Q: Kindly provide an overview of what PinnaLead does?
A: Pinnacle + Leadership = PinnaLead. Pinnacle because of our association with the most influential leadership personality, Dr. John C Maxwell, and Leadership because we are all about developing leaders.
We are a human capital development company that started in Botswana in 2013 and is accredited by Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) as a learning institution. A citizen and woman-owned company, it was formed to address the global issue of the leadership gap since we are not exempted from that as a country. Our services include Leadership Training and Personality & Competency Assessments, One-on-One Integral Coaching, Team Building & Team Effectiveness, as well as Emotional Intelligence.
Q: Who is the brains behind PinnaLead?
A: The founder of PinnaLead, Lorato Mosetlhanyane (B.Com, ACCA, MBA, ACC, PCC), is a Professional Certified Coach (ICF), having successfully completed the Professional Coaching Course (PCC) and the Associate Coaching Course (ACC) through the Centre for Coaching in partnership with the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town and New Ventures West (NVW) based in San Francisco.
Since 2013 as a full-time Professional Coach, Trainer and Speaker, Lorato has coached and trained both young and mature leaders, locally and internationally. She has facilitated several interventions for corporates as well as individuals (leaders in their own right) from diverse industries.
Prior to forming PinnaLead, Lorato worked in the corporate world as a Chartered Accountant in different capacities for 17 years. She left formal employment at the position of Chief Finance Officer for a leading life insurance company in Botswana, having contributed to its growth and success. A believer in continuous self-development and feeding her mind, Lorato reads widely. The writings of John Maxwell awakened a passion in her that saw her embark on a completely new journey and certifying, as a John Maxwell Certified Coach, after five years of continuous mentoring by the internationally acclaimed leadership guru, John C Maxwell.
Lorato is a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) graduate from the University of Botswana and a chartered member of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA). She also holds a Master’s in business administration (MBA) from Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom. She is a certified Personal Mastery and Team Dynamics Facilitator, an Integrative Enneagram Accredited Practitioner, and a Five Lens of Human Development Certified Facilitator.
Q: What methodology do you use in your approach to training people to become effective and transformational leaders?
A: For our leadership training, we use the masterminding training methodology, which is a methodology that directs learners to the application of principles they learn as opposed to the acquiring of knowledge. We believe that it is not what people know that sets them apart but what they do with what they know.
We solidify this message with our one-on-one integral coaching approach that focuses on empowering people to develop strategies to deal with the challenges they face as opposed to focusing on their problems. This is to enable them to handle even bigger challenges better in the future. The methodology grows learners from the inside out, creating a lasting impact.
Q: In what ways does PinnaLead differentiate itself from other leadership development organisations?
A: What sets us apart from other leadership development organisations are three key things:
(i) Well-trained and highly experienced Coaches and Trainers who have led in their own respective fields and who teach with real-life stories and not just relying on textbook theories. These are people who can say been there and done that; so they bring a wealth of experience to every session.
(ii) Our Training Methodology: We use the masterminding training methodology, which is a learning methodology that brings like-minded people together to grow towards a common purpose. Masterminding directs the attention of learners on the application of leadership principles learned and does not just focus on the acquiring of knowledge.
(iii) Our product suits or solutions: we do not sell off-the-shelf programmes; we build specific programmes to meet our clients’ needs.
Q: What key challenges do you see organisations facing in terms of developing effective leaders and nurturing their human capital?
A: Organisations are not intentional in terms of helping professionals to transition from their professions into effective leaders. This is very evident in highly specialised areas where people do very well based on their intellectual quotient (IQ).
Unfortunately, most people who have a high IQ are challenged in their emotional quotient (EQ) and therefore struggle to transition from professionals to leaders because one needs the EQ more than the IQ to lead. As a nation, we have not done enough in terms of developing and equipping leaders. People still assume positions of leadership before they are well-vested in issues of leadership. Such people fail to impact others and use positional power more than influence, creating working environments that are not conducive for their people and failing to maximise the value of the human capital asset.
Q: How do you see the future of leadership development evolving and how does PinnaLead plan to stay at the forefront of these changes?
A: As the world opens to become one global village, more open and versatile leaders who can influence cross-culturally and through different geographic locations will be more relevant. This will then mean leaders who can interact effectively virtually and face-to-face and who are flexible to measure performance through their deliverables as opposed to effort and loyalty.
As we advance into 4IR, the most required skills going forward will be more soft skills that cannot be automated and taken over by robots. We are investing in Integral Coaching, which takes us through the psychology of a human being, so we can help people develop their soft skills. We are also affiliated with Dr John C Maxwell who continuously brings us the latest trends in leadership development. This helps us to be up to speed with the changes in the leadership landscape.
