Do you have an enduring heart?

How committed are you to family? Staying committed to others during difficult times shows character—it shows that you have an enduring heart. It is a rare find. A family is meant to stick together, not to be stuck with each other.

Character- Based Leadership in the spotlight. An interview with Dr Mario Denton

In an interview with Heideli Loubser, Dr Mario Denton reflects on Character-based leadership challenges. He also offers some practical thoughts and best practices towards sustainable implementation of character-based training in the workplace.

Loubser: In a recent interview in the McKinsey Quarterly, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe illustrated the need for character training when he said the following:“We are struggling ourselves, as a new democracy in South Africa, to restore values … Values are never a given. They have got to be developed, worked upon, and consolidated on an ongoing basis. Because if at any given time we as a society or as sections of society become complacent about them, we run the risk of losing them…. We are therefore duty bound to try at all times to bring to the fore the values that bring us together as fellow South Africans, as human beings, united in our diversity.” Given the statement of Deputy Minister Kgalema Motlanthe, what does it mean to you?

The Nega-virus in the Marketplace?

Have you ever thought about assessing the Nega-virus in your organization? Nega-viruses permeate organizations daily and can cause lowered morale, disillusionment and poor productivity. The combination of these variables will eventually destroy an organization's ability to survive in a highly competitive environment. Unfortunately, organizations too easily allow these viruses to fluctuate.
Organizations need to measure their frustration with management, the personal regard between management and staff, the feelings about future prospects, the organizational vision, the negativity of co-workers, the consistency of management, flexibility in the workplace, interpersonal relationships and encouragement, their recognition and reward systems as well as inspiration and rejection levels on a regular basis.

The three major causes of organizational negativity are:

 

• Mismanaged change
• Inappropriate norms
• Problems related to levels of trust

Managerial Derailment

It is ironic that the very strengths that get managers "fast tracked" early on in their career, can sometimes also bring about their downfall. These high potential managers are developed at an extremely fast pace and are expected to rise to the top of the organization. Their focus is mainly on the operational side and they invest all their energy in the organization, at the expense of paying attention to their own growth and development.
The problem arises when, despite their potential, they are not able to keep up with ever-changing needs. As a result, perhaps ten years or more down the line, they may suddenly find themselves "derailed". Perhaps this is because they don't have the required managerial profile, or have simply reached a point where they no longer have the interest or energy to cope with changing demands.
The concept of "derailment" is real.

Is Management Losing Its Touch? By Dr Mario Denton

The current work culture is one of "work harder, work faster and produce the results" which could translate into extremely long working hours and a tremendous amount of self-sacrifice from the majority if work becomes the ruling (but no longer enjoyable) passion of some people.
To compound matters, managers are experiencing the new work arena as different and threatening. The old way of doing things is no longer viable. Managers are pressured to match internationally recognized trends in production, people management and technology.

The major factors negatively influencing the lifestyle of managers are:

Character Development in business

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Character- the incredible need in schools

Dear Dr. Mario,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my email.  I am extremely keen on attending  Character First courses, with the intention of implementing the programmes in schools.  Being a high school teacher, I see an incredible need, within the students, to have this knowledge.  I listened to your talk at the BP family day. I  was absolutely infected with your optimism and amazing heart.  I think the work you are doing is admirable and I wish to be a part of your mission.

Kind regards
Letitia Rajool

Emotional Intelligence training City of Cape Town

Emotional Intelligence is a way of recognising, understanding and choosing how we think, feel and act. It shapes our interactions with others and our understanding of ourselves. It defines how and what we learn; it allows us to set priorities; it determines the majority of our daily actions. Research suggests emotional intelligence is responsible for as much as 80% of the "success" in our lives. Most experts now agree that one of the keys to success in the workplace, is a high degree of emotional intelligence. There is a considerable body of research suggesting that a person’s ability to perceive, identify and manage emotion provides the basis for the social and emotional competencies that are important for success in almost any job. 


Below follows a message from a delegate attending the training

Full or fulfilling life? Insight with Dr Mario Denton

In this year we realized the crucial role of character and practicing habits of success. There are no substitute for this. Character values are often overlooked, yet is crucial to success. “Character” is who we really are. It's what we do when no one is looking. It is the accumulation of thoughts, values, words and actions. These become the habits that comprise our character. Character determines our responses, our priorities and in effect our destiny. In today`s fast moving world with all the many distractions - many of us easily forget these true values - waste time on wrong ways of life and we often find ourselves between a rock and a hard place not sure where it all went wrong.
Your life is made up of a series of moments that have led you to where you are right now. More importantly it will be moments that will lead you to where you are going. What character did you portray?
Will you be doing the same things next year, going to the same places, spending time with the same people, wishing the same things, realizing that with each month, with each year that passes, those wishes will probably never materialize?

Or will you be moving rapidly towards the life of your dreams, having made the necessary changes in your mentality, having taken necessary action steps, feeling great about your future, about your progress and about yourself as a person?
We become too busy to implement change, too busy to reflect, to see, to listen, to be grateful.
We are busy living a full life yet not always a fulfilling life

HR Impact breakfast

HR practitioners are a valued strategic business partner to the management infrastructure in the business world. This breakfast sets out to present the optimistic view of what is possible and what is helpful in the future of the talent excellence enterprise.

Having been in the HR corporate world and lecturing and consulting for nearly 30 years, Dr Mario Denton has been the study leader of 160 MBA research projects to date, has published 8 books and various articles and has read papers at 32 conferences worldwide. Mario has taught at Business Schools and consulted
both in Africa and Internationally. He has consulted to some top companies, most recently Coca-Cola and FNB, and now would like to share his knowledge with us over a light breakfast session.

