuable lesson you have learned from a student to date?
Never assume that what you intend to be interpreted and understood from your presentation/lecture/activity content is what will be gleaned – check and check again how key messages are being received and interpreted.
Who inspires you and why?
Environmental and social justice activists, most especially so-called Indigenous people who daily put their lives in danger, and indeed often sacrifice their lives to protect the natural resources which sustain humanity and all life on Earth, and which they consider sacred as a result – as we all should.
What attracted you to work with USB-ED?
The opportunity to raise awareness of these 21st century leadership challenges, to share new, innovative, values-based approaches, and ‘futures thinking’ to those who are or will be business and thus societal leaders.
Do you have a mantra or slogan that you live by?
“The only thing which refutes science is better science”
What career advice would you give yourself looking back to when you started out?
Seek greater complexity, lateral thinking, connectivity and systems thinking in everything; we are unfortunately taught in silos, and the world does not work in silos.
Tell us about a book you have recently read?
Naomi Klein: On Fire: the burning case for a Green New Deal. 2019. Over the past two decades, Naomi Klein has been exposing the devastating exploitation of people and the planet as sacrifices on the altar of corporate greed, and demanding restorative justice. This book compiles over a decade of her most impassioned writings from the frontlines of our war on nature and society, and melds it with new material on how we are now on the cusp of the biggest gamble in human history – and whether we will pull it off. A fantastic read and motivational call to action for anyone and everyone who cares more about others than themselves.
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Posted on May 20th, 2020 by SBS-ED
USB-ED is fortunate to have access to more than 300 part-time faculty, consultants, business leaders and industry experts who facilitate on our programmes.
Today we would like to introduce you to Dr Cynthia Schoeman.
What is the toughest leadership challenge businesses face today?
The imperative to maintain an ethical focus and to continue to behave ethically in a hugely changed situation that easily lends itself to excluding the concerns and interests of internal and external stakeholders
What is the most valuable lesson you have learned from a student to date?
From students in general, the most valuable lesson is to listen to their views and to really seek to understand what informs their views.
Who inspires you and why?
Making a difference inspires me. Why: because in our country we have great need of an ethical difference.
What attracted you to work with USB-ED?
Having the opportunity to share my work in the area of ethics more broadly and, ideally, to shape their thinking about ethics.
Do you have a mantra or slogan that you live by?
To make a difference, you first have to give a damn (which stems from the title of my first book, “Ethics: Giving a Damn, Making a Difference”)
What career advice would you give yourself looking back to when you started out?
To have started working in the field of workplace ethics even earlier than I did.
Tell us about a book you have recently read?
Jennie by Paul Gallico, a choice influenced by the need for something wonderful to read to detract from the stress of the current period.
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Posted on May 14th, 2020 by SBS-ED
In March, the Wall Street Journal published an article on ‘Lessons for the Coronavirus Crisis from Six Other Disasters’. The authors highlighted three key lessons through examples of the 1918 Spanish Flu (which killed 50 million or more around the world), the 1957 Asian Flu Pandemic (which killed over a million), 9/11, and the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which had a huge impact on our collective psyche and on many businesses’ strategies. The main lessons emerged as:
1. There is an inevitable, devastating trade-off between economic stability and public health and safety.
2. Uncertainty often hinders policymakers from acting quickly. Early responses are frequently ‘timid or off-target’ and political disagreement can delay more sweeping action.
3. Disasters can permanently change habits. Individual sectors can take years to recover… but our society as a whole is remarkably resilient.
Right now, we are going through an unprecedented pandemic, but we have been through disasters before. And, as evidenced above, there are some learnings we can apply to the current situation. Especially from how businesses have managed to use strategic planning and scenario planning to ultimately emerge stronger. Here, Dr Morne Mostert, Director for Futures Research at Stellenbosch University and USB-ED faculty, looks back at how we have recovered from previous crises, for consideration during Covid-19:
How to rebuild after a crisis
Firstly, he says a business cannot emerge from a crisis through back-to-basics alone. A creative interpretation of one’s core business must support any consolidation efforts.
He says for businesses trying to rebuild, now is the time to take some advice from the outside. But, also, to reflect on internal operations, “Failure can be the result of many factors, some of which are external, and some which are generated internally.” He highlights six of the most pervasive destructive bahaviours
- Unrelated diversification
- an aristocratic exco and board
- untouchable CEO
- bureaucracy
- unethical behaviour
- and hubris
This kind of self-reflection takes strong leadership and management. Strategic leadership is imperative for agile adaptation to unprecedented circumstances. Mostert says there is no magic bullet, “However, an unusual combination of consolidation (often with brutal cost-cutting) and related innovation, such as with Apple (iPod), Chrysler (K-Car) and IBM (mainframes) often seems to do the trick. New leadership (such as Mulally at Ford or Hurd at HP) can also offer renewed energy, even if the former management team were not entirely to blame for the collapse. But this requires circumspection, e.g. in the case of Apple, it was both false (with Sculley) and true (with Jobs).”
