A Unique Leadership Development Experi-perience: A Story from South Africa

Who is Nando's?
Nando's, a worldwide restaurant chain, began in South Africa 21 years ago and is now located in more than 32 countries and 5 continents. Well known for their peri-peri style grilled chicken, a spicy sauce made from the African bird's eye chili, Nando's delivers a healthy alternative to fast food at affordable prices to people across the globe.

The Background
A major piece of organizational expansion is spearheaded by the Worldwide Licensing group, a small team of go-getters who travel the reaches of the earth to bring the Nando's experience to citizens everywhere. One of the primary challenges faced by this group, as with many leaders working cross-culturally, are obstacles associated with people with different cultural norms and values.

These differences are often a challenge to working efficiently and effectively, specifically in terms of the Worldwide Licensing team's ability to meet aggressive deadlines and to maintain and protect the brand. Working in foreign lands in partnership with locals to jointly achieve excellence, it is critical for these leaders to understand the culture in which they are operating and adjust their style in order to influence local employees to achieve company goals and standards. This alignment across the company is critical to ensure that the product, brand, service, and operational excellence were consistent.

The Situation
In order to equip the Worldwide Licensing team with the skills and tools necessary to increase their appreciation for the importance of developing cultural intelligence and to hone their tactical skills in dealing with diverse people, Nando's decided to embark on a leadership development journey aimed at:
• Developing a deep self-awareness of one's own strengths and areas of opportunity in relation to cross- cultural leadership
• Engaging in a highly intense and experiential process to learn the importance of cultural intelligence and its direct impact on their job performance
• Practicing skills required to lead in new situations with diverse cultures
• Participating in open dialogue about the team's effectiveness and to understand individual struggles and align around ways in which to operate, moving forward, in order to be more effective

After conducting one-on-one interviews and an online 360-degree assessment survey that links leadership effectiveness to bottom- line business performance, gothamCULTURE designed and delivered a four-day leadership program, which was conducted in South Africa. This feedback intensive development experience was conducted in two locations- the first phase being held in a conference center in Johannesburg and the second phase being held in the bush near Bakubang. This format was selected in order to symbolize the diverse locations in which the members of the team found themselves and added an element of change and excitement into the process. Each day was filled with intense feedback and learning and events were coordinated in the evenings to allow the team a chance to cut loose and engage with each other informally, including an evening game drive following by a "braai", a traditional African meal in the bush, similar to a barbecue.

The process culminated with the participants engaging in one-on-one executive coaching sessions with a gothamCULTURE coach in order to tie together the learning and to help the participants develop clear plans for the future. With wild African game roaming within steps, these sessions were held in the bush, which was a lesson in cultural intelligence, flexibility, and creativity for the facilitators as much as it was for the participants.

The team saw immediate gains in their ability to "read" the nuances and subtleties of the cultures in which they operated which, in turn, helped them lead in these diverse situations. Levels of cohesiveness and the ability for the team to better support individual leaders who were onsite in foreign lands increased with one of the participants noting that, "The process changed the way we work with each other." As the Worldwide Licensing team increased in size to meet the organizational expansion plans, leaders reported that they felt better prepared to influence people, including those who did not report directly to them.

What's Next?
Later this year, the Worldwide Licensing group will be hosting a leadership conference attended by representatives from all countries in which Nando's operates. This forum will serve as a platform for rolling out and embedding the Nando's worldwide people philosophy, culture and strategy. To learn more about Nando's click here.

This article was co-authored by Maxine Jaffit, gothamCULTURE'S senior associate based in Johannesburg.