In this inspiring episode of Future Readiness with Za, I am in conversation with Monde Twala, a global media influencer and Senior Vice President at Paramount Africa & BET International Lead. Monde reflects on his upbringing in Soweto, crediting his grandparents and the community for instilling values of respect, learning, and storytelling. His early fascination with cinema, along with his social sciences studies, ignited his passion for responsible representation in media, with a focus on gender, race, and minority experiences.
Monde emphasizes the power of the African creative economy and the potential of young Africans to lead global storytelling. He discusses the need for authenticity, excellence, and investment in Africa’s creative industries, and calls for government support through legislation. Monde also highlights the rise of user-generated content and niche communities, while stressing the importance of showcasing Africa's diversity and culture on the world stage.
Tune in for a conversation filled with wisdom on leadership, creativity, and the future of African storytelling.
Our guest on #FutureReadinesswithZa is South African-born and Australian-based Pearl Proud. She is a distinguished executive with a robust Psychology, Strategic Leadership, and Organizational Development background. As a proud member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD), she exemplifies dedication to corporate excellence and ethical practices.
Throughout her extensive career, Pearl has held key leadership positions across diverse industries, where she has driven transformative initiatives and steered companies in their DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) and psychologically safety sustainability.
She joins me on the podcast and we dive into her different interests and how her personal and professional journeys have unfurled thus far. We speak on her spirituality and how she balances this gift with the practicalities of being a Psychologist.
We also talk about the challenges of being the only one in a room, the only Black or Person of Colour and the confidence required to thrive in spaces where one might not be seen or heard.
She invites us to understand how to self-define, to balance duality and thrive in spaces known and unknown. Pearl’s story is as unique as she is and is rich with wisdom.
#FutureReadinessWithZa Presents Sizakele in conversation with Glenda Venn – an award-winning creative with experience in designing and brand strategy. A new connection that already feels deep.
She is smart, explosively creative, kind, benevolent, wise, and human-centred. She has walked multiple paths from working in a challenger ad agency (at which I have also worked but our times did not overlap) to running her own design practice and in her latest pivot, she is the Senior Design Strategist at Tetris Design and Build, working with global research and industry specialists to understand how resetting the return to office culture requires creativity throughout an organisation and its infrastructure.
In this episode, we explore foundational creative concepts worth a re-fresh such as transitioning from customer-centricity to human-centred. We laugh about our early mistakes and delight in our emergent wisdom. She reflects deeply on the role of design in improving environments and then drops a magical bomb with her definition of Future Readiness…
Glenda invites us all to lean into the bits that petrify us with courage You’ll learn how to challenge socially imposed boundaries about what creativity means and is, start betting on your own ideas and become more secure from the inside out.
You can watch the interview on YouTube.
You can connect with Glenda here:
LinkedIn - Glenda Venn and Tetris Design and Build
Website: https://practise.biz/
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“.. Burnout is when you have nothing left to give, there is no bandwidth left. When we have no bandwidth, we get really impatient with the people we love, we start making mistakes… and we lose the ability to celebrate what is wonderful in life…”
We are nearing that time of the year when time seems loopy and we feel tired and unmotivated, which is understandable. In our practice, we have Wellness Days to help us catch our breathe and press pause.
“If you aren’t able to commit to a full body yes, it is a lot more respectful to say thank you, you’re so kind, I’ll consider the invitation, please give me time, so that you when you do finally say yes, it is a full body yes”.
When you agree to join someone in a thing they have invited you to or take on an extra assignment at work when already stretched, consider the domino effect for yourself and for the other person.
“Joy for me feels a lot more dense than happiness.”
How do you nurture your joy?
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“If you are going to wait for the perfect conditions, then your boat is never going to leave.”
A good friend of mine once said “Boats are not built to stay in the harbor”, and this remains true.
The truth is that conditions will never be perfect and you cannot control or create an excellent external condition, what you can do is build a brand/life that you are proud of.
Phakamisa Ndzamela is an award-winning former business journalist for Thomson Reuters, E-News Africa, Moneyweb, Business Day, Financial Mail and Financial Times of London. He holds an honours degree in journalism from the University of Witwatersrand. He lives in Cape Town.
The story of black business in South Africa remains under-explored and poorly understood. Dispossession of fertile or mineral-rich lands through colonial wars, as well as the landmark 1913 Land Act, are among the root causes of the economic precarity of black South Africans to date. Inadequate attention has been paid to how racist policies and discriminatory practices thwarted black business initiatives and success. That’s why Phakamisa put pen to paper to present the world with his book – Native Merchants: The Building of The Black Business Class in South Africa
In this episode, Sizakele and Phakamisa explore the root causes of the current material imbalance in South Africa and he, through structured thought and deep scholarship – presents a case for correcting stereotypes and according due praise to those forebearers who founded and grew businesses in the darkest times of South Africa’s history. Despite these biased systemic impediments, black South African men and women built successful enterprises in industries as diverse as hospitality, mining, media, agriculture, financial services, and real estate among others. Phakamisa seeks to show the long tail of entrepreneurship among black South Africans and to consequently correct a historical stereotype that implies that black people in South Africa are only able to do business as ‘tenderpreneurs’. More importantly in bringing these stories to the fore, he offers, the young black girl and boy – a NorthStar - as well as a renewed sense of pride premised upon an unshakeable truth, that they descend from a lineage of people who, from the beginning – we remarkable and resilient.
