Leaders urged to be the kind of leaders people remember

One Seed at a Time: Growth Lessons from Conscious Leaders event presented by United Growth Group was hosted this past week at Katy's Palace, Kramerville, Sandton.

The event centered on conscious leadership, exploring themes of failure, pressure, and purpose was hosted by Pepe Marais, United Growth Group Co-Founder, Chief Purpose and Vision Officer.

Speaking at the event, Nthabiseng Hlophe Matshekga, Executive Head of Integrated Marketing & Experience at Nedbank highlighted that there is a version of leadership that looks good from a distance and the kind of leadership people actually remember.

According to Matshekga, self-trust matters because it gives a leader something deeper to stand on. “People can be taught how to climb a ladder, manage KPIs and pursue increasingly impressive roles without ever being taught how to trust their own feet. But leadership cannot be entirely borrowed from the organisation around you.” 

Rather than presenting leadership as a performance of certainty, Matshekga highlighted the cracks, the waiting, the people who shape others and the responsibility of making sure something continues to grow behind them.

“Look at your team, the grace you give meaningful work, the culture you're busy building that makes it easy for people to not only do their best, but be at their best. A team can be productive without necessarily being well. People can meet targets without feeling that they belong. And a culture cannot be reduced to what is written on a wall or included in an employee handbook. This distinction matters and that is part of the culture a leader should be paying attention,” she told the audience.

Alongside Matshekga, the speaker lineup featured prominent business leaders including:

·      Mteto Nyati, Business leader, turnaround specialist & Eskom Chairman

·      Dr Taddy Blecher CEO & Co-founder, Maharishi Invincibility Institute

·      Sian Louw,CEO & Founder, The K3Y

·      Godiragetse “Godi” Mogajane, Founder & CEO, Delivery Ka Speed

These conscious leaders shared their seeds of wisdom, experience and the importance of leadership in knowing yourself, awakening human potential,  getting people moving as one and turning problems into possibilities.