After years of being asked to participate in the IIG Roots and Wings, 2024 was finally the year that I decided to give it a go. I was nervous that I might impact someone’s life for the worse instead of the better and thus my reluctance until now. My intentions with the program were clear; put yourself out there to see if you can make a difference not just in your own organisation but also in the industry, and more importantly in someone else’s life.
It started with a speed dating session where you had five minutes to interact with as many mentees as possible, learn what you have in common and find your match. I can’t even remember when last I went on a first date, let alone multiple in one day. Everyone I met was inspired to be better; to grow within the industry and basically just hungry for some guidance and exposure and I realised our industry will be in good hands for years to come and long after we are gone.
I was lucky enough to be paired with Anele Tsewu. Soon after our mix-and-match; I realised the intention was to make me more conscious about the fact that I am very “red and blue” and sometimes need to be more “yellow and green”. Even in our first session with Linda, our program facilitator, I point blank stated I was red and could not care less if people don’t like me. Now I am stressing if my mentee is learning something from me every week. It’s amazing how time changes things.
I don’t want to focus too much on my mentee and our in-depth conversations, but rather on two things I have learnt from her during this journey. I tested these findings within my own organisation and established that a lot of our employees are fearful of leaders. It is not the fear of becoming leaders, but rather fearful to face leadership on a day-to-day basis.
Our mentorship engagements have led to some changes in my own organisation. Together with my leadership team, we are now more invested in leading with inspiration, compassion, motivation and positivity and my new favorite “ingredient” now in almost every conversation is that “it’s all about the vibe”. This basically comes down to how we say it and not necessarily what we say.
This has changed the dynamic so much in my own environment by just breaking those barriers and people having the freedom to come and speak to us regardless of the title we hold. This had also led to some massive changes in how we do our work daily from consultant level all the way up to divisional head.
The other big thing I have learnt thus far is that sometimes as leaders, we need to be the voice for those that are too scared, for whatever reason, to make their voice heard. Lots and lots of individual conversations within my team over the last two months have again led to massive changes in the “vibe” we live here at work by purely listening to their voices. The more our staff realise their voices matter, the more voices are coming to the forefront which is great to see.
In conclusion, if you have a choice…always choose to be “lekker” as no one wants to dread coming to work every day. Live the change you want to see everyday and those that are jumping off the ship will start sailing it with you.
Thank you Anele for allowing me to be part of your journey and being part of mine!
Article written by Hannes Nothnagel | Mentor – Discovery Insure
