In the intricate landscape of Human Resources (HR), where the nurturing of talent intersects with the complexities of organizational dynamics, Akona Makoboka emerges as a beacon of visionary leadership. With a career spanning dynamic industries and global landscapes, Akona’s journey epitomizes resilience, adaptability, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. From humble beginnings shaped by early influences to navigating global challenges with strategic acumen, Akona’s trajectory in HR leadership embodies a commitment to ethical integrity, transformative impact, and empowerment.
Throughout her career, Akona has been guided by a profound understanding of the human element in organizational dynamics, fueled by a passion for understanding and working with people.
Drawing inspiration from her formative years, Akona’s venture into the field of Human Resources was fueled by a compelling combination of inherent leadership qualities, passion for advocating justice and an enduring appetite for education.
A Passion Ignited: Early Influences and Career Beginnings
Akona’s journey into the realm of HR was ignited by a potent blend of innate leadership qualities and a profound sense of justice fostered in the post-apartheid era of South Africa. Reflecting on formative years, Akona shares, “Even when I was a youngster, I had always taken on leadership roles, especially in sport, and as I navigated different situations with individuals and teams, pertaining to motivation, development and conflict resolution, made me realize that I had a keen interest in understanding and working with people.”
These early experiences laid the foundation for a career characterized by a deep-seated commitment to understanding and empowering individuals within organizations. Pursuing management and employment law studies at the university level further solidified Akona’s path in HR with a specialization in employee relations, revealing not just the nuances and complexities of the field, but also the opportunity that lay within. From those formative beginnings, Akona embarked on a trajectory marked by a dedication to ethical leadership and a profound understanding of the human element in organizational dynamics.
Ethical Leadership- A Pillar of Akona’s Leadership Style
Akona’s leadership journey is anchored in the principles of integrity, fairness, transparency, and equity. From the vantage point of employee relations portfolios to senior leadership roles, Akona’scommitment to ethical leadership remains unwavering. Reflecting on this foundational aspect of leadership, Akona articulates, “By virtue of the employee relations portfolios that I occupied, I immediately gravitated towards ethical leadership as the principles of integrity, fairness, transparency and equity, really appealed to me.”
This steadfast commitment to ethical leadership serves as a guiding light in navigating the intricate challenges of employee relations. Akona’s leadership style seamlessly integrates transformational leadership qualities, fostering adaptability and agility in responding to evolving organizational landscapes. The synthesis of ethical and transformational leadership qualities not only enhances Akona’s effectiveness as a leader but also enriches the experiences of teams and stakeholders.
Empowering Organizational Culture
Central to Akona’s leadership philosophy is the cultivation of a workplace culture grounded in fairness and ethics. Akona emphasizes the intrinsic link between a positive workplace culture and effective resolution of employee concerns. Reflecting on this ethos, Akona explains, “It is very challenging to resolve employee concerns in a compliant and fair manner if the workplace culture does not mirror these values.”
Akona’s approach to resolving employee concerns transcends procedural compliance, prioritizing communication, and engagement with employees at every stage. The mantra of being not only fair but also seen to be fair underscores Akona’s commitment to fostering a workplace culture where employees feel valued and heard. Through proactive communication, education, and engagement initiatives, Akona ensures that organizational values are not merely articulated but are internalized and upheld by employees.
Organizational culture must be actively fostered, not just through policies and governance frameworks, but with the understanding that every single interaction with employees, whether formal or informal, and every action and inaction either strengthens and embeds the culture, or in the alternative, serves to erode it. There can be no safe and open workplace culture if it is not based on fairness and ethics – and where there is no psychological safety, there will be very little by way of an employee voice mechanism, and by implication, there will be an inability for the organization to leverage their human capital as a competitive advantage.
Solving Global Employee Relations Challenges
As organizations navigate a dynamic global landscape, the ability to anticipate and address employee relations challenges assumes paramount importance. Having worked for global organizations such as Smollan and Accenture in the recent past, and now Makosi, Akona’s strategic approach to understanding and mitigating global employee relations challenges reflects a nuanced understanding of industry trends and regulatory landscapes. Discussing this strategic imperative, Akona shares, “I consume knowledge quite voraciously and can often be found with a book or thought leadership piece in hand.”
Akona’s proactive engagement with diverse perspectives and industry insights enables the formulation of agile strategies to address impending challenges. Leveraging collaborative frameworks and engaging stakeholders across geographies, Akona ensures a holistic approach to navigating global employee relations challenges. This multifaceted approach, informed by strategic foresight and cross-functional collaboration, reinforces organizational resilience and agility in addressing complex employee relations dynamics proactively.
Building Strong Relationships
At the heart of Akona’s leadership ethos lies a commitment to building strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels. Recognizing the pivotal role of stakeholder engagement, Akona emphasizes authenticity, trust, and clear communication in relationship management. Articulating this approach, Akonastates,”My approach in building strong relationship management with stakeholders has been quite simple: to demonstrate authenticity in my interactions, and to build trust through a consistent display of competence and clear communication.” This holds true whether Akona is engaging at Board level, with executive teams, employees or trade unions as is evident through the strong and enduring relationships built over the years.
Akona’s leadership is characterized by a culture of openness, respect, and empathy, fostering an environment where stakeholders feel valued and heard. By prioritizing transparent communication and proactive engagement, Akona cultivates robust relationships that serve as a cornerstone of organizational success.
Insights for Aspiring Female HR Leaders
In a landscape characterized by dynamic challenges and opportunities, Akona offers valuable insights for aspiring female HR leaders. Reflecting on her own journey, Akona underscores the importance of intentionality, continuous learning, and resilience in overcoming challenges. Offering advice to aspiring female HR leaders, Akona emphasizes, “There is an intentionality that needs to underpin your outlook on your career, especially in terms of career choices.”
Making an impact comes with great responsibility so a dedication to continuous learning and improvement is one of the ways to overcome challenges as an aspirant female leader.
Heightened professional development opportunities allow for a competence, confidence and agility in dealing with people-related matters through the lens of best practice. Nurturing technical skills makes you good at what you do, nurturing your soft skills makes sure that you do it the right way and stands you in good stead in navigating workplace politics, relationships and conflicts.
Akona’s journey serves as a testament to the transformative power of intentionality, resilience, and a commitment to continuous learning. By nurturing a culture of empowerment and mentorship, Akona champions the next generation of female HR leaders, inspiring them to navigate challenges with confidence and purpose.
A Visionary Leader’s Legacy In the tapestry of HR leadership, AkonaMakoboka’s legacy shines brightly as a testament to visionary leadership, ethical integrity, and transformative impact. From humble beginnings shaped by early influences to navigating global challenges with strategic acumen, Akona’s journey exemplifies the transformative power of ethical leadership and unwavering commitment to empowering individuals within organizations and beyond. Whether Akona is presenting at HR conferences, or in her role as an associate instructor for candidates taking on their HR degrees at international universities or guiding seasoned business professionals around the globe who are pursuing executive education, Akona infuses the importance of transformative and compliant HR practices in successful decision-making. As Akona continues to inspire and empower future generations of HR leaders, her legacy will endure as a beacon of visionary leadership in the ever-evolving landscape of Human Resources.
