In a strategic development aimed at redefining South Africa’s landscape of corporate change management and leadership training, Analyze Consulting has acquired a significant 50% shareholding in LeadMe, a company at the forefront of innovative leadership development programs. This acquisition was completed to empower more businesses to navigate the rapidly changing economic landscape of the 21st century.
This union of respected management consultancy (Analyze) and innovative leadership development tool (LeadMe) is set to add real value in businesses across the sectors – building within them greater resilience and an increasing ability to not simply cope with change, but capitalize on it.
Cathy Banks, founder and director of Analyze, provides insight into the impetus behind the acquisition: “The ability to not simply endure change, but learn to embrace it, is the most underrated skill in business today. It’s one of the key factors between those companies who will still exist in a decade, and those who are destined to go bust.” This sentiment underscores the urgency and necessity for change leadership within the corporate sphere.
LeadMe’s innovative approach to leadership training offers a unique combination of team coaching sessions, on-the-job applications, and a comprehensive online curriculum extending over a year. Analyze, with its acclaimed expertise in facilitating meaningful change through process optimization and technology, sees the acquisition as a way to deepen its commitment to change management by integrating sophisticated leadership development tools into its offerings.
Analyze’s co-founder, Reyer Meihuizen, speaks to the synergy between the two firms: “Whether we’re helping with process optimization, a complex implementation, or navigating a smoother tech transition for a client, we’ve come to appreciate that without a corresponding focus on the people at the coalface of the change, the project will have limited success at best.”
To this end, the company set out to find the best change leadership program available. “Our goal was simple,” says Banks. “We wanted to upskill our team with the tools necessary to not simply cope with change, but begin to capitalize on it – for ourselves, as well as for our clients.”
Adding to this, LeadMe’s founder, Jackie Kennedy, emphasizes the current corporate challenge: “Businesses of all shapes and sizes have never faced the level of complexity and rapid change they face today. While the particular changes we face will shift over time, the unrelenting pace of change is here to stay. That means we’re all in the business of change now, no matter your sector or service. The sooner you recognize this, and empower everyone in your organization to become effective change agents and leaders, the better.”
The significance of leadership development cannot be overstated, especially when considering statistics from the World Economic Forum, which anticipates that 50% of all employees will require reskilling by 2025, with leadership being one of the top skills in demand. Furthermore, organizations with leadership development programs are reported to be 86% more capable of responding to adversity. Leadership
development is not just a training exercise; it results in tangible business outcomes, such as a 114% increase in sales, 70% lower staff turnover, 71% higher customer satisfaction, and 90% reduced absenteeism.
These programs, when applied across an organization, can provide a substantial competitive edge, resulting in enhanced productivity, a resilient and high-impact workforce, smarter resource management, and amplified revenue. The African Development Bank forecasts that by 2030, technological progress may leave approximately 100 million young people in Africa without new employment opportunities. Companies must now determine how to synergize human intelligence with artificial intelligence to ensure they do not merely survive but thrive in the forthcoming industrial evolution.
With this acquisition, both Analyze and LeadMe will maintain their distinct business models and brand identities to create a cooperative atmosphere conducive to innovation and learning. Banks concludes with a vision for the future: “We’re not changing what we do, nor what we offer our clients. We’re taking our commitment to real change and people further than ever. By working alongside one another, and leveraging our different but aligned strengths, we believe we’re poised to make a positive, powerful impact on corporate South Africa and beyond.”
For more information on the transformative leadership development and consulting services offered by Analyze and LeadMe, please visit their websites:
https://analyze.co.za | https://www.leadme.academy
