MALEMA: Charismatic or a Strategic leader

Julius Malema

If you living in south Africa the name Julius Malema is heard or seeing in the headlines on a daily basis. This man is legendary when it comes to newsmaker of the year. I wonder how he manages to pull it off. If we breakdown the recent history of the man himself, one will be left with no doubt in mind that the Julius Malema is a force to be reckoned with. From his high days as ANC Youth leader where he was and still is a hero and role model for many of South Africa’s youth. Even when dark clouds surround the controversial politician his voice echoes through many South African top newspapers. Is he a natural born leader or has Julius malema received some form of leadership training on how to master the art of drawing up a crowd. I have noticed during most speech delivered by Malema when he speaks the voice command is high due to the sharp, loud and clearness of his voice. The iron fit is also held up high as masses of people stand and listen to the young man who is so passionate about politics.

Recently Malema has been charged with money-laundering and will appear in the courts to state his case. He walked into court wearing black suit with a white shirt and a red tie. This image is very familiar. It reminds me of Barack Obama in his Power suit. Style analyst will tell you that white shirt and a red tie has a sense of power associated with it, it is bold and sends out a strong statement of intimidation. I ask myself once more is Julius Malema just a charismatic leader or a strategic minded leader? And the only conclusion I can come up with is that he is naturally a born leader who has received lot of leadership grooming. This subjective view is the result of my view of the man who is a front page newspaper seller.

Indeed this is a man to keep an eye on for the future and never underestimate. Whether good or bad for the country, we can all agree he has already made it into South Africa’s history books with his trademark smile.

REAL WINNERS AND LOSERS OF MINE STRIKES



Mine workers from Lonmin Mine



Back home in the Eastern Cape or Kingdom of Lesotho and all other places were the mine workers come from, is a mother worried about were the next meal will come from for her and her children as their sole breadwinner was one of the mine workers who passed away. Also on the other side of the fence a woman has lost her husband and the children lost their father who was a good police officer. She knew a day like this may come were she would get phone call to be told her husband and father of her kids is no more. Clearly you can get a sense these two parties on opposite ends are not the winners in the topic at hand. I asked myself, “Are they any other losers?” I had forgotten all about the South African economy, were most of us are tax payers! South Africa is a loser in this because our international image and credibility as a stable economy for outside business companies to do trade exchange with. We have taken quite a knock if I can speak plainly. The international media and world sees as a risky African country to do business in, as our future is uncertain and unclear to the masses.

The mine workers union also took a nose dive in terms of popularity measures in the eyes of the people they are meant to serve and protect.

So you may ask “who are the winners? “  I would respond by saying, “can there ever be winners in a dispute? The only winners I can note down are individual people or groups who stand to gain a lot out of the saga our country is currently facing. Let us think for other people who are suffering more than us and as a collective we must also protect the rights they do not even know they have and protect our countries image .in doing so our future will remain prosperous for the benefit of our children.

YET ANOTHER BLUNDER

Woolworths. Photo by Simphiwe Mbokazi

 

 



The brand of Woolworths is slowly being associated with constant blunders in terms of how their image is being publicly perceived. How could a company so right get it so wrong once again one may ask! My view is perhaps the internal communications at Woolworths has a breakage somewhere. Employees and managers need to get back to being on the same page regarding issues and company policies. When mistakes happen, what will happen normally is that a correction and plans are made to avoid any further related mistakes. What I saw with the recent news doing the round in local newspapers is that the company has lost the plot somewhere.

Something so small was made into a big issue. I can only see one reason for this! Mismanagement of information. A chain reaction was created and released which represent the normal communication circle were the sender sends a message and receiver receives that particular message. In this instant the message was distorted and lost in translation. I am not saying mistakes do not happen but I am saying mistakes do happen and as communications practitioners we learn from them and move on.

Contingencies on how to handle the distorted messages should be always in place. But as we have observed sometimes those measures put in place may not be enough. Woolworths tried doing damage control online through their website and twitter account, to little effect. Sometimes the public’s view is so passionate and mis-directed at the wrong issues which plagues the topic at hand that no change will be done .it is more like a couple fighting always about the same old issue. We can all agree that it is tiring to go around in circles about communication failure and breakdown between Woolworths and its loyal and once loyal customers.