UCT RAG

1. What is the most important thing that you will always remember about RAG and why?

The challenges we faced every year on RAG defined me in a way that heightened my resilience, and I realised that getting answers was are not the essential thing, but probing questions and healthy debate with a good team,
can take to RAG to higher places. The experience taught this Lesson: “Leadership is not only about vision, but also creating an environment where people can be heard and they are empowered to speak honestly and
frankly, and the team can act on straight facts about the challenges as they confront you.”

2. What were the greatest challenges that faced you during your time at RAG?

1) Getting the right people onboard, that were self-motivated and also
ensuring that the challenges did not de-motivate the team, but
inspired them to overcome.
2) Acquiring Sponsorship.
3) Slack members in a team can be the greatest de-motivator.

3. What practical aspects of project management were you exposed to and how did you deal with them?

1) Crowd Management and Queuing Systems - Liaised with venue security, Campus Security and Risk Management. I also toyed with elementary simulations of queing systems. Quite simply, in the field, ALWAYS remain calm
and remember to be professional. We’re offering a service and an experience and the safety of patrons is essential.
2) From an executive administration perspective, we go through common PM practices, from the Business Case, Feasibility, Budgets, Implementation of the Plan, Risk Assessment and Report Back.
3) I general, I would say, I’ve done Promotions, as well as back of house set-up and logistics. Most members are exposed to about 80% of all these aspects I’ve mentioned.

4. Do you have any advice for the young, unseasoned crop of RAG project managers in the 2006/2007 RAG period?

Be honest with yourself, if you are only looking to tidy-up your CV, then RAG is not for you, you can spend that valuable time with a thousand other societies or activities. For RAG, like other Development Agencies, you need 200% commitment and effort because as a team you rely on each other, to build each other up. The experience is an adrenalin rush and is seriously addictive. If you slack, you demotivate the team. You get what you put in, and the outcome is a better man or woman, that’s invaluable!

5. Were there any challenges that you had to meet while you were a member of RAG on the university, ‘administrative’ side of things? How did you deal with these?

Like any organisation, one is accountable to many different stakeholders, and the UCT Student Affairs Department is an important one. There are procedures and protocols that help run the department effectively and teams of people that serve the wider student body and so constant communication is key to ensure that risk is well managed and all stakeholders are fully informed and involved. The challenges made me critically analyse how RAG interplays with its community, both responsibly and professionally and what the prospects of its future are in raising funds for SHAWCO’s efforts whilst being a unique and”personality” in the community. RAG is a voice, that must be heard and more importantly, understood to the highest level. How does RAG serve and satisfy all its stakeholders equally?, Firstly, Get the Right People onboard, then do the right things, implement the right projects, follow the right protocols. Subsequently, Good Communication, Strategy and Leadership will yield the right results.

6. What leadership style did you use with your General Comm? How did you make yourself approachable to them?

I waited until I was convinced that I had the right people doing the right projects were onboard. We had to ensure that we had the right projects on the portfolio and this was the starting point. Thereafter, my approach was to question and probe, until I understood the team, the projects themselves and what we could realistically achieve, and also get a realistic assessment about the risks we faced. That way, we developed a strategy based on improving internal planning processes to a professional best practice, and try to attract the best students possible on the G.C. We also were inspired by an entrepreneurial culture within projects and also to stimulate ideas for new projects in the near term. With this background and prior preparation , My leadership style was one of accountability and maintaining high standards, I had to trust in the people I chose to lead and let them do so, so that they blossom. In principle, Those that do not meet the standards of excellence expected by the team should not be part of the team quite frankly! Unfortunately, because of the nature of the organisation, it becomes a struggle to implement this approach after a certain time, because these leaders can’t be replaced speedily nor re-shuffled to a place where they can blossom. and so we were consultative and confrontational with
the individuals that were struggling. However , to be honest, this discipline seemed to wane towards the end. I believe in the power of two…rather than an individual authoritarian effort, Individual/Celebrity leadership does not serve well to leave some sort of legacy or inspire future leaders because when “I” the brains and inspiration leaves, then there’s nothing left to keep RAG going in the right direction.

7. Did you have a strategy that you used to manage your team? What was it?

Answered it above. All I can add, is that one must learn to probe and
understand what makes the team member tick and what the team dynamic
is to lead them towards opportunities that make them and the team
blossom.

8. How did you secure sponsorship for your projects? How did you manage your relationship/partnership with sponsors?

We Inherited some of the sponsorships. I also played a leading role in acquiring other sponsors that we now enjoy. In both cases, we sought to understand what it is the sponsors seek to gain, and ascertain what brand exposure is worth to them. With some sponsors it was easy, that our projects offer the greatest brand exposure and association within the student market, and is cost-effective for them, all we attempted to do was to heighten this aspect of awareness within our
community, whilst focusing on factors that stimulate increased customer pull, and also opportunities were to be gained from working with sponsors to try and earn from alternative sources of revenue, perhaps from product sales, apart from door takings. Thus, through the carnival and Big Bash, in its new format by accident rather than design.We took on risk and aggressively managed the projects to launch them excellently, we only have one shot! We also realised better quality publishing for our Diary and SAX Appeal, better distribution mechanisms, that also helped us develop our relationships further with sponsors and advertisers alike, to RAG’s best interest and scope for further profit yielding publications in terms of production capacity side, as well as meeting customer expectations, and in the case of the 2006 year, exceeding them in terms of the perceived quality. Like any business, it is important to keep close watch at the risks that Inflation and legislation pose to our bottom line and future of RAG projects. We really need to work on an aggressive strategy to source new sponsors, and also provide our people with fresh new ideas that are profitable to RAG. Perhaps, we can take a leaf out of our counterpart’s book, TUKS JOOL!

