Building Leadership and Management Capability for Sustainable Transformation at The South African National Biodiversity Institute

Description

The Technical Assistance Unit (TAU) of the National Treasury supported SANBI’s transformation journey from November 2009 to April 2012. The case study tells a story of how the transformation process was implemented by SANBI through adopting a change management approach that integrated executive leadership coaching. The TAU’s, now GTAC, consulting model with five phases, viz., concept, definition, planning, inception and close-out are outlined as applied to SANBI. Key success factors for change initiatives in the public sector are highlighted, such as leadership, consensus at the top, shared vision, trustworthy communications, employee involvement, risk-taking and empowered managers. A current update on how SANBI has sustained the transformation is presented.