Youth Month: What does Leadership mean in South Africa?

by FundiConnect Editorial Team | 16 June 2018

It’s Youth Day! Now is the time to celebrate tomorrow’s leaders. We ran a writing competition to get an idea of what leadership means to you – South Africa’s future leaders. Our Youth Month competition winner, Sibahle Ngqiva, shares her ideas on what leadership means as a young South African. #YouthTodayLeaderTomorrow

Growing up, I always thought that leadership was more about being in front and directing people on what to do and where to go. However, over the years I’ve learnt that it is much more than that. I’ve learnt that leadership is more about the people you are leading than it is about you.

True Leadership

Leadership is about serving people and that you don’t always have to stand in front to lead. It is about sacrificing yourself for the purpose or goal that will change or transform the people you are leading, Tata Nelson Mandela is a great example of sacrificing for a greater purpose. He was forced to live without his family and fight for his country which came at a price. For me, that is a good example of a great leader. Use your role models in and around school to learn about leadership.

Real Leaders Inspire

There are a lot of different people who inspire me as a leader.

Firstly, my father as a leader at home, who taught me that leaders are not perfect and through their mistakes, they teach others to be better.

My pastor at church, who has taught me that even though you have the vision as a leader you can’t work alone; you need others to help run with the vision in order for it to succeed.

Mr Petersen, my mentor, who has taught me the importance of not giving up and being true to the vision even when it gets tough – leading people comes with difficulties but you need to endure and not forget why you’re doing it in the first place.

Mr Vusi Thembekwayo who is a true testimony to the fact that it doesn’t matter where you come from; all you need is a vision, a good mindset and hard work to be where you want to be. He is one of the very few people who are not afraid to challenge the status quo and tackle social problems that we are facing as a country. He has taught me that there’s a difference between transformation and change and that, as a leader, we always need to go for the things that birth transformation rather than change.

Here are some thoughts on leadership that you shared with us:

EduOne’s Leaders on Leadership

Today’s youth will be tomorrow’s leaders. Let’s celebrate the future of South Africa: Happy Youth Day!

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FundiConnect Editorial Team

The FundiConnect Editorial Team researches, writes, and maintains comprehensive guides on South African higher education, bursaries, NSFAS funding, and career development. Our content is verified against official institutional sources, DHET publications, and direct admissions office communications to ensure accuracy for students navigating their post-school journey.