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Africa Silencing the Guns A looming reality

Leadership mettle is tested on its ability to turn aspirations into achievements and goals into reality to the benefit of all concerned.

With South Africa assigned the lead for the African Union, the country’s president is planted at the forefront of driving the Continent’s agenda, working with the rest of African Leaders. Will Africa get it right come 2063?

Silencing the Guns – A View

For Africa to be truly at peace with herself and for her to grow and prosper, the guns have to be silenced at all costs and by any or all means necessary.

When the African Union adopted the strategic goal or objective of Silencing the Guns by 2020 no one would have anticipated that the lofty and noble objective, would be subsumed by the more pressing need of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The managing of this crisis and the resultant economic calamity that ensued have, understandably, taken over as the primary challenges that need to be confronted and defeated, if Africa – South of the Sahara at least – is to emerge somewhat unscathed from this.

When President Ramaphosa assumed leadership of the continental body, the African Union, he correctly mapped out his programme which had at its apex, the silencing of the guns. This goal was thrust upon President Ramaphosa, because the timing of his leadership gave him no choice. Of all the AU Objectives, this is one of the few that had an achievement date – when adopting this strategic objective the members of the African Union saw it fit to attach a timeline to it.

Thus it was said the guns should be silenced, throughout the whole continent, by the year 2020. This was therefore, an unavoidable objective for the incumbent Chairperson, irrespective of whomever it would have been.

Africa – At War since 1950s

One would not be exaggerating if they intimated that Africa has never really been at peace since the beginning of time. Unlike European wars, which are properly documented and have start and end dates, African wars have been ongoing for decades if not centuries. While Europe may have suffered from inter-State full blown conflict most of the time, Africa has suffered mainly from intra-State low intensity conflict. This has allowed some African countries to have conflicts that have been raging for over 30 years without really affecting the entire country. Most of conflicts in Africa, while intra-State, have been regionally based. The Nigerian Boko Haram conflict is a case in point. This conflict is confined to a certain part of the country, while other parts of the country are allowed to continue with life as if the State is not at war. This has contributed to some Governments turning a blind eye or completely ignoring the conflicts raging in their countries by concentrating their authority on the parts of the country they can control. In Uganda, one would be forgiven for thinking the Lord’s Resistance Army Rebels have been completely defeated. Turning a blind eye on the LRA has allowed President Museveni to create a false sense of security for Ugandan citizens around major centres. However, for citizens in the periphery there is no security, peace or economic or social development for them.

Effects of War on Development

To truly understand the effects of continuous conflict on development, one needs to look no further than Somalia and Sudan (Darfur Region and South Sudan). Somalia has not seen peace and stability in decades. As a result of this – citizens of this country have not had any meaningful economic activity in that country. Most of the services that so many of us take for granted, provided by central or even local governments, are non-existent in Somalia.

Basic services, such as security, health and education are severely

curtailed, if at all present, in conflict areas. When the central absence of these revenues, the central government is weakened and government is struggling with maintaining peace and order and has to rendered ineffective. The authority of the State is also undermined continuously fight for its survival, resources tend to be prioritised for because you get private actors who are more resourced and capable keeping the incumbent governments in power. When the authority of than the State. Political power then tends to drift from politically elected the central government is threatened, all other responsibilities of the officials to economical appointed officials, who tend to exert their government, save for security, suffer. As a result of this, citizens have to influence using economic means, without holding any political office rely on the goodwill of foreign governments and aid agencies for their and driven by narrow and selfish interests at the expense of the populace education and healthcare. Security being the sole preserve of the State, who insist of holding elected officials to account. citizens having to fend for themselves in this regard. Foreign actors are Conflict makes the prevalence of this scenario possible – parts of not allowed to render direct security support to locals. With education the country that are not under government control are left at the mercy provided for by foreign nationals, the impact is that only a few lucky of whichever warlord that happens to rule at that time. The centrality individuals get to access basic education and even fewer get to access of the State is undermined. Uniformity of policy and government tertiary education – mostly in foreign institutions. Most of the populace objectives is absent. This then gives rise to shady characters who thrive are left outside the education circle and thus are doomed to perpetual in cases where there is no rule and order and benefit from so-called poverty and despondency. “war economies”.

