Sunday, January 10, 2016

Racism - A reality and a challenge.


I have, in all my travels around the world, always prided myself on the ability that the people of our country have to talk about racial matters and issues.  Those of you you have had similar international experience will agree that this is generally something that is not discussed in polite company in most countries.

At work we have a culture of very open discussion, and over lunch we often handle matters that can shock outsiders who are visiting,  Race and religion are two favourite topics, and I am continually surprised at how the discussions reveal how little we understand about our fellow South Africans, their culture, understandings and viewpoints.  

For example, one of our Tsonga colleagues, admitted that when growing up he had always thought that when white people smiled at him when they walked past him, that this was them being condescending and even laughing at him. It was only years later at varsity when he saw them doing it to each other that he realised it was "just a crazy white thing". But imagine he never had that opportunity, and every time a white person walked past and grinned at him he took offence, how would that change his perception of white people over time?  

Likewise, during the recent #feesmustfall campaign, a discussion of how everyone's studies had been funded showed that everyone in the room, white and black, had been required to pay for their own studies by working, and at best been lucky to get bursary funding in their third or final years as their parents had not been in a position to fund their studies. No freebies or parental handouts for anyone!

Also understanding the expectations that the family have of a black graduate in South Africa was an eye opener for the white staff, most of whom had only been expected to assist their families after they were financially established if at all.

Taking this to a bigger picture, if we are ever to move forward as a nation, with one common goal that we all  can buy into, we first need to learn more about each other.  It doesn't mean we will all agree on everything, but if we take the time to understand other people's view it makes agreeing to disagree a lot easier.  It also means when we disagree on one point we have enough common ground to find a way to deal with the issue rather than throw up our hands in despair and walk away.

We have all of us, Black, White, Coloured and Asian, grown up with myths about the "other" South Africans, and unless we engage with those self same other South Africans to discuss what we understand, we have only those myths to work from, with all the misunderstandings they will cause.  

If, as Scouts, we are to be Messengers of Peace in our communities, we have a responsibility to learn and encourage other people to reach outside of their comfort zone and learn about our fellow citizens. It's tough and its uncomfortable at times, but the value of the fruits will speak for itself.

And in achieving this we have an advantage in that, as a youth based organisation,we can learn from the children who engage without seeing race, or the other petty divisions we use to artificially carve up humanity. 


In his closing address at the First World Jamboree in 1920, Baden Powell asked, "Brother scouts, I ask you to make a solemn choice. Differences exist between the peoples of the world in thought and sentiment, just as they do in language and physique. This (First World) War has taught us that if one nation tries to impose it's particular will on others, cruel reaction is bound to follow. This jamboree has taught us that, if we exercise mutual forbearance and give-and-take, then there is harmony. If it be your will, let us go forth from here determined that we will develop among ourselves and our boys that comradeship, through the world wide spirit of the scout brotherhood so that we may help to develop peace and happiness in the world and good will among men. Brother scouts, answer me- will you join me in this endeavour?

Well will you.......



Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Garden of Character

First Harmelia showing some of the fruits of their Food for Life Garden

I was fortunate enough to be able to witness Mr Scott Teare's closing address at the 2015 Africa Scout Conference held in Kampala, Uganda.  In his very moving closing speech, Scott moved the audience with a visual description of his understanding of Scouting, which I would like to share with you below.  I hope you will be as inspired by my humble sharing of these words as we were by his sincere and frank presentation of them.


Mr Scott Teare (Secretary General, WOSM)
In Scott's own words:

"Scouting actually plants a "Garden of  Character".

No matter how small the space or the growing conditions - we can always plant a simple Garden of Character.

Here is my suggestion as a start of such a garden.

No garden would be complete without five Peas: Promptness, Preparedness, Politeness, Perseverance and Prayer.

I would also plant four Lettuces: Lettuce be Loyal, Lettuce be Helpful, Lettuce be Friendly and Lettuce love one another.

Perhaps some squash would be good too: Squash gossip, Squash criticism, Squash indifference and Squash prejudice.

And no garden would be complete without at least three Turnip's: Turnip with a smile, Turnip with new ideas, Turnip with real determination to do all we can to include as many young people as possible.

The harvest of such a garden will be tremendous!"

Scott finished his speech by reminding us all that:

"Today young people spell Love T-I-M-E.

They just want  a little of your time to help them feel love and have faith in them.
Thank you for giving TIME, for giving your love."

With inspirational leadership and a shared vision as encompassing as this, how can we but succeed in Scouting!




