Craig Barnes , Chair of Nedbank’s LGBTQI+ Forum in South Africa. A Radius graduate, Craig shares how our Employee Network Leadership programme helped him to identify stakeholders and expand network influence.
I first met Radius at Vodacom’s Pride at Work Conference in South Africa. Their Employee Network Leadership programmes caught my attention. I could see that they would be ideal for us and the Radius team was really supportive and welcoming from the beginning.
Shortly afterwards, I joined the Stage 2 Employee Network Leadership programme, for experienced Network Leads. The content was very valuable, particularly in terms of stakeholder mapping. It helped me to identify all of our key stakeholders, and to think about extending this further. The course helped me to put everything into perspective and as a process, was just incredibly helpful. I produced a new stakeholder map which brings everyone together. It’s a magical equation!
The Radius programme was so useful in terms of linking out to the wider business. It gave me lots of golden nuggets of advice and information. Crucially, it helped me to think about the different strands of diversity within my own community and how we can work harder to represent everyone, via sub-committees. While I was on the course, lots of little lights were suddenly switched on for me. I thought, “This is how I can make things better. This is how I can take things to the next level!”
The course prompted me to explore how we can increase our footprint, particularly in the townships and smaller cities, where we might really make an impact in terms of education. Before working with Radius, I hadn’t really thought too much about this. But the programme planted the seed and helped me to consider how we might adjust our messaging, to be an inclusive forum for everyone.
One of the benefits of the Radius programme, is the additional support, such as online networking. These sessions are incredibly helpful and a chance to meet others who are passionate about EDI. I also liked the extended 16 week access to course content. I’m grateful that I can refer back to the Radius modules in my own time, if I need to check something.
In summary, my experience on the Radius program was phenomenal! I received so many golden nuggets that I could take back to my organisation, to help me take my network to the next level. The quality of the content and the support was breath-taking. I’m so grateful and excited for the opportunities that Radius has made available to us here in South Africa.