Economic growth is the main indicator of economic development When the State is unable to both exert its authority and to collect within any geographic location. Countries that have experienced taxes, multi-nationals then tend to be more powerful that the State. prolonged periods of conflict tend to have very low or negligible In this case, government policies are developed and passed that will economic growth levels. After the Second World War, Europe had favour the multi-national companies. Development tends to be skewed to be rescued by the Bretton Woods institutes, such as the IMF in favour of the MNC’s. Locals who are alive to this unpalatable state and World Bank. But even then, for those organisations to have a of affairs, are then subjected to the severest form of repression and meaningful impact – there had to have been suppression. State institutions are then peace as a requisite. Naturally, economic unleashed against the very same people development tends to follow places that have an absence of war of conflict. The imperative The fact that these institutions are meant to serve. A weak State can never be in a ingredient of economic development, private and official investment, will never risk that not all position to implement developmental goals. A weak State can never maintain investing their capital in conflict ridden African countries peace, law and order in the geographical countries or areas. The presence of private actors is a have internal area that it governs. It is therefore imperative that the guns are silenced, necessary requirement for countries to grow and develop. States can only do strife and conflict Central Governments empowered, so that development – economic, social so much in pulling their citizens out of is something that and otherwise – is achieved. After all, poverty, in creating employment and technological innovation. Private players, should be taken this is the fundamental and most basic of all United Nations principles – the such as MNC’s and Conglomerates, have an added responsibility of creating advantage of. right of any state and nation to defend its sovereignty – which is also the basic tenet employment opportunities for citizens of of all national constitutions but has been their host countries. In conflict ridden denied of many African nations due (neo areas, these MNC’s and Big Corporates, and post) colonial interventions of various tend to steer way clear of these areas. The absence of private forms and guises including the use of MNC’s for this purposes. players and investment puts an extra burden on the State. The State Entrepreneurial activity and free enterprise is the primary avenue becomes the main employer and this inevitably leads to corruption through which private citizens can drag themselves out of poverty and and nepotism. If all opportunities are to be derived from the State, become meaningful players and contributors of economic development it stands to follow that occupying a position of authority within the of their country. When conflicts are rife, individuals tend to lose all State apparatus puts one in a prime position to be the arbiter of their entrepreneurial drive and ambition. After all, what is to motivate opportunities. If one has a weak ethical code then one becomes them to be innovative and entrepreneurial when the most basic human available to the highest bidder. rights are likely to be trampled upon and the state unable to fulfil its

The South African beer maker, South African Breweries (SAB), tried most fundamental obligations with national interest at the core of such venturing into South Sudan – when that country gained its independence decisions and actions? from Sudan. However, they soon realised that their foray into Juba was premature since soon thereafter South Sudan degenerated into armed Attainment of Peace – Strong Central Governments conflict that persists till today. Having taken the risk of being the first For the guns to be silent, and peace be attained, the centre needs multi-national company to establish themselves in Juba, they had to to hold. Central governments need to be strong, both politically, withdraw and abandon their operations in Juba, fearing for their safety economically, socially and militarily. They need to be equipped with the and fleeing an environment that became hostile to business. best equipment, skills, processes, individuals and resources that would

The ability of central government to exert authority and collect taxes allow them to attend to any emergent threat – may it be security, social, is the primary way in which central governments derive their revenue. environmental or economical. Through these tax revenues governments are then able to implement For Africa to be at peace, African solutions need to be found social and security projects and thus project state power whilst ensuring and adopted to resolve African challenges and problems. This also that development is achieved within a secure environment. In the applies to the equipment and products that we employ to solve our

challenges. History has repeatedly shown us that not all Western or European solutions are applicable to African challenges. The export of regional ideologies and practices to other regions need to be done with due regard to the (cultural and historical) differences between the two regions.

