During the launch of my third book, Coming In From The Cold – Autobiography, which followed LIFT As You Rise, released in 2018, and Behold The Turtle, released in 2021, on 10 November 2025 at a place of significance, Constitution Hill, Braamfontein, I was truly blessed to be able also to launch the Leadership Insight to Foresight Tool (LIFT) and framework inspired by my very first best-selling book, LIFT As You Rise.
I chose to partner with Kearney Consulting precisely because of the absolute alignment of values. LIFT is a self-assessment survey consisting of 27 (+5) questions from the LIFT As You Rise book.
The LIFT philosophy targets senior leadership, guiding reflection, realigning roles, connecting teams and embracing the African context. It recognises leadership evolution of learning, earning and sharing. This tool assesses a leader’s personal growth, values, well-being, and how effectively they manage themselves, the team, and model strong ethical principles.
It is tailored for the South African context, gleans valuable leadership insights, self-assessing senior leaders across four (Emerging, Competent, Proficient and Mastery) levels to optimise individual, team and organisational leadership dynamics, and ultimately a leader’s ability to drive meaningful, community-aligned societal impact.
The four leadership levels are underpinned by four themes of Internal Leadership (self-mastery), Interpersonal Leadership (leading others), External Leadership (leading in business) and Meaningful Impact (leading in the community). The self-assessment is then followed by personal feedback, coaching, development of specific actions and continued challenge for personal growth.
It is not about being right or wrong, but about personal reflection and growth, targeting senior leadership differentiators – those qualities that set impactful leaders apart – designed to deepen your self-awareness, supporting leadership development and helping you navigate complexity with greater confidence.
Facilitation tool
It is a facilitation tool – less about the score, more about sparking meaningful conversations that shape your leadership journey. To empower leaders to be curious, uncover, reflect, transform and grow, the LIFT framework is premised on three cornerstones of “shape your legacy”, “act with purpose” and “lead with insight”. It champions leadership built on courage, humility, integrity, consistency and service.
Legacy represents purpose-driven influence. It is the story that lives on long after the final chapter is written. It is how you meaningfully touch each life that you encounter, the impact that you create, the values that you uphold and the contributions that shape generations to come, whether it is a brand, business or a life well lived. Especially in a world that moves fast and forgets even faster, legacy is your imprint on history.
It is how you are remembered, what you stand for and the reason people will speak your name with reverence, respect and inspiration. Legacy begins where reflective leadership takes root. The reason why we work with senior leaders is precisely because they are beneficiaries of hindsight, and that is why they have foresight already.
This is where we are helpful in assisting them to gain foresight. In our experience working with these senior leaders, they ordinarily use hindsight (understanding of a situation or event only after it has happened or developed) in order to gain insight (the capacity to gain an accurate and deep understanding of someone or something) that will better inform foresight (the ability to predict what will happen or be needed in the future) so that they are better able to see around the corners and are then able to ask the question, “so what else is missing?” They Discuss, in order to Decide, and ultimately Do – a higher propensity for execution and a bias for action.
South Africa requires a new calibre of leadership to navigate the unprecedented challenges we are facing today. Leadership has been examined extensively by leading academics, with a wealth of leadership frameworks and tools available to enhance leaders’ capabilities and enable more effective leadership. We believe, leveraging on previous works, South Africa requires its own, context-related leadership framework that emphasises the pertinent competencies required to lead in our unique environment.
After many years in business and academia, I continue to learn that leadership begins with an honest conversation with yourself. Before I can be an effective leader of others and my organisation and society, I must know how to lead myself. It is a powerful catalyst that offers leaders the opportunity to pause, reflect, and ask, “Who am I becoming as I lead?” and “What should I focus on to be a truly transformative leader?”
LIFT continues to be inspired by the philosophy that as you rise, you lift others. This tool captures that spirit. It reminds us that true leadership is about purpose and impact, not power or position. Success is defined by who we become in the process of succeeding. There is no exercise more powerful for the heart than extending a hand and lifting another human along with you. We live in times where complexity and crisis often test our moral compass.
