Business School Hosts Two Dynamic Guest Lecturers in MBA Programme

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The guest lectureship initiative in the Graduate School of Business and Leadership (GSB&L) got off to a resounding start when two high profile guest lecturers brought their thinking as highly-skilled practitioners into the MBA leadership module.

The guests were Ms Vani Moodley of Vani Moodley & Associates and Dr Augusta Dorning, who is the Head for Africa Business for Lenmed Health.

Moodley, whose background in global entrepreneurship and leadership training, coaching and development spans working in “26 different countries and three islands in the world”, gave an in-depth presentation entitled: Beyond the MBA…a Focus on Women.

Speaking to the MBA cohort, Moodley discussed challenges for women in leadership and gave cogent examples from the beginnings of her working life as a packer in a supermarket to where she is today.

Commenting on the fact that she entered academia relatively late in her career and was thus able to apply the theory to her lived experiences, Moodley shared leadership concepts that informed her practice which the audience found very useful.

Moodley appears in the recently published book by GSB&L’s Professor Kriben Pillay: The Survivalists: Visionary Leadership for South Africa’s Marginalised Entrepreneurs – the story of the Independent Business Enrichment Centre (IBEC), which Moodley acknowledges as being pivotal in skilling her as a training and development practitioner.

Dorning is an internationally published author, academic and philanthropist with a string of accolades to her name as a leader in business.

In her presentation on developing inner and outer leadership skills, she engaged the students with stimulating experiential exercises, while being openly mindful of the fact that different individuals learn differently, and appropriately provided a multi-modal experience for the audience.

The students were particularly impressed with the insights into the practical aspects of leadership, with real-life lessons drawn from Dorning’s intimate knowledge of the corporate environment. However, having also worked in the government sector for 20 years, Dorning was also able to address questions that arose about leadership in the public versus the private sectors.

Professor Cecile Gerwel Proches, the co-ordinator for the MBA leadership module, summed up the experience of having Moodley and Dorning with these words: ‘It’s a powerful illustration of the value in bringing together academia and industry. The guest lecturers brought theory to life, illustrating how leadership is something that is lived and not only visible in a title or formal position of authority. The presentations highlighted how leadership is impacted by perceptions, values, personality and mental models, and how leaders also need to be mindful of their followers. Students were also able to understand that leadership starts with oneself and that an honest assessment of the leader’s strengths and weaknesses will go far in effectively leading and inspiring followers to achieve shared purpose and outcomes.’

Proches’ sentiments were endorsed by the lead lecturer on the module, Dr Emmanuel Mutamabara, who added that the guest lecturer initiative added immense value for the students through giving additional depth and breadth to the module’s content.

Words: Ndabaonline