As I write this, I think of my younger self, in the late 1990s, with only a  few years of working experience. (Yes, that was ages ago and I am giving my age away!). I can vividly recall my father – who was my greatest role model – telling me that I didn’t need to become “hardened” as a woman in business to “make it”.

 

Hardened 

 

When I looked “up the ranks” (ironically a  phrase that I detest but which was a pertinent reality in my early career), in the various organisations that I was part of, for the first 15 years of my career, the women in senior leadership were few, relative to their male counterparts. They were also mostly in fact “pretty hardened”, ambitious-at-all-costs and fiercely driven. Many of them made their jobs their “whole life”. 

 

Feminine

 

Thankfully I had my dad whispering in my ear on how important it was not to “lose (feminine) self” in the quest for career success or model success in a predominantly male persona (which I think at that time, many women assumed was the only route).

 

Admittedly there were times, when I have/did put my roles of “being a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister and a friend” on hold and de-prioritised these in favour of work, work, work.  Perhaps the subliminal narrative inside my head was that in a business context, feminine roles and qualities were in fact a handicap or sign of weakness.

 

Grateful 

 

Fast forward a couple of decades to where I find myself now, in the wonderful world of education and as part of the Nova Pioneer family. I truly never even think of my gender in my workplace context – I don’t think twice about being a female. How grateful I am to think that gender is just an irrelevant demographic, right now in my work life.  I don’t feel embarrassed about needing to “rush off and be a mom to my own kids” during a working day or in fact anything else that comes with the territory of my role as mother, wife, sister and daughter. These roles are equally respected and appreciated by the teammates that I work with. How very grateful I am for that, when things felt quite the contrary some decades back for “women in business”.

 

I identify first and foremost as a woman. This means that in every aspect of my life, it is important to me that my womanliness is ever-present and authentic.

On its own, this principle should not be a challenge to uphold. However, in a world in which the acceptable view of gender and gender equity continues to evolve in ways that are often contradictory, my pursuit to be a woman takes on an interesting tilt.

It becomes imperative then, that I define for myself what lies at the core of my womanliness, what values I wish to embody as a woman, and how these can be brought to life in my role as a leader. One relevant manifestation of this in my role today is empathy. Not mushy sentimentality, but rather the striving to connect meaningfully with others, to understand and celebrate their strengths, and along with that, to inspire them to harness the potential often obscured by our weaknesses; all while leveraging an intentionally nurtured professional relationship. It calls for a combination of warmth and firmness, a clarified sense of fairness, and the ability to be positively honest, especially when tough things need to be said.

I am a coach. And indeed every leader is one, or at least should strive to be one. Leadership extends beyond a title or a job designation. It lies in the ability to rally others in pursuit of a higher aim, to help them see that in truth they can attain it, to equip them with the skills and tools needed for success, and to inspire them to retain a winning front even in the face of the many obstacles they inevitably will encounter. This is the type of leader I strive to be.

 

We are past the 200-day mark since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the lockdown restrictions to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus in South Africa. We are now on Level-1 of lockdown which allows business activity to continue but under strict health and safety conditions. South Africa now finds itself in the top ten countries in the world with the most Covid-19 infections with over 613 000 positive cases and just over 13 300 fatalities as of 26 August 2020 according to https://www.sacoronavirus.co.za/. 

It is still incumbent on all of us as a nation, whether at home, at work or at school to be more vigilant and adhere to all the recommended health and safety precautions.

As a school, our students, teachers and teammates who have returned back to campus find themselves on their desks for 5 to 7 seven hours in a day doing their in-class or office work. Which then turns the desk into a breeding ground for germs and harmful bacteria that can make a person sick. While we cannot avoid using our desks in class or office to prevent the spread of germs and bacteria, we do however exercise basic hygiene habits that are effective in both killing the germs and bacteria, and also protecting our staff and students from illnesses.

Here are four habits that you can adopt to keep your desk free of germs and illness-causing bacteria in the classroom or office:

Wear your mask:

While it may be uncomfortable to keep your mask on throughout the day, it is a habit which is necessary and effective in keeping you safe from harmful germs and illness-causing bacteria. Wearing your mask ensures that you do not transfer germs and bacteria onto the desk when you speak, cough or sneeze which may breed further and make you sick.

Sanitize your desk:

Adopt a habit of sanitizing your desk, laptop and stationery with an alcohol-based sanitizer daily at least 3 times a day using a wet wipe or cloth to properly clean without damaging your equipment. This habit will ensure that you are able to remove and kill any breeding germs and bacteria that may surface as you go about your day working and interacting with your peers and colleagues.

Wash your hands:

Regularly washing your hands with soap and water every 3 hours or before meals can help eliminate the risk of contracting or spreading germs and illness-causing bacteria which you may come into contact with as you use your desk, laptop and stationery, and also from connecting with your peers and colleagues.

Maintain a safe distance:

While it is common in a classroom or office set-up to have your peers or colleagues sit next to you or reach over to your desk for assistance or a quick chat. Don’t share your stationery and always ensure that everyone who sits next to you or reaches over to your desk for any reason maintains a safe social distance to ensure no one spreads any bacteria or germs that may continue to breed on your desk and cause illnesses.

At Nova Pioneer we are committed to operating a safe working and learning environment, and therefore make it our mission to ensure that all health and safety protocols and hygiene measures are implemented by all staff, teachers and students at all times to prevent the spread of germs and harmful bacteria that may cause illnesses.

 

Carla Hercules was recently appointed as the new Head of School at our newest Campus, Rumisig. This comes after the news that we would be opening a new campus in Ruimsig that will cater to parents with children in pre-primary and primary school, in January 2020. 

We are confident that with Carla’s extensive experience and her inspiring leadership, Nova Pioneer Ruimsig students will be developed into our future leaders and innovators. Carla is passionate about the unique Nova Pioneer learning approach which prepares our students to be globally competitive in the 21st century, and subsequently go on to change the continent and the world. As a long-time resident of the Roodepoort area, Carla has expressed her excitement to join the beautiful Ruimsig community and work closely with its residents to maintain the spirit and energy of their neighbourhood.

Carla and moved to join Nova Pioneer from her role at Sharonlea Primary School, where she had been Principal for seven years and deputy for six years prior. Before that, she was a teacher at Bushlands Primary, in KwaZulu-Natal, for just under ten years.  Along with a Diploma in Education, she also has two accreditations in organisational leadership – she is a lifelong learner and someone who exemplifies Joy of Learning.

These skills and her extensive prior school leadership experience will stand her in good stead, as she develops the team at Ruimsig, to welcome our first students to this new campus in 2020. Carla officially steps into this role in November 2019 to ensure the new Nova Pioneer Ruimsig campus is ready for a great start in January 2020.

Nova Pioneer Ruimsig will open its doors in January 2020 for students in Grades 000, 00, 1 and 2.