Developing Effective Working Relationships

Ranitha Ramdeyal | Manager for Academic Services | University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa (AAA)

I would like to give conference attendees a perspective of someone who comes from a Rainbow Nation, a country which is so diverse in terms of race, culture, religion and values. Amazingly, the one factor that unites our people is sport, all differences are set aside as the country comes together to support the team playing in the world arena.  South Africans love to party, they will find a reason to celebrate and winning at a sport is definitely a reason to celebrate. The euphoria, camaraderie and the pride that all the people of SA shared when we won the Rugby World Cup was phenomenal. This was proof that people can come to together despite all differences when there is a common cause.

The challenge is creating this same unity of diversity in the work place and developing effective working relationships.

 25 years into democracy and yet we are still babies in how we cope with all the changes; the older generation is still trying to understand their freedom, still learning to walk,  while the “born free” are taking leaps.  Bridging the gap, finding  the common ground, managing change and at the same time giving off your best to all stakeholders can be extremely stressful but also very rewarding. 

To complicate matters,  the majority of our students are the new millennials who present an added dimension to our institutions, our the ability to achieve success,  and build effective working relationships.  

Let me give you a peek into the window of an Academic Administrator in a very unique part of the world that is SA.  

415: Developing Effective Working Relationships is a working session at the AUA Annual Conference and Exhibition 2020. In these mini blogs, our session speakers talk about the journey that lead to this point. Read the full Conference programme here.