I have always been fascinated with leadership. It’s amazing to me how people will naturally follow one leader as opposed to another. It is clear that  different leaders have very different characteristics and styles. The question is what is effective leadership, and what makes a good leader? Well, if it's answers you're looking for, what better leader to turn to than the Senior Executive of a Global media and entertainment company. 

In this article, we'll be running through some of the ways in which Monde Twala has earned his title as one of the respected leaders and exactly how we can put his methods into practice. Twala is currently the Vice President of ViacomCBS Networks Africa’s BET, Youth & Music brands and is responsible for driving the development and growth of iconic music, youth and entertainment brands BET, MTV, MTV Base and MTV Music24, across Africa.

MUZI : Your track record is impressive - Occupied senior leadership roles in large companies - Currently leading one of the biggest organizations - Have you always wanted to be in leadership? 

MONDE: That’s an interesting question, it’s never been before in that way…

I think who I am is my background and upbringing, I think it probably moulded me into who I am today. Ngingu’mntwana ka gogo – I was raised by my grandmother. I was the eldest at home, and I guess with being the eldest at home there was a lot of expectation on me, there was a responsibility on me from a young age. Just based on my upbringing, that’s probably where my passion for creativity, my passion and understanding of people and being open minded and being inclusive in my  approach. I guess it comes from my upbringing. 

MUZI: How's it like to be a leader?

MONDE: From my experiences throughout my different roles across different projects and companies where I’ve had to take leadership, my style is really about leading with purpose and leading from the front. I think it is all about my ability to understand people from different walks of life and being able to listen. I think leaders in today’s world, we need to listen a lot more especially when working with young people.

I’m passionate about working with young people. If you look across the various brands that I’ve worked with, those being: MTV, BET, MTV Base, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and such… you need to have a diverse understanding of the market and the trends, but most importantly you just need to be out there and understand people because we need people to grow. 

The old saying umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (I am because you are) inspires my leadership style. Modern day leadership requires us to be flexible, nimble and adaptable and I take a lot from that. areas. I try not to be a jack of all trades and I lean on teams and ensure that I lead, work and recruit skilled people even beyond me. Creativity is important and it requires that you bring an open minded driven solution approach to everything you do, and without that level of collaboration I don’t think one is able to call themselves a leader. Modern day leaders should not only lead but also allow themselves to be lead

MUZI : Different leaders have different leadership styles - What do you think is Effective Leadership, and how would you describe your leadership style?

MONDE:  I think a good leader is one who is able to read the situation, the audience and consult broadly and collaborate and also inspire others to give their opinion. As a leader you allow yourself to be motivated and inspired by what is happening around you to come up with solutions. It’s about appreciating the people around me along with their skills and talent and my ability to pull it all together and drive it to deliver impact and purpose. Passion is also central to everything we do because if you do not have the passion you will surely struggle to lead people. So being inspired and having the passion are the basics of what a leader should be doing.

MUZI : The ability to effectively lead, motivate and direct a group of people – whether it is in business, community or politics - requires a very complex set of skills. Is leadership born or built? 

MONDE: I believe everyone is a leader. In whatever situation you find yourself in, whether personal or in your professional career leadership is something we grow into. We’re all called to lead at some point in our lives. Whether you’re a sportsman, musician or across any space, people grow into leadership. My leadership style is inspired by sport being a soccer fanatic and having played it in my youth – I’m an Arsenal and Kaiser Chiefs fan. So I use some of the principles like being the captain of a team, you have to lead by example: so you show up on time and leave from a strong foundation of values such as respect, being objective and genuine. 

Listening is a key skill that every leader should have. It’s something I pride myself in with the different projects I’ve worked on. I’m talking about the BET Awards, Africa Music Awards, a reality show like the Khanyi Mbau where I must collaborate with the talent. Creativity about  collaboration and bringing together different creative minds and solutions to turn them into solid business models that can drive business. I currently lead the BET International team…

MUZI: And how's that going? 

MONDE: I think it brings amazing opportunities because it is authentically grounded in Africa and it calls on Africans to show up the best way we can and put our best foot forward and not only learn from our international colleagues but to also give a perspective. I think this role is important because it needs me to lead and shine the light on an African perspective which is re-imagining Africa and ourselves, and elevating culture and business and making sure that we can grow the South African and African economy. I lead people and I have an amazing team around me consisting of people who are amazing and skilled. 

I’m excited over this new role because it provides opportunities for many other young Africans and young leaders who aspire for international success. It’s a proud moment for not only me but also for Africans Globally

 MUZI: Would you agree that it's important for blacks in leadership roles to advance or empower other blacks in the workplace?

MONDE: It’s a responsibility we have as leaders to bring others along. If you look at the population, you find that the African population is a young one. If you look at the projects that we choose to do, for instance: Boity, Own Your Throne last year on BET, showcasing a young, strong, independent and talented African female – and how we used Boity’s profile and journey to highlight the importance of empowering young girls. Basically giving young girls people to look up to like Boity, Pearl Thusi, Khanyi Mbau, Nomzamo and see the success, ambition and the fact that young black women can do it and empower themselves with the best of them in the world. 

That is important because it inspires not only myself but the business as well to consistently look at how we can elevate and groom new and fresh talent into the industry to feed into the conversation about opening the industry. That’s sso all of us can bring them along.It's something I've been passionate about throughout my career; I’ve always collaborated with amazing talent across the continent.

 I'm sharing some of these ideas because leadership is about bringing others along. Leadership is about how Muzi’s growth and exposure means it’s your best friend or your friend’s growth exposure. As we grow and learn and achieve we share the knowledge. Leaders who share knowledge are the most powerful. I always stress that young people should apply themselves and allow themselves to be led and bring a learning attitude. I’m still learning these lessons. 

MUZI: Isyleblaq celebrates and promotes black excellence - What does black excellence mean to you?

MONDE : To me, black excellence speaks to showing up every day, our ability to reinvent ourselves and shift when needed. It speaks to being focused on your dreams and being focused on purpose and being engaged in projects that are beyond self-interest. Black excellence is about a culture that can create, committing and executing with great focus. That is black excellence. It is about evolving and innovating and shifting standards and consistently wanting to improve yourself and those around you. 

Black excellence is rooted in African culture. We strive to achieve black excellence in entertainment, storytelling, elevating and discovering new talent and ensuring that this talent is successful beyond our borders. I mean, look at Trevor Noah who started on Comedy Central and how he is shining the African flag on The Daily Show. It's about challenging ourselves for better heights and to be better than yesterday. 

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