South Africa Leadership Outlook – Change Tolerance Will Drive Pace Of Recovery by Transearch International
As with other commodity-dependent economies, the Republic of South Africa has witnessed market volatility that has served as a backdrop for companies like those in the platinum industry to put major projects on hold. This while the whole African continent nervously watches for signals about China’s ability to sustain medium-term projects relating to other natural resources.
Lack of access to capital has adversely affected many organisations across all industries, with the mining industry being especially hard hit. Difficult times have surfaced a growing need for South African companies to review their strategic business options, reprioritise projects in terms of their capital requirements and consider key opportunities to create longer-term sustainability, such as exploring joint ventures as a way of splitting risk and hedging against lingering economic uncertainty.
Additional pressures include wage demands, which, relative to inflation, have been excessive, putting further pressures on employers, production and employment at a time when anti-inflationary measures were starting to pay dividends. To some degree, these demands permeate industries preparing the necessary infrastructure ahead of the 2010 World Cup.
The common wisdom, reports Mike Shearing, a consultant in the Johannesburg office of executive search firm TRANSEARCH International, is that the Southern African region will lag a world economic recovery by about six months. Therefore, he explains, “It is essential that competent leaders are in place to ensure proper strategic planning can bear fruit immediately when the opportunities for recovery present themselves.”
Challenging times require a different type of leadership and being able to attract such leaders will definitely permit organisations across the Republic of South Africa and the continent to gain advantage over competitors by installing the systems and processes needed to ensure sustainability of production and cost containment.
“If anything,” Shearing suggests, “despite the economic downturn, the need for executives and senior-management who can manage in bad times has not abated, as a different style is required than is needed for fair-weather management.” Further, he adds, “It is also an indication of the depth of the executive-level skills shortage that existed previously, that top skills are still in demand.”
Because of the need for new ideas and new thinking, one emerging trend has companies in South Africa moving away from the traditional practice of developing and promoting from within to a greater willingness to recruit from the outside, and to acquire management talent from outside the industry. This implies a focus on quality recruitment and less tolerance of average performance within.
Assuming that China remains a source of demand for raw materials and services from African countries and that signs of recovery in America continue to gain momentum, business leaders expect they will begin to feel the winds of recovery in the Republic of South Africa by the second quarter of 2010.
This article is an extract of the White Paper entitled ‘EMEA Leadership Outlook – Looking Ahead With Measured Optimism’. Get your copy of the full White Paper via the Transearch International executive search firm website. Given their unique viewpoints on the way forward, distinguished executive search consultants from a number of TRANSEARCH International offices across the EMEA region contribute their unique market insight and client engagement expertise.
About the Author
Executive search firm TRANSEARCH International has representation in most of the major economic centres of the world with 59 offices in 37 countries. TRANSEARCH International was founded in 1982 and is a leading international executive search firm. South Africa Leadership Outlook – Change Tolerance Will Drive Pace Of Recovery
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