WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE

Hallo, my name is Madi Hanekom!

I have a proven track record of over 30 years in general management, project management and business-related mentoring and coaching and have added online business English tutoring to my portfolio two years ago. I operate anywhere in South Africa, neighbouring countries and globally.

Visit me on Clubhouse and LinkedIn.

LEADING A PORTFOLIO LIFE

After having worked in the corporate sector for many years, I decided in 2001 to resign and to start up my own consultancy. This was driven by my need to aspire to a new lifestyle where I would have a greater say in my own life journey and which would provide me with the wonderful freedom to pursue several job-type activities (without being limited to a one career path), whilst at the same time being able to devote significant time and energy to other non-work related interests. 

I have since come to realize that many people have this dream of a greater freedom of choice and wanting a strong say in creating a work / life balance tailor made for their specific needs. In fact, there is a specific term for this preferred type of lifestyle, it is defined as “a Portfolio Life”. This concept was coined by the business guru Professor Charles Handy in his book The Age of Unreason in 1989 who explained this approach as follows: “If, rather than think of life as work and leisure, we think of it as a portfolio of activities - some of which we do for money, some for interest, some for pleasure, some for a cause - that way, we do not have to look for the occupation that miraculously combines job satisfaction, financial reward and pleasant friends all in one package. As with any portfolio we get different returns from different parts and if one fails the whole is not ruined.” This makes wonderful sense to me!

Running my consultancy affords me the great opportunity to have a very interesting job mix whilst also providing me with the independence and flexibility to participate in other interests such as creative writing, photography, researching my family tree and to give something back to the community through outreach work. In other words, I'm living my own portfolio life with the creative and fulfilling portfolio mix as stated below!

• Executive, Leadership & Business Coaching and Mentoring

My experience in coaching and mentoring includes acting as mentor and coach within the organizations I worked for through inter alia participating in the structuring and execution of induction programmes for new staff members as well as mentoring high performance staff members being groomed for more senior positions within the organization.

I also coach and mentor senior, middle and junior level management staff members in specific job related skills, including focusing on developing the project management skills and knowledge of project managers. As an independent project management consultant, I concentrate on capacity building of key client staff members to empower them to understand all the phases of the project cycle and to take full ownership of projects and programmes once the consultants’ work on these projects have been concluded.

I furthermore undertake mentoring and coaching of individuals (either within an organization or private individuals) who want to re-assess certain areas of their business and/or private situation and who are ready to engage in a constructive partnership between a client and a mentor/coach where both are focused on the development of the client in a manner that is customized for the client's needs and goals. This will inter alia include assisting executives to understand the requirements relating to general management and showing optimal executive presence and to deal with issues relating to transformation. 

I also enjoy working with entrepreneurs in the SMME sector to develop their business plans, to focus on specific areas of development, e,g, using digital platforms, and to assist them to focus on their personal development to enhance their chances of business success.

I furthermore coach people nearing retirement (i.e. 55+years old) or recently retired, to prepare for their next phase of life.

I have a special interest in the empowerment of women and have served on the boards of a number of organisations dealing with gender and development issues.

I have established a coaching and mentoring practice (separate from my project management and freelance journalism work - ref below), as from January 2005 and thoroughly enjoy working with individuals and teams who are at a point in their lives where they want to get clarity on where they are NOW, clarity on where they want to be in the FUTURE, and then co-creating the plan of how to get from HERE to THERE! 

Please refer the “Leadership, Executive & Business Coaching and Mentoring” section of the website for more detail of my coaching and mentoring niche offerings.

• Business & Creative Writing 

I operate this part of my consultancy as: Madi Hanekom Business Writer.  

I specialise in writing:

(a) any business related documents such as annual reports, integrated reports, website content, copy writing, opinion pieces, promotional pieces, press releases 

(b) bid documents for tenders; and 

(c) articles on a wide range of subjects. I also do proofreading and editing of documents, and offer translation services (english and afrikaans).

Please refer the “Commercial and Creative Writer / Freelance Journalist” section of the website for more detail of my coaching and mentoring niche offerings.

• Online English Tutor

I offer advanced English online business language tutoring to professionals in the built industry. Please refer the “Online Business English Tutor” section of the website for more detail. 

• Project Management 

I have had a successful and rewarding career in the development finance and infrastructure development sectors, undertaking the project management of projects and programmes in various economic and social development sectors of developing economies (both within South Africa and the SADC countries). I work with governments at all levels, private sector companies, international development agencies as well as the non government sector to conclude complex project finance transactions and leading multi-disciplinary teams towards the successful execution of projects (including public private partnership - PPP - projects). 

My project portfolio in the “Project Management section of the website provides information on these projects and programmes.  

 MY PERSONAL AND BUSINESS VALUES

 Honesty, integrity, professionalism, client responsiveness, and a passion and commitment to deliver optimal outcomes for my clients and make a positive difference in people’s lives.

I in general believe in a “Live and let live!” approach towards life. 

 MY NETWORK OF EXPERTS

 I work in association with a network of specialist consultants, all experts in their respective fields and structures the involvement of these experts based on the requirements of a specific project or programme.

This network includes experts in coaching and mentoring, transaction advice, strategic management, feasibility studies, financial assessment and the structuring of computer based financial models, process facilitation, economic analysis, business engineering, legal advice, environmental and heritage assessments, construction design and engineering, transport sector, education and training,  clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, creative industries, etc.

MY QUALIFICATIONS 

I have a Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA), B.Comm Hons (Economics) degree, a Higher Diploma in Library Science (all qualifications from the University of Pretoria), Secondary Education Diploma (University of Stellenbosch).

My coaching and mentoring qualifications include a Post-graduate Certificate in the Psychology of Coaching, and a Certificate in retirement coaching (UK qualification).

I have a Certificate in teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL, UK certification).

I am fully computer literate including command of MS-Project, MS-Word, MS-Excel, MS-PowerPoint, MS-Outlook, and MS-Internet Explorer.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS 

Full Member of Project Management South Africa (PMSA)

Coach with Coaches and Mentors South Africa (COMENSA)

Registered Coach with Retirement Options (UK)

REFERENCES

 Please refer to the relevant sections of the website for client references.

CONTACT DETAILS

 Please contact me on my email: mecorp@icon.co.za,  to discuss your specific requirements in respect of my listed service offerings.