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Finding the culprit when something goes wrong can feel satisfying but it comes at an individual and organisational cost. As the saying goes: Success has many parents, failure is an orphan. I’d take it a step further: when there is a failure, we go looking for the parents to see whose fault it is that the child turned out so badly. When things go wrong, our first instinct is to look for someone to blame. Why? The answer is simple – if unexpected.

Great leaders guide. Great leaders instruct. Great leaders decide. Great leaders communicate. The nature of the job requires talking. A lot. Or not. A meta-analysis of 144 studies involving 155,000 people published in Journal of Business and Psychology found that listening doesn’t just improve communication and relationships. Listening also improves employee job performance. Leaders who are better listeners not only develop better professional relationships, they get better results.

The University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) has been recognised on the global stage at the EFMD Excellence in Practice Awards 2026, securing two Silver awards for its work in executive education and learning and development (L&D). Notably, GIBS was the only business school in Africa to be recognised in this year’s awards, underscoring its leadership in delivering impactful, practice-driven learning solutions.

SME survival depends on finance systems that use better data, flexible lending and fintech to unlock growth. Despite the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa as critical drivers of economic development, survival remains the exception rather than the norm.

The University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) has been recognised on the global stage at the EFMD Excellence in Practice Awards 2026, securing two Silver awards for its work in executive education and learning and development (L&D). Notably, GIBS was the only business school in Africa to be recognised in this year’s awards, underscoring its leadership in delivering impactful, practice-driven learning solutions.

Africa can build resilience through intra-African trade, industrialisation, agriculture reform and stronger infrastructure. Africa is a continent rich in resources and human potential, but it has long been at the mercy of global economic winds. Our economies are intertwined with the rest of the world in ways that often leave us exposed and vulnerable. Recent years have accentuated this fragility.

Ocean Basket CEO Grace Harding didn't need an MBA, but her curiosity led her to accept the challenge of embarking on one. Six months in she says it’s led to being the best CEO of her career. Grace Harding doesn’t fit the typical profile of an MBA student. "I don’t know if I’m the oldest person ever to do this MBA… I’m nearly 61… and I’ve been working for 45 years," she says, half-joking.

SME survival depends on finance systems that use better data, flexible lending and fintech to unlock growth. Despite the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa as critical drivers of economic development, survival remains the exception rather than the norm.

In a recent podcast discussion with Dan Loney, Wharton's Stefano Puntoni explained how AI agents are reshaping consumer decision-making and brand strategy. Not only are we seeing AI used to find out things about our work or our studies, but it's increasingly being used in the world of marketing. The goal is to better connect with the consumer. But with the growth of large language models, do companies also need to better connect with the public?

Data and AI are transforming hiring and performance decisions meaning leadership judgement matters more than ever. For decades, decisions about who to hire, promote and reward were guided largely by instinct. Leaders prided themselves on their ability to “read people”, trusting experience over evidence. But as organisations become more complex and stakes rise, that approach is being challenged.