“When you place the human at the centre of everything that you do, then you can truly design for inclusive futures.”
Designing for inclusivity is not about meeting a quota, it is about considering the complete human and how their daily experiences may be intertwined with your business. These futures ensure that no community is marginalised and that the collective thrives.
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Let me know which topics you would like for me to speak on.
Future-ready brands are understanding more and more that you pay attention to what is happening in culture... and apply your creative lens in a way that solves for society”
High-influence brands are intentional about placing humans at the centre of everything as this benefits them commercially and aids in their reputation.
Connect with us so that we can elevate your brand to a high-influence one.
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#SizakeleMarutlulle
#FutureReadinessWithZa #HowToSeries
Today marks Women's Day in South Africa and we thought it would be wonderful to offer you a gift of reflective thoughts to feed on today and the days ahead.
“Returning to wholeness is about slowing down and paying attention to how things feel.”
During the pandemic, we were forced to slow down. Most of us vowed in that period to be more present and engage in experiences that bring joy.
Have you kept your vow to fully immerse in moments or have you returned to the “busy-ness” of life?
The How To Series is my guide on how to go through life in the most humanistic way based on my own experiences
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In this episode, I am joined by Dr Aba Mortley – an Engineer and Fentrepreneur who is continuing the family business Cher – Mere, a multi-generational personal-care business whose vision is to “make natural, eco-conscious, personal care products for people of all ages and skin tones –inspired by the mosaic of Caribbean people”. I had the absolute delight of meeting her in Kingston, Jamaica, where we both were invited to UN Yemanja Collaborative: Leadership and Networking Workshop to share our respective entrepreneurial journeys.
Aba, as she introduced herself to me, wears multiple hats, and her more prominent one is that of legacy extender. Che-Mere, an ode to her grandmother, was started in Trinidad by her grandmother, who used natural products on her body and turned that into a business that her daughter, Aba’s mother, later joined. Aba, who is/was affectionately called “Little Boss” by the community, was raised in the business, from picking the aloe leaves to bottling the products. She has known and been part of the enterprise since she was in diapers and is emboldened by the immense opportunities that lay ahead for the business.
In this conversation, we talk about running a family business and the fine art of working with a parent. Balancing sheer might and gentleness Aba is evolving the business without altering its history or watering down its magic. She found her lane – and is infusing an emotive feel to the business and product design process. We speak about the journey that she took when opening a spa in Canada, in a community with folks who didn’t look like her, the detours along the path, and the wisdom in leaning on a community when starting or growing a business. Her secret lies in trading on trust and finding the right tribe of ambassadors.
You can connect with Aba: linkedin.com/in/aba-mortley-b2388a12
You can visit Cher-Mère here: https://cher-mere.ca/ and https://www.chermerecaribbean.com/
“We have become so wounded as human beings that we can’t even recognise kindness.”
Any act of kindness should never be considered uncool. In the moments where yours may be rejected, may you never be discouraged to be kind to others
Remember that kindness has the best aftertaste.
The How To Series is my guide on how to go through life in the most humanistic way based on my own experiences
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#SizakeleMarutlulle
#FutureReadinessWithZa
#FutureReadinessWithZa Presents Dr Sizakele in Conversation with Dr Neeraj Mistry – a Medical Doctor turned economist and now a social scientist. In this discussion, rich with laughter and peppered with deep anecdotes, we talk about his practice and work at Future Africa (https://www.futureafrica.science/). As one deeply invested in contributing to the healing of social ills and the advancement of Africa and her people, his job is aligned with his purpose.
In this episode, we discuss the transdisciplinary approach – which is the uniqueness of the Institute, responding to the urgent need for transformative ideas, and the importance of Africa in and to the World. With a chuckle to soften the heavy lifting required, he hones in on how we (leaders, party masters, policymakers, citizens, etc) can also advance the human family if we are strategic about the levers we push to effect transformative and sustainable change. He walks us through what the Institute has termed ‘challenge domains’, he laments the loss of technical colleges as these produced skilled people needed in the industry, and he advocates for the respect of ALL work.
Neeraj expands on the importance of ‘eating an elephant one piece at a time’; of leaning into the wisdom of Biko’s beckoning to us all to reach towards the ‘envisioned self’. We also touch on the topic of training and how it can become invaluable in both the private and public sectors if done correctly. He expands on the importance of early childhood development as the seed that will one day sprout whole and engaged citizens and reflects on the necessity of a systems approach to solving social ills such as safety in the home and youth employability in the future.
