Stanbic positions employees for leadership posts
Stanbic Bank has embarked on various training programmes aimed at equipping its employees for future requirements of the business. One such programme is a leadership diploma launched late September to enhance leadership effectiveness of leaders, equipping them to become well rounded managers now and for the future.
The bank has been very intentional about capacitating its employees and to date has already set the ball rolling by taking its key people through a series of learning programmes.
“We are currently running a People Manager Programme and have just launched a leadership and management programme,” aptly titled “Blue Excellence Leadership and Management Programme” and is being run in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Institute of Management (ZIM),” Chief Executive of Stanbic (CE), Solomon Nyanhongo said.
The Blue Excellence Leadership Programme was conceived in alignment with the fact that every member of staff is a leader in their own right- leading self, strategy and culture. The bespoke seven-month Executive Diploma, is aimed at sharpening the leadership and management skills of the institution’s personnel across the board.
“In all our interventions, we noted that we needed to expand our support for leadership growth across all segments to drive productivity, resilience and growth in business. This is why we are focusing on both line leaders, and ‘informal’ leadership who play a significant part in leading performance, culture and strategy across the organisation,” said Nyanhongo.
In that regard, the purpose of “The Blue Excellence Leadership Programme” is to transform the mindset of the organisation and support leadership development.
Nyanhongo said Stanbic recognises that the key to its success is its culture and leadership behaviours. As such, the power to influence each other exists in any institution and Stanbic seeks to leverage on that power by intentionally shifting perspectives.
“We believe we are all leaders; some are leaders of teams but all of us are leaders of self. Our leadership behaviours will determine whether we reach our aspirations,” he said.
The programme objectives are: Upskilling formal and influential leaders in the network to enable robust and informed engagements through Business and Commercial Acumen; Enhanced Stakeholder Management and Communication Skills.
He said the Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe Bespoke Programme has been accredited by the Zimbabwe Institute of Management (ZIM), an institution well known for their Management Development Programmes. The Zimbabwe Institute of Management (ZIM) is a professional business training organisation with over 60 years’ management and leadership training experience to business leaders and Stanbic was privileged to be tapping into such an institution.
The Programme, which has 13 Modules – some co-created by ZIM, Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe and Standard Bank Group, will run for seven months culminating in a graduation ceremony.
Nyanhongo said the intention for all these programmes is for all Stanbic employees to speak the same leadership language and hence, be able to deliver their results more efficiently as well as motivate and drive performance.
Zimbabwe Institute of Management Chief Executive, Godfrey Sunguro, said the programme will equip the participants with practical skills and competencies to find new ways of responding to the everchanging business environment.
Sunguro said the programme is in-line with the ZIM’s Mantra, which is: “Bridging the gap between Theory and Practice”.
The “Excellence Leadership and Management Diploma Programme” is aimed at providing a well-rounded leadership and management experience that equips participants with practical skills and competencies to find new ways of responding to the ever-changing business environment,” said Sunguro.
The Learning processes and activities will be facilitated through a blending of in-person lecturing, virtual tutorials, group discussions, practical case studies, and videos. The use of active learning techniques is emphasized throughout the programme learning journey.
He said the programme has been borne out of a lengthy research project, discussions; and many meetings between the Institute and the Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe.-ebusinessweekly
