ILA Pretoria Wrap-Up!
By Lize Booysen
Lize A.E. Booysen is an internationally recognized scholar-practitioner in the field of leadership, culture and diversity. With 35 years of experience in leadership and research and a 27-year long career in higher education Lize has served thousands of leaders in educational institutions, corporate organizations, government agencies, and nonprofits in her capacity as facilitator, consultant, trainer, teacher or coach. Currently Lize is full professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior and core faculty in the Graduate School of Leadership and Change, Antioch University, adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) doing executive coaching and research, and Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management at University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Lize is a past Chair of the Business Leadership Member interest group of the International Leadership Association (ILA) and an ILA Fellow, and she served as the co-chair of the ILA Pretoria Conference, Next Generation Leadership.
History was made on 30-31 May 2018 when the International Leadership Association (ILA) held its first conference on African soil. What a remarkable conference it turned out to be! The conference was held in Pretoria, South Africa, and hosted jointly by the ILA and the Albert Luthuli Centre for Responsible Leadership (ALCRL) at the University of Pretoria (UP). From the welcome, the dynamic plenaries, the vibrant entertainment, the concurrent sessions, and the closing to the taste of South African wine and food at coffee and tea times, and lunches and receptions, this conference was undeniably uniquely (South) African. This warm, proudly South African hospitality probably will make this conference one of the ILA’s participants’ most memorable conference experiences to date.
It was just fitting, that the inaugural ILA conference in the region, themed Next Generation Leadership, was held in South Africa, where the complexity of leadership, the practice of leadership, and the evolving theory of leadership is clear, present, and exciting. The conference was chaired by Lize Booysen, ILA Fellow and a professor in the Graduate School of Leadership and Change at Antioch University, and by Derick de Jongh, Director of ALCRL and an associate professor in the Department of Business Management at the University of Pretoria.
This ILA conference focused on both global and local leadership challenges and international good practice alongside a specific focus on Africa and its leadership. It also linked the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with leadership capacity building of global youth to engage in issues in governments, business, and society. The conference echoed the ALCRL’s mission to develop responsible leaders in support of social and environmental justice and the ILA’s mandate to promote a deep understanding of leadership and best practices for the greater good of societies around the world.
The conference drew 110 delegates from 16 countries representing Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. All of the sessions by presenters, including six workshops, six panels, 10 presentation sessions containing 29 presentations, and 10 interactive roundtables were really well attended despite the lovely temperate and tempting “winter” weather in Pretoria. Participants represented the public and private sectors, as well as the scholarship and practitioner domains in the study and practice of leadership. Overall, the conference presentations focused on a range of topics, which included the need for individual and social activism in leading change; youth leadership in the form of student activism; exploring leadership in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals; mindfulness and wellbeing in leadership; mentoring youth leaders to support sustainable communities; what leadership means to South African youth; and the implications for shaping leaders of tomorrow. In the spirit of ubuntu, participants took a deep dive into their collective energy and wisdom and forged new approaches, partnerships, and networks to promote a deeper understanding of leadership knowledge and practice for the greater good of individuals, communities, and societies worldwide — for the next generation!
Vice-Chancellor and Principal of University of Pretoria, Cheryl de la Rey, officially opened the conference and welcomed delegates to the university. She highlighted the importance of the SDGs as a global framework and the University’s commitment to providing cross-disciplinary research that is focused on solving some of Africa’s key priorities.
The first keynote speaker, former Vice-Chancellor of UP, Johan van Zyl, the CEO of Africa Rainbow Capital and Ubuntu-Botho Limited and former Sanlam CEO, focused on leadership synergies between the corporate and academic worlds, cautioned against a failure of values in leadership, and urged students to understand the active role they can play as responsible citizens to build leadership capacity within themselves and, consequently, society.
One of the many highlights was the special cultural performance by OVUWA, which means (cultural) re-awakening, at the end of the first day of the conference. This group of students from the University of Pretoria showcased the different genres of cultural, folk, and indigenous music and dance forms that represent South Africa’s diversity. Conference attendees were enthralled by this dynamic and pulsating performance.
Elsabe Loots, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at UP, opened the second day of the conference, followed by a keynote panel discussion, The Next Generation African Leaders: Innovation and the SDGs, facilitated by Willem Fourie. This discussion showcased research from international award-winning doctoral candidates and post-doc fellows from UP.
Mary Uhl-Bien, the BNSF Railway Endowed Professor of Leadership in the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University, presented substantive research and an engaging final keynote in the last plenary session focusing on using a complexity leadership lens on next generation leadership development. Cynthia Cherrey, CEO and President of the ILA, delivered the closing remarks and wove the themes of the prior two days into a powerful call to action.
Participants were enthusiastic about their time at the conference. When asked what they liked most about the conference, evaluation respondents mentioned, "the networking opportunities," "learning from international colleagues," "the diverse perspectives," and the "good mix of participants."
For us at the ILA, the Pretoria conference is just the beginning of our work to support the growth and resilience of sustainable networks and meaningful interactions between leadership professionals on the African continent. We look forward to our next topical conference in Africa and the generation of much needed local and global leadership knowledge, scholarship, and practice. We hope you can join us next time!