Personal Development South Africa

Over the last 15 years many young, black South Africans have sky rocketed to senior positions in corporate South Africa. This is not exclusively as a result of affirmative action policies and BEE principles in general as some might think. A lot of it is a result of hard work and increased opportunity to progress in the workforce.

One notable criticism that many seem to hold is that BEE is basically a tax on South African organisations. To some extent this is justified at present but it needn't and shouldn't be so. There are plenty of very competent black executives and many that show at the very least the political savvy required to progress.

What is lacking can be filtered down to two things:

1. Inadequate marketing of just what BEE executives are doing and how they are adding value. More aggresive advertising of the facts will surely help justify their positions. The issue is of course that they feel they don't need to - after all you're getting the money any way so what difference does it make? It does make a difference. Being branded a useless AA candidate contributes neither to the esteem of black youth nor to the effectiveness of BEE programs.

2. Lack of leadership training and coaching of black executives. In order to be effective in the 'new South Africa' this sort of training which is readily available in the first world is much needed. The training ranges from basic presentation skills all the way through to team coaching and development and executive coaching.

In my experience, the aspirations of black executives need to be sense-checked. This is not to say that 'white' ideals need to be adopted because they now have wealth. But sincere reflection on their own lifestyles, their values and priorites - and these range not only at a career level, but also family, friendships, education and sustainability for future generations. Life coaching South Africa is far from well-developed at present but there is certainly a niche need to be filled. Not only will it benefit South Africa as whole, it will also prove invaluable for those exeuctives in terms of their own personal development