Archive for the ‘Testimonials’ Category

Feedback to Shahbaz Aftab from Heavy Industries Taxila Education City, Pakistan

Monday, December 21st, 2009

HEAVY INDUSTRIES TAXILA EDUCATION CITY
SECRETARIAT

Dated: 15 Dec, 2009

To: Shahbaz Aftab
Schuitema Associates
Muslim Town, Lahore

Subject: Workshop Feedback

Dear Mr Shahbaz Aftab,

I would like to thank you for an extremely enriching session you conducted for HITEC teachers.

This was a unique experience for the teachers, who were not only inspired but as their comments reflect, lead them to thinking for change. The activities gave them all an opportunity to develop a commitment for the cause of teaching and caring for the children.

I have quoted a few comments given by the teachers in feedback forms:

“Today I am changed. The workshop has set within me an internal dialogue and I pinpoint the flaws in my personality.”

“Today was one of my excellent days; hope we will get the chance in future also.”

“The workshop awakened my inner self and gave a cause to our lives.”

“Your style of delivering the workshop was conversational type. It was quite philosophical and through promoting.”

“It was a great learning experience.”

“A successful workshop done by the resource person.”

Looking forward to seeing you again.

Thank you.

Shaista Shahid
Director Academics

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Our Journey to Personal Excellence: Atherly Khan, Jason Naidoo and Lorraine Molope

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

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Experience is the only word to describe what we have been through, this past year. 

 

A host of events which resulted in our final destination.  The same methodology of Care and Growth was applied in the systematic presentation of our Training.

 

The contribution of the Facilitator gave us the result, which was to arm us with the values of a True Leader.

 

The culmination of the Training, feedback session, blogging, newsletters and most of all the Team interaction has brought us to our final destination.

 

Each Month we entered a new journey, where we given tools, means and above all the ability to tackle any issue, practically and spiritually.

 

The most profound lesson was that Lessons learnt are nothing compared to lessons experienced.

 

We have been through Change of every nature, and we had ability to guide us, each of us experienced individual learning’s which were both personal and true to them.

 

We believe in the concept of Care and Growth and we will definitely continue to use the principals in both our personal and professional lives. We have seen the effects of the transformation in our leadership style and it has been phenomenal to say the least.

Feedback To Wendy Lambourne on her Presentation at a Knowledge Resources Conference on

Monday, December 7th, 2009

Just out of interest – I think you were the only person who got 100%  - this is fantastic.

Kind regards

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Debbie Atwell

Conference Producer

Knowledge Resources

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Feedback to Wendy Lambourne from Leaders at the Singita Grumeti Reserve in Tanzania

Monday, December 7th, 2009

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Graham Ledger: I wanted to thank you for coaching us so professionally and record that I took away a great deal of value from our one day session – I shall (already am) use the tools presented to good use and am aiming to liaise with Pam to get you back here in 2010 to continue the work.

 

Mandy Cloete: Thank you so much for sending Wendy up for the Care and Growth workshop – it was so appropriate and beneficial for everyone.

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Horst Jäger on Care and Growth

Friday, December 4th, 2009

Horst Jäger

Horst Jäger

 

Testimonial - Care and Growth Leadership Model

After having been exposed to the benefits of the Care and Growth Leadership model as a young and inexperienced manager in a production environment in the gold mining industry in the late 1980’s I have used it successfully on several occasions to lay the foundation for building high performance mining teams.

 The model manages to legitimize the supervisor, subordinate power relationship and effectively deals with the intent of the leader, as respect for others, is the core value present in all successful l supervisors and managers.   The empowerment model develops clear line of sight for each individual in terms of their unique contribution to the business and ascribes means, ability and accountability responsibilities to the both supervisor and subordinate.

 With this in place and the issues of time, authority, control, coaching and how to hold people accountable being dealt with and an accountability and leadership diagnostic tool in the toolbox the organization’s leadership is equipped to start applying the newly acquired thinking in the working environment. Experience has shown that this change is best done top down and that senior management buy in and support are key success factors as the do-as-I- tell-you approach does not quite cut it if you are not living the Care and Growth Leadership lifestyle and it is a way of life.

