Bishop TD Jakes shares stage with South African thought-leaders at the Durban ICC
South Africa, and Durban in particular, is alive with infinite possibilities and every citizen has a leadership role to play to ensure the country’s economic growth and prosperity.
These were the resounding sentiments expressed by high-profile though leaders during the inaugural Durban ICC Leadership Summit featuring internationally acclaimed speaker, author and accomplished business leader Bishop TD Jakes from the United States of America.
“South Africa has an opportunity again to inspire the world on how to get together, on how to build together, and on how to work together and how to make a difference,” said Bishop TD Jakes, as the Durban International Convention Centre (Durban ICC) arena echoed with thunderous applause from the crowd.
Bishop TD Jakes said collaboration was critical to the success of any organisation and emphasised the need to break the “silo” mentality in order to be more profitable, effective and more consistent in business.
“We cannot get things done in silos, you have to resist the urge to retreat into your cave with the people who think like you, who look like you, who dress like you and who walk like you,” he said.
Bishop TD Jakes also stressed that each person has the ability to lead but that certain characteristics were a true measure of an effective leader.
“Leadership is determined by how much progress you make under pressure. It has to be quantifiable. Leadership is about influencing who you are able to influence and it’s not about titles and positions. Let’s have the audacity to measure progress and hold each other accountable to change; because we are the people that we have been waiting for because if anything is going to change it will change on your watch,” added Bishop TD Jakes.
Other prominent speakers who engaged on various topics included:
• EThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda who addressed delegates about Ethical Leadership;
• Bishop Mosa Sono from Grace Bible Church who shared his Greatest Lessons of Leadership;
• Apostle Collins Dhlomo from Covenant Fellowship Church International who spoke on Progressive Leadership begins with a Progressive Leader;
• Dr Basil Tryon from New Covenant Fellowship who spoke about Developing African Leaders;
• Pastor Phil Dooley from Hillsong Church who shared his experiences about Transgenerational Leadership;
• Zanele Mbokazi inspired women during her session about Women in Leadership; and
• Businessman Vivian Reddy imparted his business acumen during his session on Entrepreneurial Leadership.
The three panellists who engaged during the panel discussion titled Leading in Difficult Times included Bishop Vusi Dube from EThekwini Community Church, Prophetess Nomusa Dhlomo from Covenant Fellowship Church International and Dr Allen Joseph from Revival Ministries.
Kaunda who spoke about ethical leadership said the Oxford Dictionary defines ethics as moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity.
“It is therefore clear that if you are a leader whether in the private or public sector, church or NGO, you must uphold high standards of moral principles. Unfortunately, these moral principles cannot be acquired in university through diplomas and degrees. They are inculcated in us through our upbringing. If universities were producing graduates with ethics, we would not be talking about fraud and corruption in our public and private institutions,” he said.
Durban ICC CEO Lindiwe Rakharebe said the inaugural Durban ICC Leadership Summit was a very powerful intersection between leaders from all walks of life – who have the passion, the commitment, the vision, the capabilities and the determination to confront the many challenges that we face as a nation.
“Today we have witnessed the beginning of a new narrative on leadership in South Africa. Throughout the day, we have heard our esteemed thought leaders and panellists – which included leaders in government, religious leaders and captains of industry – share valuable insight as they engaged on various topics such as ethical leadership, transgenerational leadership, women in leadership, progressive leadership, and leading in difficult times,” said Rakharebe.
Bishop TD Jakes also imparted his extensive business knowledge during a Masterclass session themed: “Principles to succeed in business”, in which he discussed developing business leaders, entrepreneurship, developing successful businesses and building sustainable ministries.
“Today marks an important milestone along our journey of establishing South Africa, and KwaZulu-Natal in particular, as a global leader in developing intellectual capital and an investment destination of choice. We have derived important lessons from this Summit as we prepare to make it a regular feature in our annual events calendar,” added Rakharebe.