Africans need to take charge of their own renewal and revival process. The most developed countries on the continent need to be at the forefront of this process. South Africa, and its economic sectors – who are undoubtedly leaders on the continent, need to work with their African counterparts in developing and championing solutions to our current problems. This is more so in the domain of security.

We cannot as a continent, outsource our collective and individual security to forces outside the continent. Forces who are motivated by their own self-interest and survival. For these forces, it is in their best interest when the numerous conflicts persist from Libya in the north, to Nigeria in the west as well as to Somalia east and the DRC centrally with Mozambique completing the axis in the south. This is because from the continued conflict the West continues to reap various benefits which include but are not limited to geo-political influence and most importantly economic benefits both direct and indirect.

Placing Africans, both black and white, at the forefront of finding solutions to African challenges will ensure that Africa’s interest are the driving force in that process. The South African Defence Industry can play such a role as for years it has equipped the South African National Defence Force and prepared it for the multiple deployments, and ensured its successful preparation, readiness and participation in various missions both within and outside the RSA.

To this end, the SADI has ensured that the SANDF is capable of executing its Constitutional obligation of defending the country and protecting its sovereignty. This has allowed the South African Central government to be strong – and by extension this had deterred any potential would be rebels or insurgents. Who is to say, if the South African government had not been strong, the Boer Afrikaner Right Wing elements would not have tried their luck? We have seen such in Mozambique where RENAMO fighters have continuously taken advantage of the challenges of the FRELIMO government and inserted themselves militarily in Mozambican political discourse. Recent ISIS related insurgency is the result of the same conditions that have previously allowed RENAMO to thrive.

Calibre of Individuals Required to Drive the Continent Forward

That the guns will eventually be silenced, is not in question, what is in question is when this will be and whether Africa has the right calibre of individuals to get this done – and most importantly the individuals that will take Africa forward after the guns have been silenced. While it is still in question, as when the guns will be silenced, one thing we can all agree on is that it will not be in 2020. However, it is still possible for Africa to start investing the in the calibre of leaders and individuals who will be suited to the task, of development, at hand.

The fact that not all African countries have internal strife and conflict is something that should be taken advantage of. This means African countries that have peace and stability should be working very hard at, firstly, attaining economic prosperity for their citizens, secondly, assisting countries less developed to get on the path towards development and lastly, working with the AU to bring an end to hostilities to countries where they still persist.

Of course, this will require political intent and will. Without political will, nothing will be done. However, political intent alone will not be enough to achieve the desired outcome. There is also a necessity to prepare our countries’ workforce with the necessary skills and competencies that will allow them to deal effectively with the challenges of the future. In this regard, HR practitioners have a critical role to play.

HR practitioners will have to assume their rightful role of being influencers of industrial, economic and educational policies, of their respective countries. The development of scarce skills will have to be the collective responsibility of both government and private sector. Private industries will have to inform government of the required skills and government will have to come up with policies that will make the development, of such skills, possible. Through curriculum development (at the basic education level) and introducing incentives to private companies (at industry level) will ensure that overtime African countries have the relevant skilled workforce that can compete successfully with countries such as India and China for global manufacturing opportunities.

Africa’s young population places Africa at the cusp of global dominance. It is therefore imperative that we, as Africans, led by an activist citizenry and empowered politicians, develop policies that will see to it that Africa’s youth play a meaningful role in the development of the continent and the world. One way of doing this, is by equipping this young population with skills and knowledge that will place them at the forefront of the digital revolution. Being at the forefront of recruitment, for private sector companies, HR practitioners are best placed to influence decisions on curriculum, industrial policy and infrastructure investment by governments.

Africa’s future is certain however, not inevitable. Concrete and deliberate actions will have to be taken to ensure that it materialises. Beyond equipping African governments/states to defend their nations and sovereignty, African government will have to acknowledge that our best assert is our people – we need to properly equip and train them to get them ready to lead the next phase of the developmental struggle and to do so within a secure and stable environment.

MASTER REMOTE The New Management Style

Modern people-management principles have all but rid the workplace of micromanagement, with positive results on organisational delivery.