 The biggest beneficiaries of this intervention are the operators at the shop floor as their line supervisors and managers not only develop strong service cultures but mature in their intent and behaviour towards those they have been appointed to lead.  The simplicity and fundamental truths underpinning the learning make this a popular organizational intervention as the principles hold true for both the working and personal lives of every human being.

 I can therefore strongly recommend its use as a tool for effecting sustainable change in the culture and performance of mining operations.

Feedback to Etsko Schuitema from a Leadership Programme run by GIBS for UNICEF in Hong Kong: October 2008

Friday, December 4th, 2009

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General Comments: Etsko Schuitema

 

·         Most valuable session - wraps up all skills and models in block 1 and 2

·         The best session in block 2!!

·         I was most appealed to this session. Etsko was very excellent and was able to engage me without using any technology. It was amazing. However, it would be better if he went a bit slower and had some key points, wrapped up in a power point format

·         Very good/heart of second block

·         Very thought provoking session. How the lessons can be applied with in free organization may have to be evaluated carefully given sensitivities. The radical idea however have to be re-examined carefully on to the readiness of the organization

·         Very knowledgeable person with clear feedback on the issues raised

·         An excellent session and presenter

·         Etsko is a great lecturer and motivator

·         The ideas and concepts introduced are extremely useful and insightful

·         Good interaction and convincing in communicating with delegates

·         Difficult content maybe for some national staff given the very fast pace

·         Very attractive and good result of the lecture

·         Content matter was almost explosive in its perspectives and insights. This would help many more people steer the organization on a better course, if showed how to do it. Subject of this nature should be allowed more time to discuss/reflect. Also other lectures should be placed (sequenced) so as to logically follow on the growth of this participant for example “UNICEF strategic challenges” was a letdown after a mind opening session by Etsko. For some reason UNICEF speakers are always deflating.

·         The best session of the second block, from the content to the way it was presented. The concept examines fundamentally our approach to leadership, and how “giving” is the key to the empowerment and growth of others. Two thumbs up!!

·         Although a bit evangelical it was convincing. The care and growth ideas are the essence of much that we covered this week.

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Feedback on Etsko Schuitema from an Anglo Platinum Leadership Development Programme held at UCT Graduate School of Business:8-13 June 2008

Friday, December 4th, 2009

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Lecturer: Etsko Schuitema

Any other comment on this particular part of the programme?

 

·         His experience was relevant to the group and he reached me in a different way.

·         The team was speechless. They can make a difference and they are hungry to explore.

·         This is what organisations need to hear and listen to, but it is not rigid. If the concepts are applied without thinking clearly about the required objectives, it may result in unexpected results. This was my turning point in this programme.

·         A very interesting, often entertaining yet thought-provoking section of the programme. Certain aspects have application in the broader sphere of how we conduct and live our lives in terms of the choices we adopt in different situations (introductory stuff). A real pity that we could not delve deeper on certain aspects (power aspects…)

·         Outstanding.

·         You can listen to this man all day.

·         The guy changed the way I see things and the way I see life.

·         I adore Etsko. Most influential presentation. Thank you.

·         Excellent, excellent! Etsko is highly energetic and I enjoyed every single moment of his lecture. Out of all the new valuable knowledge I have learned over the past week I think Etsko’s Care and Growth model have changed my life the most!

·         This module is a very significant module and I believe it will assist us in solving most of our problems. For example, the safety initiatives that have been launched have not necessarily worked because the accountability has shifted to someone else who is not even in the ?stope? face. This module should be presented to safety experts within the company.

·         Probably the best lecture of the week.

·         The best lecturer I had so far in my life.

·         You kept us going! The energy, enthusiasm was actually contagious, keep it up! I felt a little ‘alienated’ when you kept cracking ‘Afrikaner’ jokes, because I couldn’t understand and also wanted to laugh. Great session.

·         Care and growth. The success of the organisation depends on the degree to which an individual unconditionally gives to the cause of the organisation. Provided that the leader provides an enabling environment by caring and growing his/her people. Etsko is exceptional. What I learned from him has been engraved in my mind.