9. What was the most difficult, crisis scenario you faced during your time with RAG? How did you manage the crisis?

During O-week 2006 It transpired that the SDO was under the impression that RAG had not followed the requisite approvals procedures for projects and publications. We had a series of management engagements, and took a proactive approach rather than confrontational one, in the interests of getting these projects rolling, and we had to make doubly sure that risk as managed. From then on, we kept a close working relationship with UCT Management, we have an understanding, and we definitely need to work hand-in glove during the department restructure and beyond. It’s imperative that we are understood to the highest level. There are legislative and UCT Policy issues that RAG needs to engage extensively with management about in bringing forth a well managed environment where students in RAG in particular can thrive and raise funds for SHAWCO. Also, from the student side, Student loyalty = apathy. We need to be sensitive to the desires of the market to keep them participating and adapt with the environment and the market. But we never lose faith, we will prevail in the end. It’s a typical “Stockdale Paradox” that I read in a book called “From Good to Great” by Jim Collins, where faith in the endgame is what matters. Optimists with specific targets, that by this time next year, will be disappointed as the time will come and go, by we need eternal optimism, which is faith in the endgame. Key is to have the right projects with the right people on them and retain a good throughput of such talent.

10. Do you believe that RAG refined some of the business, management skills you use in the working world? Which skills of yours did RAG develop?

Yes, negotiating skills, strategy development and elementary project management. A skill severely in short supply in S.A. at the moment. Mostly engineers get good exposure to PM, but as an aspiring Development Economist, those skills will be invaluable to me.

11. In your experience, what makes UCT RAG different to other RAG organisations in South Africa?

We have background. We have a history and a heritage and a legacy to run. Both SHAWCO and RAG have their claim to fame. Put the two together and you have a great association of “brands”. Other RAG’s have come to the fore more than us, because they support other charitable brands that have higher acclaim than SHAWCO has nationally, not just regionally, and so this diversity in their approach, gives them more credibility and backing by corporate stakeholders. I would be so bold as to say, they implement a more aggressive and informed approach to dealing with corporates that we do, they are very hands on!

Also, we are on a unique campus that has experienced many social upheavels, therefore RAG is rich in diversity, more than other RAG’s. The human capital on campus is amazing and the way we market our recruitment campaign ensures RAG UCT has some brilliant minds onboard ready for the professional tasks at hand.

12. How was the handover that the previous project manager in your portfolio gave you? What aspects should 2005/2006 project managers focus on in handing over to the new project managers? (2006/2007)

I would rather say, the person handing over must probe and understand the person coming in to appropriately equip the person to deal with the pressures, moreso than the specific project aspects. Each event is an entrepreneurial expression of self and of the project team. The team bonding is important not as a 2007 team but combined 2006 - 2007 effort, to really get the best sense of what we are a part of - a legacy that is much bigger than thyself, and you have a huge responsibility and accountability. Dilligence and trust were the main things I received and learnt in 2004/2005. In 2006, Ross (Chair 2005) made me learn the hard way that it’s a lonely road as chairs, and how we deal with that.

13. Which period during the lifecycle of a RAG project is the most important and why?

August to January. The momentum, team spirit and planning is formed, and the excitement and commitment factor amongst team members is highest.

2nd is pre-handover period, where new blood begins to eye the top-spots and others begin to get tired. The last part of the marathon race, it gets nostalgic.

14. How can a project fail or underperform? What factors would you say are the most important in ensuring that a project doesn’t fail?

Bad Managers rates top. By bad managers I mean slacking in the effort to acquire sponsorship, lack of creativity, enthusiaism and motivation to push his/her team, this de-motivates an initially excited team that thinks RAG is fun and
challenging. Bad time management, continues to miss deadlines. Poor leadership and sensitivity to team members as well as not engaging or stimulating debate in the Exec, or within his/her project team. Bad People= Bad Results.
Lack of Sponsorship puts the nail in the coffin. Of course, there are always negative external influences, and You have
to deal and overcome them.

15. What were the core values for you behind RAG? How did RAG change/shape your personal values?

Discipline - RAG refined what this meant to me and how I engaged with it. Self-Discipline, implementing punitive measures as well as receiving such. Not what, but Who…..RAG taught me that vision and strategy follow close behind, Having the “right people on the bus in the right seat, and the wrong people on the seat and in another, or even sometimes, off the bus” Therefore, I can say RAG taught me to value a discerning mind about people and the business we’re in. People need to be heard, A leader needs to see through the crap and identify the salient matters and act on them. Frustrated individuals who aren’t taken notice of or who aren’t heard are demotivated and demotivating to others. One just needs to be discerning enough to have a culture where at the exec. table there’s, debate, and heated debate, eye-ball-to-eyeball. And that people are limited to say only what’s pertinent - red-flag style (Something I learnt from the book by Jim Collins).