MBR ISSUE 43

Malta Business Review
NELSON MANDELA’S 100TH BIRTHDAY
Leading by
looking ahead and
being disruptive
By Nic van den Bergh
A
s we reach the culmination
of The Elders’ #WalkTogether
campaign, Virgin Unite are
celebrating Nelson Mandela’s
100th birthday, his legacy and the founding of
The Elders.
The #WalkTogether campaign has built a
bright web made up of 'Sparks of Hope' –
communities building a movement for the
freedoms Mandela dedicated his life to:
peace, health, justice and equality.
Virgin CEOs and staff members from all over
the world have written about their own
Sparks of Hope and for the next month we
invite you to read their stories and join the
global #WalkTogether movement.
The person that has inspired me the most in
my life is my father. Though he is my dad he
is so much more – he has been a spectacular
mentor, specifically when it comes to how one
should behave both at a personal level and at
a business level. He’s inspired me for the last
20 odd years where I’ve been in formal and
informal employment.
My father has this incredible spirit and ability
to help and support others, even when
he might be going through a difficult time
HONOURING THE LEGACY OF NELSON MANDELA
himself. Something that I have learnt from
him and taken into my own life is to rise above
whatever is being thrown at you and to keep a
positive face and a positive outlook.
A great learning that I have taken into
the workplace is to look ahead and to be
disruptive, but more importantly it’s about
looking to constantly improve yourself. I like
to believe that I never take things at face
value and I’m always questioning how I can
do things better. I try to look at ways that not
only improve my own life, but to make sure
that I’m improving the lives of the people that
I serve.
The only way that you can do this effectively,
is if you work hard at creating a better
working relationship with your colleagues. To
have a successful output, you need to have
a successful team and that’s why I’ve always
tried to inspire with knowledge and passion.
I try to encourage people with belief, because
if people believe in you and they believe in
what you’re doing, you will have very loyal
colleagues and employees.
Something that I have learnt from him
and taken into my own life is to rise above
whatever is being thrown at you and to keep
a positive face and a positive outlook.
I have always tried to empower people and to
make sure that they can be much more than
their job title so that they can grow faster
and be a sponge – it’s about making sure
that you both have an equal footing and that
you do not see your ideas or beliefs as more
important or better than other people’s.
A good leader should also be able to reflect
and learn from the past. I have tried to
start businesses and failed spectacularly at
them and that has given me some amazing
learnings. I don’t think that we embrace
failure enough – we must learn from failure.
I love advertising and marketing and how you
can connect with customers.
I love trying to improve individual’s lives
through products and services. Ultimately, it
is my dream and passion to get involved with
a mentorship programme or investment into
entrepreneurs. I know within the Virgin group
there are many bodies and organisations that
look to supporting businesses. I would like to
give back to an industry that has given and
taught me so much.
Nic van den Bergh is the Head of Digital at
Virgin Money South Africa MBR
Creditline: Nic Vah Den Bergh, Virgin
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