The Alumni of Tangaza University’s Centre for Leadership and Management Hold a Networking Forum on Building Sustainable Organizations

CANAA || By Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 20 July 2015

The alumni association of the Nairobi-based Tangaza University’s Centre for Leadership and Management (CLM) dubbed The Leaders’ Guild (TLG), last Friday held a networking forum under the theme: building sustainable organizations.

The forum brought together not only some TLG members but also leaders, managers, and entrepreneurs, with 54 participants in attendance, among them religious and laity hailing from different regions of Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Australia.

The organizers of the forum engaged WYLDE International, a “consulting firm committed to providing dynamic, inspirational and transformational programs, for small entrepreneurs, medium sized business and large organizations, that will institute a culture of excellence, good leadership and teamwork.”

In his input, the managing director of WYLDE International, Joram Mwinamo led the forum participants through the process of growing organizations from having an idea and startup to growth to establishment to expansion and to transition, corresponding to 5Es, namely, Exploring, Emerging, Establishing, Expanding, and Evolving.

He explained about the need for organizational clarity and focus as well as the need to have systems in place to manage the courses of action and the implementation of organizational activities.

Mwinamo stressed on the need for organizations to engage “good people” who are aligned to the vision and values of the organization and endowed with the needed expertise.

“If we want to achieve great things that last, we must first conquer ourselves,” Mwinamo said, emphasizing the need to have the right mindset, to practice patience and resilience, to invest in the self through capacity building, to embrace the changing roles in strategic and visionary ways, to let go tasks that others can do, to empower others in the organization, to focus on building the institution rather than “personality cults”, and to capitalize on all available opportunities for value creation.

Sr. Loretta Brennan, who presided over the opening session with a word of prayer, invited the participants to cherish their visions in and to have passion for what they set out to establish.

“If you want an organization to grow, you must have a vision and passion,” Sr. Brennan said. “This is what will sustain you,” she added, further emphasizing the need to establish and maintain good relationships and partnerships.

TLG Coordinator, Sr. Margaret Mutiso of the Daughters of Sacred Heart told CANAA that the forum achieved its objective.

“Given that it was a networking forum, people from different organizations were able to interact and make new connections,” Sr. Mutiso explained, adding, “The theme proved to be relevant to the participants and the invited guest came as was expected and delivered the talk very passionately and effectively.”

“One participant who attended the knowledge sharing forum we had with Uwezo fund in April 10^th gave a testimony on how the forum made him meet the CEO of Uwezo fund and how a hundred groups of young people have been funded by Uwezo fund through him, courtesy of TLG,” Sr. Mutiso continued to share with CANAA about the impact of the networking forum, adding that some participants expressed the desire to partner with TLG.

“As a follow up, TLG will keep in touch with the forum participants and using the data from the evaluation done by the participants, TLG team will discern and determine the next events, including the process of partnering with the interested organizations and individuals,” Sr. Mutiso concluded.

TLG has the mission “to develop competent and holistic servant leaders who positively impact and transform society.”

Beside alumni members, TLG has associates consisting of leaders and managers from various sectors of society but are not the alumni of Tangaza University’s CLM, previously under DePaul University in Chicago, USA.

Trainings on integrating faith and purpose for leaders and managers using the Transformative Experience framework, mentoring and coaching for alumni members, networking opportunities for leaders and managers from various sectors of society, among helping alumni in seeking externship, internship, volunteers and job opportunities through its networks are some of the TLG’s services.