You can reach Dr Neeraj here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neeraj-mistry-md-mph-b9b888/
See more of Future Africa’s work here: https://www.futureafrica.science/
IT’S BACK
Future Readiness with Za presents: The How To Series: Season 2
This series is my guide on going through life in the most humanistic way based on my own experiences.
We start with the highly requested How to speak to a pre-adult. “Lead with questions and not with judgement and remember that you too were once young.”
The goal of having a conversation with a pre-adult is to be open and curious so that everyone feels heard.
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Let me know which topics you would like for me to speak on.
#FutureReadinessWithZa Presents Dr Sizakele in Conversation with Gillian Rightford – a seasoned practitioner, lecturer and the founder of School Of Thought and Adtherapy, a company that aims to help marketers optimise their advertising through skills, structure, strategy, and relationships.
In this episode, Gillian expands on the journey of her work in the advertising sector and how an evening watching television, intercepted by bad ads – was the genesis of her new business AdTherapy. Although the intention was to rid the world of bad ads, she later understood that it’s the quality of the agency-client relationship which determines the calibre of work produced and the joy experienced while doing so. So her mission is to heal relations so good work can thrive.
She also dives more deeply into the changes that are upon the sector – and what critical steps ad agency leaders must take, to become more relevant to their client’s business strategies not just their marketing campaigns.
We touch on how some companies have fear embedded into the culture is one element that needs to be discussed
Connect with Gillian - @gillianrightford
See more of Adtherapay: https://www.adtherapy.co.za/
See more of School of Thought: https://theschoolofthought.co/
#FutureReadinessWithZa Presents Dr Sizakele in Conversation with Nkuli Mlangeni – a stylist turned textile designer and now creative collaborator at large.
In this trans-Atlantic discussion, rich with fond memories and boundless ambition, Nkuli shares her deep emotional investment in the cross-pollination of talents from across countries and cities (from Stockholm to Sebokeng), and the profound joy of discovering deeply talented creative folks - who work away from the limelight yet are producing world-class goods.
In her shy way – she celebrates with us her success since winning the 2017 Design Indaba most beautiful object in South Africa (https://bit.ly/3U4Fj6Phere) and how the recent win of the Monocle Best New Talent (https://bit.ly/3zuoFUx) is important in not just giving her shine – but revealing the magical ecosystem which produces the goods, thoughts and services she shares with the world and with her new fellow citizens in Sweden.
This series is premised upon the philosophy of humancentric creativism: a simple yet profound intervention suggesting that we can only design sustainable and inclusive futures by placing humans at the centre of everything.
Connect with Nkuli Mlangeni
LinkedIn: Nkuli Mlangeni-Berg
The Ninevites: https://www.theninevites.com/
Click the link https://linktr.ee/sizakelemarutlulle to listen to the conversation on the podcast platform of your choice
Enjoy, like and share with your community ___________________ Connect with me on Social media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sizakele-marutlulle-78389a14b/
https://www.instagram.com/sizakelezamarutlulle/
On a blistering afternoon, there was a gathering whose origin was a simple (but deep) question, ‘what else can we do to help humans in this time?” so we
got our heads together and Brad and I got deep into conversation. When we care deeply, we move carefully with clear intentionality. The desire was to
create a space where each of us (evolved in different ways by the pandemic, world of work and other life’s torrential rains) could share from these lived
experiences to offer a light-house to folks in positions and in life as well as across various geographies and leadership levels.
This episode captures those raw and candid reflections from Brad Shorkend (https://www.stillhuman.co.za/about-still-human )- who is obsessed, and I
mean with a capital O, about finding and retaining what switches humans on and off in the professional and personal realms. His input is as diverse and
multi-lateral as his energy -sparks. He centred our thinking on our relationship with words, the meaning of work, leadership challenges, and the opportunities emerging to lead ourselves and others differently. The goal is the noble pursuit of better humaning in and out of work. By way of contribution, I offered my own perspective from my time leading teams and organisations as well as reflections on my decade-old journey as a Fentrepreneur. The discussion also touches upon the ideas behind pro-human styles of leadership and the interconnection between servant
leadership, productivity and wellness. We end on a high note, reflecting on what future-facing and future-readiness means.
Enjoy.
Remember to share and subscribe - because when we make the circle bigger, we advance humankind as well as help improve the calibre of the
content we create. Be sure to let us know - via our socials – if there is a specific person and/or topic you would like us to converse about in future
episodes.
Future Readiness with Za presents: The How-To Series
This series is informed by my lived experience – and is offered as guide on going through life in the most humanistic way.
How to Use Your Voice As The Youngest Sibling.
“My heart goes out to the last born siblings that carry this pain with them.” You may be the person in the family who received the hand me downs, who was not given the space to cultivate your own voice, who may have been spoken over at a family gathering. Your childhood experiences can influence the way that you express yourself in adulthood.
I wish you courage on your journey to using your voice especially within your family in a way which makes you feels seen, heard and held
Are there any topics that you would like me to offer other tips on ?
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#SizakeleMarutlulle
#Zaism
#Podcast
