Unplugging after a long year of hustling and activity

December 12, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Tatenda Rungisa

The year 2020 has been filled with a lot of uncertainties, low productivity levels and time loss due to the Covid-19 pandemic which hit the whole world at large. Most businesses dwindled and some only survived by grace. In all this, it meant business owners, entrepreneurs, and employees as well, have worked tirelessly throughout the year to ensure they survive. That said and done, it is a few days to end 2020 and start on a new slate, and it is only proper for every entrepreneur to unplug and take time for self-care.

6 unique ways to create a holiday mind-set without leaving your home

December 11, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Lori Milner

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes… Including you.”

– Anne Lamott

If you asked me what fuels my soul and brings me to my happy place – it’s travel. It isn’t just about arriving at the destination but everything that comes before it. The planning, the research and getting immersed in the culture. In the beginning of 2020, my husband and I had a very exciting trip planned to Italy in June to celebrate a cousin’s wedding in Florence. The kids were going to stay with their granny for the week; any parents reading this – you can understand the added bonus! I was dreaming about cooking courses, writing in Italian coffee shops on cobble stone pavements – you get the picture!

The thief called discouragement

December 11, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Tlholo Mabelane

Do entrepreneurs fail because they are discouraged, or are they discouraged because they fail? Well, for many of us when we embark on our journeys towards our goals and dreams we go in with what feels like a healthy sense of sober understanding that it will be an all-encompassing journey. We expect to have challenging days, we don’t anticipate a silver spoon feeding, and are ready to put in the work. We hold a posture of possibility and we do what we can as best as we can.

How to nail the “On camera but remote” interview or meeting

December 5, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Gabriella Von Ille

At Lifa, we spend a lot of time on media training and presentation coaching for our clients. Since lockdown began and Skype, Teams and Zoom became our new best friends, we have received numerous requests for advice on how to come across in the best possible way when “on-camera but remote”.

Let’s talk boundaries: When all work and no play leads to burn-out

December 5, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Anja van Beek, Talent Strategist, Leadership Expert and Executive Coach

I love this quote: “Balance is not better TIME management, but better BOUNDARY management?” Have you ever calculated how many of your 24hrs you are in “work-mode” – whether thinking, doing, or responding to a quick mail at a family braai?

Purposeful Planning & Propositions

December 5, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Natasha Singh-Ally

Investing years of diary entries and your daily energetic imprint in business takes a special kind of dedication and calling, and anyone with the intention to go towards that pull and stay the course can do it.

Beyond the year 2020 – Where to from here?

December 5, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Thato Mokhothu-Ramohlanka

The ability to look ahead and prepare for the future is rare. As human beings, we have mental models and biases that prevent us from thinking differently and looking out for alternative outcomes. We prefer existing within familiar territories and are supportive of our beliefs and intellectual conceptions of what reality ought to be because the alternative is incomprehensible. However, with or without our awareness, these conceptions prevent us from tackling problems more efficiently; they hinder our creativity and ability to seek solutions in unlikely places even at the risk of operating at our minimum capacity.

Are lionesses born or made?

November 29, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Martine Irakoze

Are lionesses born or made? This article will not take a stand on this point, but rather offers another perspective: “if made, who makes them?”. To answer that question, I interviewed an extraordinary woman who is passionate about creating a network of lionesses in Burundi. Belyse Inamahoro Bushombo is Burundian, a Wellesley College Alumni, and founder of Sisters in Success.

Who needs a Business Mentor anyway?

November 28, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Kabwe Mulolo

It is interesting yet distressing to read about South African statistics on the number of start-up companies that fail. The failure rate is almost 80% within the first three years and 50% after five years. One lives to wonder, why start a business anyway, statistics isn’t on anyone ones favor, and despite the ratios even those who make it might someday close their doors.

How to make the most of your budget this December

November 28, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Ronel Jooste

December is time for fun, relaxation and spending time with loved ones. It is school holidays and the children need to be entertained for an extended period. Many people go away to a holiday destination while other people stay at home and do day trips. December is associated with entertainment, activities and gifts.

Cultivating a coaching approach to support team members in 8 steps

November 28, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Anja van Beek, Talent Strategist, Leadership and Executive Coach

Over the years, the role of a leader and manager of teams have evolved. It is no longer a command and control scenario, where you give instructions and your team will follow. The pandemic has fast-tracked an agile and empowerment approach. Leaders need to be adaptive problem-solvers. This is due to the uncertainty and pressure over the past couple of weeks and months – there were no clear and obvious answers to issues and challenges and leaders did not have the luxury of telling their teams what to do. They had to be adaptive and guide them to figure it out for themselves.

How To Tame The Inner Critic, Stop The Circling Thoughts And Own Your Headspace

November 22, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Lori Milner

‘My mind is like a bad neighbourhood, I try not to go there alone.’

– Ann Lamott

We all experience the typical daily dose of circling thoughts – like a recorder going off in our heads reminding us of what needs to happen in the day from who needs what books for school to what projects and tasks need to get done for work.

6 Steps to be an entrepreneurial woman

November 22, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Josefa Massinga

I have been an entrepreneurial woman for five years. In my opinion, I think it is very important that women develop their own businesses. I am not saying it is easy because until each one of us is sure that she is capable and that she will succeed, it will continue to be challenging.

How Deliberate Practice Supports your Growth

November 22, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Kathy Mann

Perhaps you have heard of the 10-year rule or the 10 000 hours that are required to become a master at something. This is known as deliberate practice, a concept made famous by Anders Ericsson, a Swedish Psychologist who conducted significant research on the subject. He studied what makes people world-class in their area of expertise, be it violin, ballet or chess.

Choice... is mastery

November 22, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Ashika Pillay

Our worlds are in a state of flux and change and we simply cannot control what’s going to happen around us. This is the nature of the uncertainty in the world and in our worlds. We can make plans for the future to some extent, and even that is somewhat filled with a sense of what might “not happen”. Are we going on holiday? What will happen next year? Will we have a second wave?

4 actionable ways to end micro management and build trust with your team

November 15, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Lori Milner

“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”

— Ernest Hemingway

Working from home has brought up many challenges - the main one being a pandemic within the pandemic namely ‘performance anxiety’. It’s this need to be constantly on for dread of appearing like you aren’t doing what you need to. Never mind absenteeism, we have gone to the other extreme to overdo presenteeism.

Starting something new is never easy

November 15, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Mbaliyethu( Lisa) Mthethwa, co-founder of Frutee Belliez

When we started our journey in 2009, my sister Lona and I just wanted to sell fresh fruit salads to students in school, so we could promote a healthier lifestyle. We are meant to have a minimum of five fruits and veggies a day but some of us don't even have one. Growing up, fruit salads were always perceived as a dessert. Veggies were always seen as something that is nasty.

Cybersecurity awareness

November 14, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Lufuno Khorommbi

Understanding cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and data from cyber-attacks. It is important to note that the word practice means that cybersecurity should be embedded in the organisational day to day functions. Thus, it is not an event.

The lure of a mud pool

November 8, 2020 Melanie Hawken

by Eldari Visser

In South Africa, the northern side of the country is going into its rainy season and that is always known for big thunderstorms, heavy winds and heavy rain, whereas in the southern parts you get the “non-stop for days” rain mostly during winter. Each of these natural occurrences has a mesmerizing effect. Just watch a thunderstorm with all the lightning and you will understand.

‘My mind is like a bad neighbourhood, I try not to go there alone.’

– Ann Lamott

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