Read Our Blog On Culture Change

As employers and employees embrace AI, many see it as a tool for handling repetitive, structured tasks that people would rather avoid. AI certainly adds value, from generating high-quality meeting notes to helping leaders summarise dense reports and extract key insights efficiently. Yet, for all its capabilities, AI cannot replace human judgment. Those who embrace AI as an enabler rather than a threat will be the ones who thrive.

The subconscious mind plays a crucial role in how we respond to the world around us. It operates beneath our conscious awareness, storing memories, associations, and emotional experiences from our past. The subconscious is vast, interconnected and can bring up emotional responses from moments as far back as childhood. The real challenge arises when these responses are triggered without us realising it.

While coaching culture transformation in many African organisations, I notice that some still operate on an outdated principle. Managers and supervisors scrutinise employee performance for mistakes to correct mistakes rather than successes to celebrate. When leaders shift their focus from fault-finding to recognising strengths, organisations see higher engagement, stronger performance, and more resilient teams.

As a coach in organisational culture transformation, I see the effort modern African companies are making to appreciate the value of diversity. But there’s a tendency to look for the easily visible signs of difference - ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or mobility - rather than the true diversity that lies within people. The concept - and fact - of Neurodiversity is often seen as a challenge, yet history proves it can be a remarkable asset.

A classic marketing objective is to build brand awareness – especially for new launches. But this simply can’t happen unless the target audience’s attention is grabbed first. Today, we all pride ourselves on the ability to multi-task. How much do we really take in when we’re not actually focusing on one thing? The word ‘Attention’ is defined as ‘the concentration of awareness on some phenomenon to the exclusion of other stimuli’.

In my daily work inside the cultures of numerous African organisations, I discover common truths. One of these is how hard it is to onboard new hires quickly and effectively. Speed is essential because, after the first thirty days, a new joiner has heard so many varied opinions from colleagues and bosses that the opportunity has been lost. Effectiveness can best be judged by how quickly a new person becomes productive.