Character First - a powerful tool to use in organisations and family

We were very excited when we received the following letter from one of the leading companies in implementing Character First in the organisation, Sabco Coca Cola.

"Hi Mario

I hope that you are well and that you’ve had a fruitful few months since we met in Tstsikama.

 I must mention that earlier this week we (HR) facilitated a session with the 3^rd generation Gutsche’s – the children of the current family board members and their siblings. As part of the session, we introduced them to Character First and they were most impressed with it! This is such a powerful tool and we are privileged to be able to use it to build the character of our organization.Thank-you so much for introducing it to us!

The main reason for this mail is to let you know that I have just ordered 1 000 Character First cards

Many thanks Mario – hope to talk to you soon.

Kind regards,
Jean"

HR development with Coca Cola SABCO

Dear Mario

On behalf of Coca-Cola Sabco and the whole HR team I would like to thank you for your presence two weeks ago in Ttisikamma. I trust that it was as magical and blessed for you as it was for us.

We really appreciated your insights to the projects (keeping them real but also stretching us to do more) and for your “spot on” insights during the debriefs and fireside conversation and in the final close out session which was relevant for those half-timers of us as well as the Gen Ys.

Etiek gaan basies oor dít wat goed is vir alle partye

Dit wat “goed en reg” is in jou interaksie met ander, of in jou werkomgewing is volgens mnr. Dawie Malherbe, ’n bedryfs- en loopbaansielkundige, kortliks wat etiek in die werkplek beteken. Daar is drie faktore betrokke by etiese gedrag, sê hy: “Die regte ding, jy, en dan ander mense.Wanneer etiek ter sprake
kom, vorm dié drie aspekte die kern. “Etiek gaan dus oor wat goed is vir alle partye, nie net vir jouself nie. Goeie etiese gedrag begin by respek vir ander mense.

Healthy Leadership Essentials 01: Vision

From the best selling book of Dr Mario Denton - " the little instruction book", comes the impactful development tool Healthy Leadership Essentials: The four Chambers

Character First verander jongmense se lewens

Daar is ‘n generasie jongmense wat glo dat die uitleef van positiewe karaktereienskappe die deurslaggewende faktor vir ‘n positiewe toekoms in Suid Afrika is. Gedurende September 2011 is Character First aangebied by Equilibria School of Life in Potchefstroom. Energieke volgende generasie studente het hierdie vierdag kursus op ‘n baie interaktiewe en kreatiewe wyse beleef. Aspekte van karakterontwikkeling is tydens die kursus behandel. Baie van die studente het die gesprek, wat gehandel het oor die invloed wat prestasie, morele waardes en karakter op mekaar het, as prakties en relevant ervaar. Die studente kon begryp, sien en leer hoe persoonlike waardes ‘n mense se karakter en optrede beïnvloed.

HR Compass 2011-2014

In this short overview I want to give you a glimpse of an exciting week with 25 HR practitioners from Coca Cola Sabco in the Tsitsikamma. I have been in HR corporate world and lecturing and consulting for nearly 30 years, but the week with the Coca Cola Sabco team was indeed a very special session for me. Let me explain why: trained under Dave Ulrich, I always like to see whether HR functions are indeed a strategic partner and how they measure what they do. Answer those questions and you have my attention. So what did I experience with Coca Cola Sabco? THE HR COMPASS
This is a document in which the Coca Cola Sabco team charted out a course towards 2014. They focused on the following:

Lutzville Hoërskool plaas karakter eerste in jou lewe

In hierdie kort artikel wat ek graag die proses verduidelik wat ons onlangs gevolg het met die karakter opleiding by HOëRSKOOL LUTZVILLE Maar eerstens weer net gou my passie om betrokke te raak met die proses.Dit is die stellings soos die volgende wat my opgewonde maak en net meer aamoedig om betrokke te bly.“South Africa might need to consider introducing subjects related to ethics in schools to curb the scourge of corruption and make people understand the "devastation" it caused.
Motlanthe, said the following about corruption:

SOME STRONG MESSAGES: TEAM BUILDING VERSUS TEAM WASTING

As a seasoned academic and business consultant, I have attended various teambuilding sessions. In my own qualitative research on team effectiveness and storytelling I have found that this exercise is often time wasting. Often teams are sitting with pearls of wisdom but are not focused or engaged in using them to make a significant difference back in the workplace.
Suggestion:

The purpose of the “heartbeat” exercise

REAL-TIME FINE-TUNING TEAM conversations is to understand the real concerns of key team members, obtain insight into and clarity on the organisational situation as well as the team effectiveness of the management team. The “health” of a senior team is critical for the future success of any organisation.

Character champions Training

Ghana changing with character

In this interview Dr Mario Denton talked to Rev Sam Oppong regarding character-based
leadership challenges and sustainable implementation of character-based training in
Ghana, as well as about his recent experience in taking character-based training to the
next level in Ghana.

Denton: According to our records, Rev Sam, you have done Character First training in
Ghana for the third time. I am very keen to hear why you think the Character First
programme is needed in Ghana. Is this training really necessary and relevant and can it
be the solution to the problems of the times in which
we are living?

Oppong: Ghana is a very blessed country as we do have almost everything; for example, we
do have lots of natural resources, we have gold, the country is rich in cacao and has started producing oil, and it has lots of human resources. We have well-educated leadership and Ghana is made up of 68% Christians, but the problem is that we are seriously lacking in character. We are living in a society in which people love themselves, are lovers of money, boasters,proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers,
without self-control, despisers of good (2 Timothy 3:2). We see the signals of a society that is barren of virtue. I believe character-based training programmes can make a difference, because character is what makes a person want to be better and do better. When people are trained to value honour and integrity, they find the motivation to live that way for the rest of their
lives, wherever they are.