Tuesday, July 21, 2015

SSA Contingent prepares to head to Japan World Jamboree

Today we wish all the best to our 178 delegates who are heading off from all over South Africa to join over 32,000 scouts from around the world at the 2015 World Scout Jamboree in Japan.  For many of these participants this will be the first time they travel internationally and for some their first long distance flight. 

But this year’s contingent is also going to be experiencing another first.  This contingent are the first to be wearing the new South African national flag badge.    The badge, which is modelled on a beaded South African flag, is very representative of our South African Scouting Family.  

Each one of us, like the individual beads portrayed on the badge, brings our own personal splash of colour to the table, be it red, green, blue, black, white or yellow.  At first glance, we seem like a swirl on a palette, full of potential to be anything we can imagine.  But when we work together, we form the pattern of something meaningful, in this case the symbol of our incredible rainbow nation.

The badge is circled by coloured rings representative of the three branches of Scouting.  That is yellow for Cubs, green for Scouts and red for Rovers.   The rings bind the flag in much the same way as these branches of Scouting help prepare and contribute towards the growth of our members as contributing and constructive citizens of our country.

We know that our contingent will have an incredible experience and we are proud and grateful that they have been part of the launch of our new national SCOUTS South Africa flag badge as they take it out on its maiden trip to show the world the calibre and value of South African Scouting.

Monday, March 16, 2015

You left me no choice....



How often do we have people in authority (parents, scouters, bosses, government) talk about having no choice when announcing an unpopular decision?

This point has been on my mind a lot lately as I am in the process of dealing with a internal disciplinary matter.  The volunteer in this case has clearly violated a number of conditions of their service and the simple answer is to boot the individual out as they left me no choice.  Or did they?

We always have more than one choice in any set of circumstances.  I could ignore the offence and hope it goes away, but that has ramifications for both myself and the organisation that I am unwilling to tolerate.   I could throw the book at the person, kick them out and as a consequence lose their potential value and future contributions to the movement.  I could rap them over the knuckles and provide support to get them back on the team page but that will require work and explanation internally.   I am sure you can also think of many other options I could consider.

As a leader you have the responsibility to mentor, train and develop those in your organisation. When you state as a leader that you have no choice, what you are actually saying is one of two things, either you don't like the consequences of the alternatives you have considered in responding to the offensive action, or you haven't bothered to spend the time and energy to find an alternative.

Own the decisions you make!

I will have to make a choice between the options I have seen or thought up, but at the end of the day I am choosing an action deliberately to (hopefully) achieve a greater goal.  When you send the message that you have no choice you are actually just letting others decide for you or shirking the responsibility of your role.

No-one said the job as leader was going to be easy or all sunshine and roses, but the right call today - even the thorny ones that come with lots of pricked fingers - is off far greater value in the long run. And never forget that with a little work you can often trim the thorns off.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

On International Woman's Day

Emma Watson, in addressing the UN on gender and equality said, “How can we effect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?”

We are fortunate to live in a time when, in most of the world, discrimination on the basis of gender is, at the very least, frowned on.   Recent research by McKinsey, on the performance of listed entities is providing demonstrable evidence of the benefits of mixed gender boards, and show this effect to be true across many different cultures and economies.  As with all forms of discrimination, we still have a long road to travel before we can comfortably say that all men and women feel welcome to the table to engage on all topics, but we have the openness to realise a unique opportunity to build on the unique and often complementary leadership styles that woman bring to any given situation.  

So this International Woman's Day, let us celebrate the potential and contribution of the women who are all around us in our homes, organisations and everyday life.  





Sunday, September 7, 2014

Be prepared!

When Benjamin Franklin woke he claimed to ask every morning "What good will I do today?" 

As  Scout, present or past, you are called on to be prepared everyday.  Having a plan and an objective for each day is part of that preparation.   

As an active contributing member of your family/company/community, what is your plan today and how will you make a difference?

Thursday, August 7, 2014

The Rules or the Principles

Every organisation has one; the go to guy who knows all the rules backwards and can quote them chapter and verse.  But are they a good leader or a good library?

Many managers are measured., incorrectly I believe, for their ability to hold their staff to work within the rules of the organisation.  But is this the correct way to develop and grow their leadership and their team?

Often the rules are drafted to govern the lowest common denominator and are a attempt to codify the principles of the organisation.  But we all realise that, given the vagaries of language, that even the most carefully worded laws or rules are open to interpretation in their implementation.

If you understand the reason for the rule in addition to the letter of the law you are far better placed to guide your team and deal with issues as they arise.   A blind application of rules often leads to what can only be called a  miscarriage of justice and defeat the objectives of the movement.

So my advice is that you spend your time understanding the why rather than learning to merely recitng the rules