BY: ROB DANIEL, MD, ROB DANIEL ASSOCIATES

The growing need for virtual operations further stretches people managers, testing the effectiveness of goal setting, coaching and dynamic performance management. It also represents an acid test for team maturity.

Irrespective of team maturity levels, with remote work becoming an imperative, remote is the management style way beyond the pandemic.

Indeed, the coronavirus pandemic is expected to change the way we work now and into the future. As organisations suggest to those that display Covid-19 symptoms to “self–quarantine and everyone else to practice “social distancing”, remote work has become the new “management style”.

In this article, we define remote work, discuss how it is implemented; examine its benefits and look at challenges arising out of working remotely and explore some tested solutions to these.

What is Remote Work?

“Remote work” is when individuals, teams, employees, or independent contractors, to accomplish a shared organisational purpose, work/operate from anywhere, e.g., at home or in a distant location, other than at their designated physical place of work or employment.

Remote Work facets

This results in individuals or teams having to communicate largely over virtual platforms. The expectation is that modern technology will enable us to maintain connectivity and to conduct our business without sacrificing standards of performance and collaboration, even though we may be dispersed geographically. Some remote workers are full-time, others may have the flexibility to work remotely if and when they choose, and then there are those with no choice as is the case with the periods of enforced lockdown coupled with social distancing during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

A Workplace challenge

Are we ready to work remotely? Are we ready to manage individuals or teams working remotely?

We may be excited at either one of these prospects, but are we all familiar with the associated challenges? While there are a lot of similarities between managing remote staff and managing those on-site, it is however a mistake to assume that a remote employee is the same as the one in the office. Remote staff are faced with unique challenges and these have to be understood.

Challenges faced by remote staff include: ´unplugging” after work, lack of face-to-face contact with clients, colleagues and supervisors, lack of reliable connectivity and limited information access. There are other practical aspects such as distractions at home, incidental interruptions, loneliness, etc. The more we understand the needs and challenges of working remotely the more prepared we will be for what is increasingly becoming the norm.

IMPLEMENTATION Type of Work

Where is remote work more suitable, you might wonder. Rather than economic sectors, it will be more useful to list job types or work performed. This will give a better idea of the environment where the strategy can best be adopted. Job types or work best suited include, inter alia,: design, development, online marketing, writing/ editing, customer support, call centres, teaching, accounting, data entry, virtual assistants (e.g., secretarial), social media management, commodity trading, sales, etc.

Planned approach

Successful implementation, at a high level, include the following activities: Create multidisciplinary and multi-level steering committee; identify your need/s, objective/s and benefit/s as well as the degree of urgency; assess organisational/team/individual readiness; plan a pilot down to individual jobs if necessary; communicate about the project; encourage participation and value input; provide the technology that remote teams will require; train where necessary; draft/adjust policies and procedures to support the

initiative; pilot the program and evaluate; fine tune; communicate the final project plan; implement the remote work project; evaluate the outcome after a period of time; communicate the results of the evaluation; prepare for whatever the next step will be.

Organisational Preparedness

Despite the increased prevalence of remote work over the years, many organisations are still not equipped to adopt or create an adequate “model” for working remotely, and may struggle to meet the operational requirements of those with a preference for working remotely. While many do have the communication tools and software to go that route, they have concerns and biases about giving “autonomy” to employees. On the other hand, when organisations with the appropriate mind-set based on trust implement the proper tools and software, and put the correct processes in place, remote work can be a game changer.

BENEFITS OF WORKING REMOTELY Core value focus

A sudden change to work-from-home or working remotely can often be a boon for many organisations, especially with employee feelings of accountability and appreciation that accompany such a step. Further, it gives organisations opportunities to re-evaluate core culture, existing structures, and business processes that may have been stunting performance and growth in the past.

Borderless talent sourcing

Because talent has no borders, from a workplace perspective, the impact of remote work will also be felt in the quality and quantity of resources that become available for recruitment from an expanded geographical area.