He suggests that, right now, businesses should be engaging in a reality check by asking key questions like:
- How successful are we really?
- How do we actually make money?
- Why do clients buy from us and not the competitors?
- How innovative are we really?
- Which assumptions have turned out to be false?
- What are we really good at?
- Who are we and what is our preferred identity?
Finally, Mostert suggests using methods like scenario planning to imagine multiple possible futures. “Among those are alternative futures, i.e. futures that do not resemble the current future. By imagining new possibilities, senior decision-makers may begin to conceive of their post-crisis identity.”
Conclusion:
Now is the time to use strategic scenario planning to conceptualise the most likely possible futures and to have action plans for each of these. Enrol in USB-ED’s scenario planning course for some post-lockdown lessons in how to rebuild.
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Posted on May 13th, 2020 by SBS-ED
USB-ED is fortunate to have access to more than 300 part-time faculty, consultants, business leaders and industry experts who facilitate on our programmes.
Today we would like to introduce you to Anne-marie le Roux.
What is the toughest leadership challenge businesses face today?
Information overload with technology disrupters and economic, social and environmental concerns everywhere…. It is the best and the worst of times to lead in. I think the ability to make sense of all of this intellectually, and to still have the empathy to really connect with and inspire people, are all parts of the challenges leaders face.
What is the most valuable lesson you have learned from a student to date?
I learn something in every session! To experience the struggle between the anxiety of growth and the joy of discovery. It humbles me when students have life defining experiences in a session – for me the lesson is about doing the work needed to be your best and true self.
Who inspires you and why?
Good people making bad decisions – they make me want to do better!
What attracted you to work with USB-ED?
I am an alumna of USB-ED, so when Thys Pretorius, my ex-colleague from Woolworth asked if I could assist with a session, it was like coming home.
Do you have a mantra or slogan that you live by?
My screen saver is an oldie but a goody, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’… easier said than done.
What career advice would you give yourself looking back to when you started out?
Yes, just do it!
Tell us about a book you have recently read?
I currently prefer shorter pieces to read or watch like blogs and articles or vlogs. If something interests me I usually go for an audiobook through audible.com. I am currently toggling between ‘Practical Ethics’ by Peter Singer an older one, ‘The better Angels of our Nature’ by Steven Pinker. I find their perspectives very interesting.
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Posted on May 12th, 2020 by SBS-ED
The world is now fully engulfed in a work from home paradigm. As South Africa tackles the next phases of the lockdown, working remotely appears to be part of the foreseeable future. While telecommuting is not unusual for some employees, having an entire workforce working from home with just a few days to prepare, has been a baptism by fire for managers.
Overseeing a team of people remotely can be tricky but achievable if you are willing to adapt your previous strategies. By making allowances for your team to adjust, and setting up a new, well-defined protocol, you can ensure that people are productive and motivated while being managed remotely.
With the return to normal work conditions still uncertain, having a continuing stream of work could be mentally exhausting for teams to accomplish. By using a project management approach, you can define and accomplish smaller goals that can boost morale and minimise anxiety.
5 ways to effectively manage teams working remotely from home
Here are some project management strategies that you can implement now to make the most of your social distancing workforce:
1. Be flexible
Anyone who has managed a project knows that change happens and how we adapt to that change is what catalyses a successful result. Remember that these are not traditional telecommuting situations and many people on your team are still orientating themselves to life during a worldwide pandemic. The stresses of home-schooling children, engaging with a partner, concerns for family and friends, and working from home are frequently mentally and physically exhausting.
Understand that personal situations will bleed into traditional working hours. Encourage your team to find their most productive schedule and share that with you. Flexible working can produce better results. For example, most parents will find it hard to work on a new task at noon when kids are hungry for lunch but can tackle tasks much easier after hours, once kids are asleep.
2. Set clear expectations
Every project should have measurable goals so the team knows when it has achieved success. This gives your team defined goals to work towards and can minimise the exhaustion of a never-ending assignment. Be realistic about your expected output from the team.
You will need to carefully gauge if the workload is too heavy by continuously checking in and evaluating the quality of the work. Adjust accordingly or risk a team burnout.