·         The use of not glossing over issues was very helpful. Having to look within as being part of the solution was helpful. Excellent day spent - find application both inside and outside work environment.

·         His artistic (acting) way of delivering material keeps you interested and engaged in the subject. His knowledge of our industry made it very easy to identify with subject matter content. Very stimulating presenter and exciting (the way in which he brought everything together was invigorating). He is not afraid to face the class.

·         Etsko is the best lecturer that I have ever had. He is very knowledgeable not only in our field of mining but also in the world.

·         An absolute must include as part of the programme! Excellent!

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Note From Lulu de Beer of MBD Attorneys to Wendy Lambourne

Friday, December 4th, 2009

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Thanks Wendy. I must say the group has not stopped talking about how much value they got from our sessions last week, with many compliments to you as the facilitator. Thanks so much.

 

Kind Regards,

Lulu De Beer
Chief Operations Officer

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Letter from Donnovan Pyidigadu, Nedbank

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

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Hi Etsko,

 

I was on the Senior Management Programme run by GIBS on behalf of Nedbank and I was privileged to hear you talk to us on the 23rd of June this year.

 

I am busy studying for the exam and have been reading your articles on your website.

 

I started out reading them with an academic purpose (i.e. to pass next week) but found myself using the insights in my daily job.

 

I thought I would drop you a note to say thank you very much for your wisdom and for speaking to us.  We have had many speakers on our course but you stand out as one of the best (and I dare say that I am not alone in voicing this view).

 

 

Regards

Donnovan Pyidigadu, Nedbank

Letter to John Gilmour on Care and Growth in Education: Graham Edwards

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

Thank you for your email and for the document giving a comprehensive description of the issues that you are aiming to address. I was struck by the completeness of the document, and with the honesty and quality of your analysis. In any strategic change process, you have to start from where you are, and sometimes it is painful to get the stake holders to the point where they all agree that the current status quo is not acceptable and that there is a need to change.

Dr Graham Edwards

Dr Graham Edwards

 Regarding your intention to use the Care and Growth model for your “big ticket” innovation I believe that you have made an excellent choice. I have direct personal experience of using the model in an industrial application to achieve a strategic step change in organization effectiveness. The organization concerned was African Explosives Limited (AEL) and we used the model to address the lack of accountability in the organization. This lack of “ownership” lead to a number of undesirable business outcomes, including declining safety performance, increasing costs, decreasing product quality, lower market share and declining profits. The intervention was specifically aimed at improving these “hard” business parameters, but it was also aimed at improving the “soft” aspects of the culture of the company. Before we started, people were scared to discipline their subordinates, and the only people who were ever fired from the company, were dismissed for late coming or absenteeism. No performance related disciplinary issues were ever raised, and all the discipline happened at the lower levels of the company, with most managers never being criticized at all. After the intervention, we knew exactly what to hold manager accountable for, and had a vibrant culture of honest feedback happening from the top of the organization to the bottom. As Etsko has no doubt told you, the Growth part of the Care and Growth model is split into mean, ability and accountability. Previously we were trying to hold people at the lower levels of the organization accountable for issues where they had neither the means nor the training to enable them to do the job. Equally, when a manager did not do his/her job, they were invariably sent on a training course, even though it was perfectly clear that they knew what to do, that they had the time and resources,  and had just failed to do it! I am please to say that the intervention was a huge success and that the “hard” parameters as well as the “soft” improved immensely. One of the most profound changes in the organization was the development of courage and generosity in the management ranks. These are key elements  of the “Intent” that Etsko talks about, and made a huge difference to the culture of AEL.

 

Regarding the application of the model to the Education in South Africa, I can only say that leadership issues inside an Educational Organization are unlikely to be any different to the leadership issues in AEL or any other industrial organization. In my view the model is generic and I would expect it work as effectively in your organization as it did in ours.  If there is any more information that you may need, or would like to discuss any element of the model or the implementation process at AEL please feel free to contact me again.

 

Good luck in solving what is a critically important issue for the future of our country.

 

Regards

 

Graham Edwards (Dr)

Chief Executive

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