Heightened engagement and autonomy

Providing autonomy, demonstrating trust and being transparent are best practices and “must haves” in remote work situations. They promote employee engagement, retention, motivation, improved morale, and employees feeling valued.

Diversified client base

Diverse teams are able to relate to a wider range of customers and users than homogeneous teams. Remote work diversity can give organisations operating in differing markets a competitive edge. Similarly, while remote work is not ideal for every organisation, it does provide an opportunity to rethink team composition for more creative problem-solving capacity.

CHALLENGES, AND SOLUTIONS, ARISING OUT OF WORKING REMOTELY

Awareness of the conditions that can promote and reduce the success of remote teams help to improve the way we operate. Here are some of the challenges or “to dos” pertaining to remote work. These must be addressed, whether in an emergency scenario or not.

Employee Preparedness

Most organisations have not been set up for this, neither psychologically nor with the infrastructure. People are wondering what is going on with the company, with their objectives, with their clients, and in their environment as a result of this shift to remote work.

Solutions include: Interventions should address soft (psychological) and hard (technological) issues, i.e., willingness and confidence as well as ability to execute. Employees should be made aware of the need and reasons for the change to remote work; next at both the individual and group levels the wanting to, desire or motivation for change must be addressed through providing an understanding of “what is in it for them”; as the change to remote work moves into implementation, knowledge about the change needs to be developed and questions must be answered around what the change will “look, feel and sound like”; next the resources and capability to implement or execute must be provided and developed; and lastly, the change to remote work must be reinforced to prevent things going back to the old behaviours and ways of operating. Some “to dos” supporting the above are dealt with in more detail below.

Employee Stress Levels

It doesn’t matter how much you prepare the team, some members are going to find it more stressful than others when working remotely. Look for signs like disorientation, fewer emails, and also quietness during virtual meetings.

Solutions include: Show empathy; increase frequency of contact and encourage team members to do the same; involve Human Resources/ Employee Assistance to offer encouragement and support. It will be opportune for the Chief Executive to be more visible through video and voice recordings to calm people down and to reassure everyone that there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.

Organisational Values

Organisations have over the years spent much energy agreeing on organisational values, culture, and the supporting behaviours. These have included treating employees as stakeholders, treating them equally, promoting long term relationships, creating productive work experiences, development, etc. Introducing a new concept like remote work will mean there will be general uncertainty about these.

Solutions include: Reinforce the culture, the values, model the supporting behaviours, and remind staff of the channels to deal with “non-compliance”; ensure your policies are not contradictory and support working remotely.

Policies

Every organisation has expectations, whether work is remote or not, around “conditions of employment”. Clear and well communicated policies and procedures will facilitate in keeping everyone focussed.

Solutions include: Clarify expectations around hours of work, availability (personal versus work life), recruitment and selection, promotion, training and development, remuneration, leave, performance management, etc.

Communication/Access to Information

The risk of misinformation is high. Probably the biggest challenge facing remote work is intermittent/limited communication or a complete lack thereof. Email is not enough. Without the right tools personnel talk less to one another, have less “mutual knowledge”, feel isolated, and remote work suffers.

Solutions include: Brush up on your on-line communication skills. Make it easy for everyone to ask questions. Promote regular two-way dialogue between managers, the team as well as colleagues. Use instant messaging channels, video conferencing, daily checkins, and voice notes. Try to maintain at least the same levels of communication as previously. The efficiency of remote work improves when rules of engagement are clear, e.g., timing of calls, frequency of calls, etc.

Trust

Display trust in and support the team. The alternative will be a manager who is frustrated and over concerned at the loss of “sight” of the team which could lead to inappropriate micromanagement.

Solutions include: Don’t become consumed with and look for performance problems; rather allow the performance management and goal/task setting and review systems to take care of these.

Clear Instructions and Transparency

When people understand why they are doing something they can see how what they are doing fits into the bigger picture. Consequently they can prioritise more effectively and are more likely to take ownership.

Solutions include: Provide clear expectations and instructions with reasons; have shared communication channels.

Personal Connections

Building a connected team goes a long way towards building trust which makes managing conflict easier. A big challenge is creating closeness among team members who may never have met one another in person, or have had very limited face-to-face interaction.

