Invest For a Purpose

January 8, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Ronel Jooste

Investing certainly has multiple benefits: create wealth for yourself and your family, create financial security, prepare for unforeseen circumstances, and create passive income streams. Making investments even more attractive, is when not only you benefit but you can invest for a bigger purpose; when your investment can contribute to making South Africa a better country for everybody, when other people and the economy can benefit too. These types of investments are growing in popularity, and you can choose something that you can relate to.

What’s New?

January 8, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Brigette Mashile

It’s a new year (grin emoji), and I honestly cannot tell if I feel it or not. I just feel like last week was December and today it is January. What I know for sure is that I am exhausted and need a new way. Those are the two things I am sure of. I need to rest more, no matter what is happening; and secondly because the world has changed and is changing every day, I too need to change. This is not a list of ‘what I wish for in 2022’, 2021 taught us to relax on the wishing and just hope we live to see the 31st of December.

New Year, new me?

January 8, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Anja van Beek

The start of a New Year exemplifies a new beginning. It is the first week of 2022 and most people are eager to set New Year’s Resolutions. Research indicates that people are more likely to pursue their goals during times that feel like new beginnings (such as a New Year, Mondays, and birthdays) in their lives. After a challenging 2021, people crave newfound hope and motivation and we could all use a little more positivity in our lives.

Unexpected Shift Catapults Your Confidence: The Hospitality Mindset

December 24, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Laura Camacho, PhD

So many clients share with me that they feel super confident speaking up in their team meetings, when sharing with their boss, and even other stakeholders. But there are always certain situations where their minds turn to mush and they feel like confused second graders being hauled to the principal’s office. And those are precisely the meetings that can boost your visibility and let executives perceive your leadership potential.

Keep the Faith and Hold your Head High

December 24, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Sibongile Mtsabe

Better ideas, solutions, and innovations are inside of you. When you were born, you were born to impact others. It is up to you to discover your talents and work on them to grow and be better, day by day.

Press On!

December 22, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Didintle Moreki

The year is at its peak, my hand shakes as ink spills over this paper. A lot has happened. I have lost to gain, gained to lose. l have cried to laugh only to find myself laughing to cry again. I do not know if the ink is half full or half empty all l know is my hand has grown weary, over the lessons l have jotted down through the past months. I still amaze myself with the question; Is it really worth it?’ I know it’s a subject of mind, l know this is not how hope felt in January. I know it felt so much like possibility. But this thing, this thing called life has found its way to my feet, rained itself to my door step only to show me l am a pawn in a Chess Game and there is a Mastermind behind it. So l decide to Press ON.

You Cannot Do Your Life Wrong

December 22, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Safiyyah Boolay-Jappie

I give thanks to all the teachers that came to me in the form of my mistakes.

Say after me: 'You cannot do your life wrong!'

This is a truly tough one. For ALL of us! Especially if you've become addicted to self-deprecation and self-persecution. One of the biggest inhibitors of self-love and personal power is shame. The online dictionary defines shame as "a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behaviour". No doubt, Shame is a powerful emotion that can cause us to feel defective, unacceptable, even damaged beyond repair.

2021 in Review….5 Lessons from the Digital Marketing World

December 19, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho

2021 was an interesting year….especially in the world of Digital Marketing and Customer Experience. We saw platform algorithm changes, policy changes and fragmented audiences that required more and more personalization. We saw the rise of the use of data in a cookieless world and started to really see how meaningful context truly is.

Out-of-Office ON: This holiday season, will you leave by example?

December 19, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Anja van Beek

Enough has been said about the impact of the pandemic, burn-out and the “always-on” culture. We all had to unlearn things, adjust to working whilst being at home (and home-schooling kids), adapting to virtual ways of collaboration and using new technologies. In such a technology world, not all of us have mastered the skill (yes, I said skill) to switch off from work. Most of us will take a few days to really relax and ironically, this is generally the time most will go back to work. For some, it is especially difficult to switch off if your colleagues or manager, in other areas of the world, continue to work while you are on your holiday.

