Leadership Platform
Leadership Platform has over 10 years experience in researching and "putting to the test" many ways of developing and advising leaders! We have finally come to the conclusion that only leaders can develop leaders; only leaders with extensive first hand leadership experience can advise other leaders with confidence on how to navigate their businesses through tough times! There is no substitute for authenticity!
We believe the days of an average Consultant advising business leaders are over! We strive to advise leaders of organizations in association with other Extraordinary Advisors that have successful track records of their own. We are a business focused on moving people and other businesses profitably through tapping into the minds and hearts of current and past Top Leaders.
When we develop leaders we take them on a journey that involves the above tapping into the minds and hearts of Leaders such as: Paul Harris - CEO First Rand Limited; Thoko Mokgosi CEO HP; Gloria Serobe CEO Whiphold; Nick Binedell Director GIBS; Herman Mashaba - Businessman; Adrian Gore CEO Discovery; Tom Boardman CEO Nedbank; Charles Nqakhula Minister Safety & Security; Ingrid Kast CEO top comp to work for; Brand Pretorius CEO McCarthy Limited; Ian Cockerill CEO Anglo Coal; and the list goes on.
We also develop leaders by utilizing a "Partnering Leadership" approach where we source the best partners that are out there to assist with development and "Execution" of organisational strategies. These partners must also have the capability to take participants on a leadership journey that facilitates learning and 'fast tracks' leadership experience. In other words, their actual programme must be exceptional!
The Leadership Platform is also a vehicle through which the power of the media and effective events are leveraged to develop ‘profitable’ leaders. We mobilize individuals who are at the peak of their power and facilitate their sharing of wisdom and experience.
One of the most worthwhile investments we can make in the future of South Africa, and the world, is to proactively develop leaders. We just cannot leave this critical responsibility up to MBA programmes only!
If we want to develop future leaders they need to be exposed to top leaders... We do this!
Core to the Leadership Platform is our MD and founder Adriaan Groenewald
Adriaan Groenewald has been researching leadership for many years by interviewing top leaders on a regular basis. He continues to do this and currently has a regular full page column on the back page of The Star Workplace in which he summarises leadership interviews with top leaders and strives to create awareness about principles of leadership in various ways.
His extensive research has put him on a path of extracting those principles that top leaders apply, often subconsciously, and then transferring it to other leaders via coaching, training and facilitating.
He often works closely with top leaders in organisations, starting with the CEO or MD. Adriaan also facilitates leadership chats at, for example, the Saxon Hotel every month. He interviews a top leader in front of an audience and then allows attendees to ask the leader questions. Every second month Adriaan facilitates a mentoring breakfast with 5-6 top leaders on a panel with 60-80 leaders attending. Once again the purpose is to transfer leadership skills via other top leaders.
He completed a Bachelor degree in Psychology as well as diplomas in various other fields of interest, including a Post Graduate Diploma in Strategic Marketing from the University of Hull in the UK, which was on a Masters Degree level. Because of his leadership abilities he was appointed as a manager in an international organisation within two years of his being employed there, despite competition from several individuals that had been in the organisation for many more years. He was then head hunted by an international consulting firm where he consulted, trained and coached nationally & internationally in organisations such as Vodacom, Standard & Poors, Investec, HP, Huntsman Petrochemicals, and so on.
Subsequently he has consulted in many other organizations such as Nestle, Siemens, Harmony Gold, DAV, SABC, Standard Bank, and so on. Adriaan presented the Leadership Platform Radio Show on Radio 2000 and Classic FM for three years, of which the third year was also broadcasted on Summit TV.
During this period he interviewed, both on and off air, more top leaders on leadership and success than any other person in South Africa. Leaders like Mathews Phoza, Mbazima Shilowa, Tony Leon, Wendy Lucas-Bull, Thoko Mokgosi, Herman Mashaba, Patrick Lekota, Russell Loubser, Ian Cockerill, Alan Knott-Craig, Mark Lamberti, Gill Marcus, Brand Pretorius, Dr. Stephen R covey and many others sat with Adriaan for 40 minutes to an hour at a time while he probed their success models. Adriaan has published articles in CEO Magazine, Management Today, Leadership Magazine, Succeed Magazine, Journal of Marketing, Argus, Star Newspaper, Business Day, and Sunday Times. Adriaan co-authored a book with his Father Louis Groenewald called the CEO Leadership Handbook.
Moving Towards Your Leadership Destiny is his second book.