“Coming to a situation empty but returning full is a powerful theme of resilience, growth and divine provision.” _ Daryl D. Black
By Liliso Mbadla
I joined the NSCF Emerging Leaders Programme with attending the second workshop that was hosted on 19-23 May 2025 at Skukuza Camp, Kruger National Park. It was the very first workshop I ever attended in my entire life. I had no clue what this workshop was all about, to be honest. Before going to the workshop, we were given pre-readings that we were instructed to read before the workshop. These were readings about Ubuntu Leadership, Complex Leadership, Four Agreements of Courageous Conversations and Community, the Structure of Belonging. I read them and began to have some clue about what we were going to be taught in the workshop, but after arriving at the workshop, I learnt more than I expected to learn. I left the workshop with more knowledge, and it is indeed true that knowledge is power and with knowledge you do better and you will grow.
As a reader, you may first want to know what NSCF is. NSCF, which stands for Natural Science Collections Facility is a network of South African natural science collections institutions. It was established as the part of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSI)’s
Research Infrastructure Roadmap and coordinated by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). NSCF is dedicated to preserve, upgrade and promote research on natural science collections and associated data to enable sustainable and enriched life on earth. Their aim is to make sure that these natural science collections are high quality and data is accessible and can be used in research to address the issues of socio-economic importance.
At the second Emerging Leaders Workshop by the NSCF on 19-23 May 2025 at Skukuza Kruger National Park, institutions that were present are as follows: Agricultural Research Council (ARC), Albany Museum, Bayworld Museum, Durban Natural Science Museum, H.G.W.J Schweickerdt Herbarium (PRU), KwaZulu Natal Museum, National Research Foundation – South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (NRF- SAIAB), NSCF Hub Team and South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).
Liliso’s First Emerging Leaders Workshop alongside with other Emerging Leaders
Emerging Leaders in Reflection Groups
Wildlife landscape of Skukuza
My first Emerging Leaders Workshop was one of the best experiences I will never forget. It was my first time flying, which was a nice experience. Arriving at Skukuza was a great experience surrounded by wildlife and such a beautiful landscape. The first day I was nervous and felt lost because I didn’t know what the workshop would be about. That’s how I usually feel when I have no clue about something. We were asked what experience we would like to have in Skukuza, and I stood up and said I want to see a buffalo, and everyone laughed. It was my first time hearing about the Inner Development Goals (IDG’s) and I became excited and couldn’t wait to hear more about them. The best statement I heard during the first day was that “We all come to the process as leaders” and hearing this made me realise that this workshop is about making leaders of tomorrow, and I nodded my head smiling, telling myself that indeed leaders are really made not just born.
Group photo before Game drive
The first workshop gave me more knowledge and critical thinking skills. I say this because I learnt more about the power of reflective learning. I remember, every morning we would sit in groups and reflect on what we were taught in the previous day. I saw that it is a powerful thing to go back to what stuck with you from the previous day and also listen to someone else’s reflections because in that way you see that humans look at experiences differently and that makes your conservations deeper and richer. You think critically, and this is where I learnt about the IDG of Thinking, meaning to have cognitive skills as a leader.
During the workshop, I made sure that I have the awareness to think and engage with other members during our reflection sessions in the morning, and this helped me to communicate and build social skills, as I’m not good at public speaking. The morning sessions of reflection were also helpful in active listening, because in the workshop we did the active listening exercise, where you listen attentively to another person, showing energy of listening to the speaker without interrupting them, and give the speaker solid feedback of what he/she said. This exercise was a way for us to practice being good listeners and having empathy towards people.
Another best takeaway from my first workshop was the documentary of Wangari Maathai. It taught me that as a leader you also need to be conscious about the ecosystem, and have willingness to protect biodiversity, which is also part of humanity. As Wangari said: “in killing the ecosystem we are also killing ourselves”. Wangari’s story taught me
that as a leader, you must stand up and act, drive change, and have the courage to be creative. Wangari planted trees, and she restored the ecosystem.
Emerging Leaders presenting what their real work and elegant next steps using P2P Worksheet.
Lastly, the workshop deepened my understanding of Ubuntu Leadership. As Leaders we need to have Ubuntu for everyone. So coming to the workshop empty, I left being full of knowledge and skills. Arriving back at my workplace, me and my colleague did great work of reorganizing our workspace and volunteered in community outreaches and that’s all thanks to the NSCF Emerging Leaders Workshop that I attended on 19-23 May 2025. Indeed umntu ngumntu ngabantu (a person is a person through other people).