LIFT invites us back to the heart of leadership: Courage. Humility. Integrity. Consistency. Service. I invite you to learn more about how, together with Kearney South Africa, we are committed to developing a generation of leadership that is different. That is impactful. That is intentional. That is impact-focused. It’s time for a different conversation about what it means to be a leader, because the best among us lead with the heart of a servant.
The desired outcome is for the leader that we have had the privilege of working with, to ultimately demonstrate that:
- “My leadership philosophy is deeply integrated into every action, and I use it to inspire others and drive a conducive organisational culture;
- “I consistently take full accountability and ownership for the outcomes of my decisions and those of my team, and proactively define clear expectations to foster accountability and address misaligned behaviours;
- “I proactively lead by example, taking decisive action even in the face of ambiguity and inspire and motivate others to follow suit;
- “I proactively take initiative, that not only drives impactful results but also inspires others to actively follow suit;
- “I exemplify unwavering integrity, serving as a role model for ethical behaviour and inspire others to uphold the same standards, addressing and correcting unethical behaviours when encountering them;
- “I am deeply integrated into teams across the business, with an established relationship based on transparency and trust, using gleaned insights to guide strategy and unify leadership and operations;
- “I proactively and transparently communicate and take full responsibility during crises, in a timely and comprehensive manner, demonstrating accountability that creates trust with customers and the broader public;
- “I initiate challenging conversations with confidence, effectively addressing issues and expressing feelings, often resolving conflicts constructively;
- “I act in a way that clearly reflects my values, words, and actions across all situations, setting a standard for authentic and ethical leadership;
- “I exemplify deep empathy through active listening and being fully attuned to non-verbal cues, fully understanding others’ perspectives, and fostering a culture of compassion and emotional intelligence within the team;
- “I proactively manage my mental health and serve as a role model, maintaining peak physical health and inspiring others to do the same;
- “I champion a culture of people development, consistently provide meaningful feedback and recognition, proactively manage underperformance, and foster a culture of continuous improvement and celebration of success where others are also empowered to mentor.
- “I have articulated a compelling and transformative vision that propels the organisation forward and inspires others to pursue our shared goals;
- “I expertly delegate responsibilities while empowering team members, fostering a collaborative environment where team members feel fully trusted to execute and reach their potential;
- “I consistently create a collaborative ecosystem and effectively inspire, motivate, and support the team;
- “I effectively address key barriers to create a strong alignment with the organisation’s ambition and enable high team performance;
- “I champion DEI (and Belonging) as a core value, creating a culture of inclusion and equity that empowers diverse voices and enhances problem-solving capabilities;
- “I consistently drive a healthy workplace culture that promotes high levels of engagement, resulting in improved employee satisfaction and performance;
- “I proactively engage stakeholders to understand needs and interests, driving engagement consistently and am highly effective in addressing their conflicts to derive mutual benefit, with high levels of trust and transparency;
- “I effectively manage financial metrics and enable my team to do the same, meet most targets, and contribute positively to overall business success, demonstrating a clear understanding of how financial outcomes impact the organisation;
- “I proactively lead transformation initiatives that drive significant and sustainable impact and align with South Africa’s broader transformation agenda;
- “I strategically cultivate partnerships that enhance the sustainability and growth of small business and communities, driving economic development in the community;
- “I exemplify altruistic civic responsibility, inspiring collective action and creating significant positive and sustainable impact in the community;
- “I intentionally cultivate a legacy by inspiring others through mentorship and leadership development programmes, while proactively planning for succession from the start; and
- “My philanthropic efforts have driven significant, sustainable change and have inspired broader societal impact.” DM
Bonang Mohale is the Chancellor of the University of the Free State, former president of Business Unity South Africa, Professor of Practice in the Johannesburg Business School’s College of Business and Economics and chairman of two listed entities, the Bidvest Group Limited and ArcelorMittal, as well as Swiss Re Corporate Solutions Africa and SBV Services.