Best Possible Future Self

December 19, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Kathy Mann

I have always been a goal-driven person and instead of New Year’s resolutions, I’ve set goals. I pulled out an old journal in which I wrote them down and had quite a bit of fun reading about myself twelve years ago.

A story about a Mozambican Pride

December 12, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Mayra Pereira

My name is Mayra Pereira and I am a Lioness since September 2019. I keep going back to the date I was preparing my presentation for the Lioness Lean In event in Maputo. For so long, I kept pushing out the date because I was afraid of public speaking, and still very hormonal from having my little Mia, just 4 four months before.

Sustainable Competitive Advantage in the Real Estate environment

December 12, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Pam Snyman

What does it mean to be a real estate company that maintains a sustainable competitive advantage? At REDZetc we endeavour to do the following: Add value for our clients, i.e by delivering ongoing superior performance ...easier said than done… What do we need to maintain that advantage? Constant positive change and adaptation. We need to be a Learning Organisation where continual learning takes place in order to gain sustainable excellence, i.e. be means of constant organisational learning.

Fitness Tips for The Holidays

December 12, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Emily Kandanga

The holidays are a festive time of year with seemingly endless opportunities to cheat on your diet and skip a workout. Weight gain is almost an assumed part of this season. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We have carefully crafted a few tips that you can use to stay on track with your fitness this holiday season!

Embrace The New Chapter

December 12, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Nontobeko Mbuyane

The past week was surely not an easy week for me, strangely nothing much happened but I completely broke down. I remember I even sobbed on the phone when my partner called. The most painful part is not even being able to be around to at least provide the emotional support I so much needed. It was after a few days when I regained my composure that I realized that indeed nothing new had happened on the day I broke down, but I have been carrying around so much emotional baggage that suddenly there was no room anymore, thus it all burst out.

The Best Gift of the Season…

December 4, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Ashika Pillay

So many mixed emotions, as I think back on 2021. Many ups and oh so many downs! Not a rollercoaster, more like an ocean with calm then chaos and everything in between! When I look back on this year, I think it has been deeply transformative for many of us, where we’ve met the edge of our comfort, often thrown into spaces we did not know we could endure.

Starting something

December 4, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Thembe Khumalo

I am a person who likes to start things - conversations (if I hear anyone in the supermarket speaking Ndebele I feel compelled to join in), friendships, projects, songs, businesses, stories…. I just love the energy that comes with new beginnings. The planning and preparations, putting tools, and people and ideas together, all give me a high that is unlike anything else I have experienced. And so of course, I tend to start a lot of things.

4 Legal documents every (properly adulting) adult should have sorted out

December 4, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Sinal Govender and Claire Keet

There are a lot of wonderful things that come with adulthood. The freedom of finally being able to drive. And vote. And become a director in a company. And change your name. By law, you are no longer considered a minor. With adulthood, however, comes a whole lot of responsibility - including making sure that you have your “ducks in a row”.

10 Lessons That I Have Learned In My Career

December 4, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Naike Moshi

If there's one thing we all have in common, it's that we all make mistakes along the way (and hopefully learn valuable lessons from them). But if you're smart, you'll learn as much as possible from the mistakes of others and spare yourself some of the grief. Some of these lessons can applied whether you are employed, self- employed or unemployed.

Real Power is Personal Power

November 28, 2021 Melanie Hawken

by Thembe Khumalo

Here’s a quick story. It's about a young women called Lerato who had a very successful career, following an equally successful time at Harvard Business School. She had made a name for herself working in some of the most exciting, sexiest organisations on the continent - starting at Jumia, moving on to MTN, working closely with Dangote himself, promoted to the C Suite at Coca Cola. She was a devoted and loyal executive - and she had the salary, perks and power to reflect this. She joined a fashionable, but credible church where she quickly became a deaconess. People wanted to hear from her. Doors opened magically in her wake. She felt powerful.

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