Bankers Association of Malawi (BAM), a representative body of nine commercial banks, has highly rated its first-ever corporate executives business breakfast, saying they will make it an annual event.
In a statement, BAM chief executive officer Violette Santhe said the banking profession cannot be stuck in the archaic leadership policies and philosophies that are not in tandem with the modern world.
“As the financial services sector is undergoing rigorous changes technologically that are ever threatening the survival of the sector, it is imperative that key leaders in all sectors are futuristic and well positioned to drive their entities through the turbulence of change.
“In recognition of the fact that change will not be waiting and that corporate leaders have to be drivers of change, BAM organised a corporate leaders business breakfast to share with corporate leaders advanced models of leadership that would see them excel in highly challenging economic environment,” she said.
The event was held last month in Blantyre.
South Africa-based leadership guru and an expert on people development, Alex Granger, was the keynote speaker at the event.
In his speech, he said the wind of change is blowing across the face of the corporate world.
Said Granger: “In that regard, leadership is, therefore, challenged to keep abreast of changing trends. The top leadership hurdle that corporate leadership has to circumvent around is navigating through change.
“The moment change is announced, there is a lot of denial, anger, confusion, depression and even crisis. But upon transcending beyond crisis, acceptance comes in and then new confidence is born in an organisation.’’
He said leadership for corporate progress creates an inspiring vision and that manages delivery of the vision of the organisation.
He said leaders need to have the art to tell, sell, participate or delegate.
Granger said 21st century leadership stands at the crossroads as it has to manage a multi-generational workforce.
He said merging the millennials—persons reaching young adulthood in the early 21st century—and the old generation poses significant challenges as their scope towards work is different.
Statistics show that 100 000 baby boomers—people who were born between 1946 and 1964—are retiring each year, 48 percent of the workforce will be millennials by 2020, 67 percent of the millennials are looking for a new job, 91 percent of the millennials planning to stay in the current job are fewer than three years, 25 percent have less than 10 leadership positions with ready successors and that only 18 percent of organisations say their leaders are meeting business goals. n
