BUSINESS
BUSINESS FLEET AFRICA | June 2023
WWW.BUSINESSFLEETAFRICA.CO.ZA
“What does employee engagement
look like at present? Brace yourself for
these eye-opening statistics: a mere
8% of employees are truly committed,
while a staggering 46% could potential-
ly sabotage your business due to the
rampant phenomenon known as quiet
quitting. The gravity of this situation
is magnified when you consider its
detrimental impact on your profitabil-
ity,” says Brand Pretorius, renowned
business leader and doyen of the motor
industry.
Pretorius emphasises that inspiration-
al leadership is the number one critical
success factor in any organisation,
particularly during challenging times. It is
the key to achieving sustainable success,
as it lays the foundation for exceptional
employee engagement, translating into
heightened productivity levels, superior
service quality, enhanced customer
fulfilment, and, ultimately, increased
profitability. But before delving into the
intricacies of leadership, let us first ex-
plore the potential future environment.
The unknown of unknowns
Futurists have coined the term VUCA
(Volatile, Unpredictable, Complex,
Ambiguous) to describe the current
business landscape. However, according
to Pretorius, due to unprecedented
events like the pandemic and Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine, we can expect a
VUCA on steroids, leading to a world
that grows increasingly disorderly. The
rapid acceleration in technological
innovation, coupled with the disruptive
nature of business models, has resulted
in a fourth industrial revolution driven
by the surge of social media, digitisa-
tion, big data analytics, AI, and robotics.
As the physical, biological, and digital
worlds merge, people have become
digital beings, with nearly four billion
individuals connected through smart-
phones. The world is shrinking, and
the concept of distance is becoming
obsolete.
“We have transitioned from the
new normal to an era of never normal,
Unleashing the power
of leadership
‘Leadership truly
matters. It is an essential
prerequisite for
sustainable success, akin
to electricity that powers
countries, organisations,
businesses, sports teams,
and families towards a
better future. In fact,
as John Maxwell, a
well-known American
author, asserts that
everything rises and falls
on leadership. Without
quality leadership,
people metaphorically
stumble in the
darkness, devoid of
direction. The inevitable
consequence of a lack
of competent leadership
is poor results.’