Solutions include: Create a sense of community and “mutual knowledge” by creating space to discuss personal well-being, or use video calls to create a more intimate atmosphere; arrange annual conferences for the team members to attend in person.

Collaboration

Many feel that effective collaboration is the key to success as it is necessary to maintain productivity levels and projects on track.

Solutions include: Team messaging, video conferencing, file sharing to facilitate feedback, remote brain storming as well as decision making. Including employees in goal setting conversations, and providing regular positive and constructive feedback helps create a collective mind set towards achieving goals.

Role Definition and Measureable Outputs

Without clear expectations accompanying your instructions you will have difficulty measuring, tracking and providing feedback on outputs.

Solutions include: Project management tools; time management tools; focus on what should be accomplished; emphasise the importance of roles and outputs to team/organisational success; and, because of reduced visibility of staff, managers must improve relationship building and monitoring techniques.

Focus on Outputs and Not Processes

The work-from-home and other remote landscapes will mean we are juggling with work, personal and family commitments while attempting to do our jobs. This sets up opportunities for each of us to operate in situations that have interests that are often conflicting.

Solutions include: Managers must pay more attention to what actually gets done (outputs), and focus less on process; managers must emphasise to the team the importance of outputs.

Recognition

During times of disruption, uncertainty, change, or attempting something new, we all enjoy some kind of acknowledgement for our efforts at mastering the situation. The same holds true for entering a new remote work environment or learning to operate some new technology.

Solutions include: Because of the reduced visibility of staff, managers must improve relationship building and monitoring techniques; managers must find out the barriers to performance that the team has overcome and where colleagues have been of assistance.

Innovation

With uncertainty we all become hesitant and risk-averse when attempting something new or complex in order to reduce the prospects of failure. It is during uncertain and desperate times that we often need greater innovation to extricate ourselves and come out stronger.

Solutions include: Support innovation and provide safety nets for failure; share successes; support initiatives to find something new where the risks are worthwhile.

Virtual Meetings

Face-to-face meetings internally and with clients will no longer be the norm. They will be replaced by virtual meetings where best meeting practice will go beyond clarifying the purpose, circulating an agenda, generating a list of who should attend, not having distractions during the meeting, etc.

Solutions include: Introduce video conferencing so attendees can see one another; create a safe environment as some may feel uncomfortable meeting in this way; manage time extra carefully as you won’t have the opportunity to walk into/drive to someone’s office thereafter to discuss things further.

Technology/Equipment

Virtual communication is different. It requires more equipment than a laptop and mobile phone, and it will not necessarily be perfect or completely effective. Working remotely requires everyone involved to have access to the necessary technology and collaborative tools. This is to ensure that organisations can execute faster through keeping work organised and prioritised while ensuring that everyone is always online and on track. Don’t assume everyone knows how to operate within a virtual environment, or is comfortable doing so.

Solutions include: Appropriate work/office accommodation - whether at home or elsewhere to work remotely; direct, one-on-one and team messaging technology to provide secure real time access to people and information that email and social messaging apps cannot; video conferencing to communicate face-to-face from just about anywhere; file sharing; digital note taking; process automation to speed up routine tasks; upskilling to use the various tools that include: Cloud Computing, Zoom, Skype, Slack, Microsoft Teams, TeamViewer, etc.

WAY FORWARD

Business continuity and productivity do not need to suffer over the medium to long terms as a result of working remotely. While there might be delays initially, business continuity and productivity must at least be maintained and even enhanced. We can’t observe everything our team members are doing under normal circumstances. Our mindsets must change; we must be willing to believe and to learn that our teams will perform while working remotely.

We must give them the correct tools, review priorities, monitor performance (outcomes) in the same ways we have always done, and stop focusing on process. Remote work has been around for decades. The difference is that today we have all the technologies to do the work as well as to communicate and to collaborate remotely. People are probably not going to completely or permanently change the way they work. The option to work remotely is most certainly going to expand our repertoire in terms of the way we operate.