A leader, who leads with love and not with fear. This is the ultimate goal of the Go4Gold Academy for potential young leaders of Gondwana Collection Namibia. This year, twelve handpicked Gondwana employees worked very hard to successfully complete the 12 month programme. They came from all walks of life within Gondwana: Reservations, Marketing, Finance, Curio, Lodge and Park Management as well as the People Team.
Although 2020 was a difficult year, with income in the tourism sector falling to almost zero, Gondwana continued to invest in the education of its most promising young employees. The Go4Gold facilitators provided them with life skills, managerial expertise and leadership tools, and planted the seed for becoming mindful leaders. Besides their work at Gondwana Collection Namibia, the participants of the Go4Gold Academy took part in six modules, had to complete five on-the-job projects and a year project.
“Go4Gold is a journey to yourself. It brings out the participant’s strongest self and at the same time enables an encounter with his or her darker side,” said Ume Goldbeck, the coordinator of the Go4Gold programme. “This process oriented coaching and mentoring programme challenges the participant’s comfort zone and mindset. This can be very uncomfortable, stressful and demanding and at the same time stimulating, thrilling and rewarding.”
Go4Gold is structured around process oriented learning, encouraging everyone to achieve their individual best. The year projects were presented on the 26th of November to the directors and department managers of Gondwana Collection. “The outcome of these projects are of a very high academic standard and the participants can be proud of their individual achievements”, says Ume Goldbeck. “Now their main task for 2021 is to implement their learning's at work and to share their newly gained knowledge with their team members.”
The Go4Gold initiative forms part of the Gondwana Training Academy that was established in 2017. Gondwana also conducted extensive in-house training at the respective lodges this year. The lodge group’s training programmes not only aim to provide service excellence, thereby promoting Namibia as a top African tourist destination, but also to build a healthy team spirit according to the motto: Together we are strong.