Meet the team

Penny Abbott

Penny is an independent HR Practitioner with over 30 years of human resources management experience globally and locally. She has worked in the financial, mining, manufacturing, fast moving consumer goods, food and pharmaceutical industries. She spent 3 years recently as global Head of Corporate Human Resources for the multinational Holcim Group based in Switzerland, after 8 years as Executive in charge of Human Resources first at Adcock Ingram Ltd and then later at the company now known as AfriSam). Read more…

Peter Beck

Peter runs his own consulting business specialising in change and diversity. He is currently very active in the HIV/AIDS field in Southern, West and East Africa. Peter is an HR specialist with over 12 years operational/line experience and 18 years organisational development with specific interest and experience of performance and change management, graduate and fast track development, discrimination management managing of diversity/relationship issues. Read more…

Nobantu Mpotulo

Nobantu holds qualifications in HR management and Guidance and Counselling from local and UK universities. After 10 years of providing student and staff counselling at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Transkei – which included working with victims of violence for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission – she then became Director of Strategic Planning for Technikon Northern Gauteng and afterwards moved into the corporate sector, managing bursary funds, scholarship programmes and study schemes at Telkom. Read More…

 

Mentoring

Mentoring in its most basic form is the transfer of knowledge and experience for mutual benefit. It is one of the most powerful methods of developing skills and talent and has become a cornerstone of growth and efficiency within organisations. The two main models are:

Sponsorship mentoring

  • Emphasises the mentor’s power & influence, largely a one-way learning process.

Developmental mentoring

  • Emphasises support for self-development and self-career management on the part of the mentee.
  • CA pioneered this model and has championed it as an internationally established developmental model.

Coaching

Coaching is a real time intervention by another person (coach) designed to raise the awareness of an individual (coachee) so that s/he can improve performance in a defined task.  There are two prevalent models of coaching:

Traditional coaching

  • This model relies heavily on giving people feedback and helping them use that feedback.

Developmental coaching

  • The more recent model that has a lot in common with developmental mentoring.
  • It helps the learner access their own innate skills and knowledge and provide their own feedback, through self-observation and reflection.

In setting up a coaching programme, the return on time spent will be greatly enhanced if the coachee is well prepared. Launched in March, 2011, a new Guide for Coachees – how to optimise your coaching journey, is an excellent starting point for the coaching. Marketing flyer – Coachee Guide