Try taking on a more relaxed approach about how the work is done and focus on the final product. This will give your team the ability to self-direct their smaller tasks and keep you from being a micromanager. By allowing remote teams to develop their own time-management skills away from the office, you are showing them a level trust that boost morale and productivity.
3. Resource your team
Every project needs the right equipment to function effectively. Be sensitive to the kinds of limitations your team is facing. Access to the internet, a computer with a camera or even a quiet space to have endless online meetings are a luxury that might not be available everyone.
Send out a general email listing the items your team will need to keep working from home productively and then add ways your company will contribute to assisting everyone with getting those resources. Ask anyone in need to privately contact you or your office manager for assistance. It can be as simple as providing additional airtime or loading a WIFI dongle.
4. Establish the rules of engagement
Keeping in regular contact with your team is an essential part of any project – but especially within a work from home dynamic. Have an open discussion about how often you need to meet virtually and what platforms work best for everyone. This will allow your team to keep to build a schedule and prepare adequately to meet this expectation. Depending on the team structure, offering the option for individual calls or smaller group check-in could keep conversations short and topical.
Try to diversify the kinds of communication methods you use depending on the type of message. Online calls could be used for your regular briefings and group messages could be for more urgent matters or quick answers. For more complex issues, always offer a phone call as an option so there are no mixed messages as you approach solutions.
Virtual calls will also provide the much needed social interaction that we are all lacking during the lockdown. Set aside some time before or after each call to catch up on how everyone is doing and to share a funny story about our new lifestyles. Workplace banter can provide some much needed comic relief. Effective management does not have to be serious.
5. Offer encouragement and emotional support
With our personal and professional lives closely intertwined, the need for empathy is essential. A project is only as strong as it weakest team member. No one will be operating at maximum efficiency at all times – including you. Virtual conversations can keep people from sharing their struggles and blinds you to physical cues that someone on your team is struggling.
Continue to encourage your team regularly so they can feel their work is being recognised. Make yourself available for your team to reach out to if they are taking strain.
If necessary, seek out an online counselling service that they can use during this time. And remember to do a wellness check on yourself. Leaders are vulnerable to burnout too.
Conclusion
Enrol today in USB-ED’s Project Management course; one that provides leadership and team leadership strategies that will benefit anyone in a position of management.
Taking a project management approach to overseeing your team as many work from home can have extraordinary benefits that can increase productivity but also foster team spirit. As we continue in our new COVID-19 reality, every task must be broached with kindness and compassion. With empathetic leadership, your team will flourish.
USB-ED has seen the immediate need to change the dynamic of our executive education programmes so professionals can continue to pursue new qualifications while physical interactions are limited.
All face-to-face programmes have transitioned to remote learning until such time that the President, World Health Organisation (WHO), and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) deem it acceptable to resume normal activities. However, classes will keep to a live and synchronous schedule to enable classroom interactions and immediate engagement from the Learning Process Facilitators (LPF’s).
Posted in Talent Development |
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Posted on May 11th, 2020 by SBS-ED
A business-driven action learning (BDAL) project stemming from a USB-ED customised programme presented in 2019, the National Research Foundation (NRF) New to Management Development Programme, has proven to be significantly useful during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of the programmes run by USB-ED consist of a BDAL group project, which is a practical assignment focused on achieving leadership development and true organisational transformation, using a results-focused orientation. The team from the NRF, Semina Rebus (Latin for ‘seeds of success’), developed an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), which also earned them the top group award for their project. Following the global pandemic of COVID-19, the NRF have been able to implement the recommendations made by the group project regarding the rolling out an EAP to NRF staff.
“Needless to say, the team is very pleased to see this being actioned,” said Dr Dave Thompson, team member.
The NRF said in a statement to staff: “The NRF recognises the increased uncertainty and additional burdens that the pandemic may place on all of us. Your safety and wellbeing as employees and colleagues remains our priority. To respond to this, we have embarked on a process of sourcing an Online Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which will be offered for free to all NRF employees. This EAP will consist of the following services:
Online, 24-hour, 7 days a week Employee Counselling Services which include:
- Psychosocial support
- Clinical support
- Manager support
- Family care
- Financial wellbeing
- Trauma and grief counselling support
These services will be available via telephone, SMS, WhatsApp, Email and some social media platforms as well as via the service provider’s wellness portal. You will be able to utilise them as often as you need to.”
Well done to Mrs. Melissa Govender, Mr. Faried Karels, Mrs. Tshego Makete, Mrs. Zethu Ntsoane and Dr Dave Thompson on having their group project implemented by their organisation. We wish the NRF and its staff well during these unprecedented times.
Posted in Leadership, Talent Development |
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