Shaping future leaders

The Emerging Leaders Summit, hosted by The Seed SA, aimed to ignite ambition in the next generation of potential leaders in South Africa.

Speaking at the summit, Amasi Mwela, executive chairman of The Seed SA said, “There are too many people out there with incredible gifts and capabilities who either crave mentorship but don’t have access to it, or never reach their full potential because they don’t have guidance and support.”

The Seed SA is an organisation that aims to positively influence the global corporate, political and social leadership landscape and intends to be a leading voice in bringing out human potential.

Another speaker, Lincoln Mali, regional executive head at Standard Bank, had attendees captivated with his advice on what a good leader is. He spoke about leaders being accountable and working with staff members rather than against them, and the importance of working on the ground as opposed to sitting behind a desk and trying to run a business.

“Know yourself, be in touch with yourself, have contact with your team and advisors, and then you can see yourself being a leader,” said Mali.

“Each leader, or potential leader, has to place the people he or she works with in the centre and be responsive to their needs, this also means being respectful of their wishes and accountable to them.”

He added that in doing this, leaders had to be selfless in their contribution, inclusive in their decisions, humble in their behaviour and inspiring in their actions.

Other speakers on the day were South Africa’s first black chartered accountant, Nonkululeko Gobodo; entrepreneur Joshua Ouma; and CEO of MTN South Africa, Mteto Nyati.

Details: www.theseedsa.org