Louise VAN RHYn
Are you busy with any projects at the moment? If so, please tell us a little more about them.
The project that has become just about all consuming is Partners for Possibility: We are extremely proud of this leadership development process as it is at the forefront of world-class leadership development. It is a Proudly South African innovation (developed in South Africa for the world). We have incorporated the 9 components of world-class leadership development practice into a yearlong leadership development process, which simultaneously achieves 2 goals:
1) Develop leadership skills (for leaders in business and education);
2) Facilitate sustainable change in schools around South Africa
What are you passionate about?
I am passionate about leadership development and the possibility that business can be a force for good in the world. I have spent the majority of my professional life working with business leaders and I am convinced that this is one of the major assets of South Africa: Our amazing business leaders (who have so much more to offer to the world than to generate income for shareholders).
What advice would you give your younger self?
To focus on your gifts rather than your deficiencies.
What has been your biggest adverstity and how have you overcome it?
Because our project is leading edge, it has not been easy to fund it so I have been living close to bankruptcy for too many years. Being under financial pressure has stolen my joy on more than one occasion and I keep hoping that we will find the financial support we need in 2014 so that we can focus on doing the work we are called to do rather than grappling with funding challenges.
To read more about Louise Van Rhyn go to our website.
Photos courtesy of www.educationinnovations.org
Please tell us a little more about yourself and your journey thus far.
I am extremely privileged. I have had the opportunity to live, work and study in many different countries around the world. I’ve studied and work with many iconic leaders and have had many amazing opportunities to develop and grow my professional practice (as leadership and organizational development practitioner).
I am a home-comer. I returned to South Africa with my family after living in the UK. I wanted my children to grow up in South Africa but soon realised that this decision came with responsibility. If I wanted them to flourish, I had to do what I can to ensure that South Africa is a good place for them to grow up, be educated and raise a family. This is what led me to what I do now (and what I would like to spend the rest of my professional life doing): developing cross-sectorial leadership capabilities in South Africa (specifically to enable us to deal with our education crisis).
Founder and Group CEO of Symphonia & Xtraordinary Women's Women of the Month