On Leader.co.za

Leadership expert and author Tracey Swanepoel’s book The Leadership Riptide and How to Escape has been selected as one of the top five leadership books by the SA Board for People Practices (SABPP).

The book, published in December 2016, offers fresh perspectives and insights into the art and science of leadership. It is helping corporate executives adopt research based, human-centred approaches to leadership and provides practical tools and tips for more effective leadership. Through the book, leaders can learn how to better engage with their employees and how to create happier and more productive workplace environments.

Commenting at the SABPP’s Leadership Standard launch at Theatre-on-the-Track in Kyalami on 26 October 2017, a clearly delighted Swanepoel said she feels humbled and honoured that her book has been selected.

“I am delighted that the book is having such an impact and helping leaders effect real change in their organisations. I see a great need for change in so many organisations, yet people feel stuck and don’t know what first steps they can take to start making these changes. The Leadership Riptide and How to Escape gives people practical tips and tools that they can really work with to start the process of change."

The book describes a unique Strategy to Story visual story-telling process, developed by Swanepoel.

“We turn a company’s current challenges, strategy, mission and vision of the future into a visual, graphic story called a Visual Strategy Map. Through the story, every employee gets to see their role and how they are contributing to the big picture. They get to understand the external business environment, the current reality of the business, what it aims ­­to achieve, its unique value proposition, its ultimate purpose and how it plans to get there. It also enables leaders to start different kinds of conversations and interactions with their teams, which increases employee engagement, improves productivity and transforms the workplace environment. Through the use of story and anecdote, leaders are able to more successfully communicate key messages to employees,” says Swanepoel.

To complement the book, Swanepoel has through her company THINKspiration, launched a series of practical leadership training workshops that enable participants to create an environment that gets the best out of their people, as described in the book “They walk away with an implementable Leadership Game Plan of how to effect change in their organisations,” she adds.