Knowledge Development and Workplace Transformation

André Smuts has worked on various projects for Bidcorp Food Africa and one of the group companies Crown Food Group, of which the outcomes were very positive and added value to the Management involved. I, therefore, can recommend André for his pragmatic and thorough processes followed, to offer real solutions to quite difficult problems he was confronted with.

André is a consummate professional, when coaching, he anticipates your needs and you can comfortably tap into his year’s of experience and extensive knowledge base. I unreservedly recommend him to my clients and have partnered with André, in my business, on many different levels.

Dr. André Smuts has from January 2020 to date worked on leadership development for South African Township retail Network Holding (Pty) limited of which the results are indisputably empowering and added strategic value to management. I Therefore have no reservation to recommend Dr. Smuts for his methodic process to offer real solution to similar challenges our company leadership was faced with.

Dr André Smuts was contracted to assist the Crown Food Group in conducting a Conflict Intervention and Conflict Resolution process at board level as well as a Cultural Mapping of the organization and Transformation program. On successful completion of this mandate , Dr Smuts then assisted in the process of transformation and restructuring the organization by providing further learnings from the cultural mapping exercise.

His professional and unbiased approach was clearly evident throughout this process not withstanding that he was facilitating on behalf of the Bidcorp Holding Group on the corporate level as well as sensitive personnel matters on the other and his credibility and integrity in both instances was beyond reproach. As a result of the success he achieved through this process , his services were then extended to assist the organization in developing a vision and strategy to augment the revised structure .

His role included a communication program through which the new structure was clearly mapped out for the staff and he facilitated the initiation of new culture development process which is evolving from his interventions. This was supported by an Elective Leadership Learnership Campaign with professional growth mentoring aligning the management and staff with the vision and strategy of the group. It is with sincerity and gratitude that I can highly recommend Dr Smuts and dealing with such matters and wish him success in his endeavours.

Having the Integral archetypal measure test done by Andre was a breath of fresh air. Expecting the usual results of which side of the brain you are predominant in….this is completely a new test with astounding and more informative results. Moreover, the value add of this report and feedback from Andre was so in-depth and now provides more clarity on my personality, strong and weak points. Moreover, Andre directed advised and provided guidance on how to apply tools and methods on how to fully utilize my strengths in my personal life as well as in the corporate environment. Andre is a leader in his field and his passion for helping individuals grasping, understanding and making full use of their inner “blueprint” is remarkable. Thank you Andre

Andre is diplomatic and energetic in his dealings with others. His clients usually become close friends Andre is a scholar and teacher with a vast range of topics to discuss. He has a natural ability to capture any audience and manages to keep the interest of all with discussions about matters of interest. I wish Andre the best of luck in his business as a trainer – he has the ability to keep audiences in their chairs and hanging on to his lips. This is his born profession.

Highly intelligent, a great motivator and adds a huge amount of value to the business.

I regard Andre as highly intelligent and creative. His diverse experience and persona make him one of the most interesting people I know. He has a deep understanding of the value systems of modern society and is personable, easy-going and genuine. 

Andre has been instrumental in providing us with services related to business opportunity(market) analysis, as well as technical writing. He was extremely thorough, and always brought to the table just the right mixture of intellectualism and professional experience, always humble but knowledgeable and absolute pleasure to work with.

The coaching provided by Dr Andre Smuts made me more valuable to my organisation by developing and enhancing my skills, both professionally and personally. By being interested in the growth of my staff, with coaching, I showed them that I care about their progress. This increased their loyalty and commitment to their work. It also assisted me in working with my employees to make decisions, solve problems and develop skills. These relationships not only benefit me but the company as a whole by creating a more independent and efficient workforce.

Andre is one of those rare people that you find on your journey that will always be remembered for their contribution in your life and the value-ad to the business. Thrifa and Andre has contributed to enhance the efficiency, understanding and the positioning of the business but also on a very personal level to my own growth and development.  Thank you Andre and may we still journey for many years to come.

When I met Andre the first time, knew that from all people I’ve met before, he had something I’ve never seen in anyone else. I couldn’t put my finger on it right then, but as I came to know him better, I realized that it was not just his tremendous knowledge, but his humility that made him ‘different’. In my eyes, he has all the right to boast about himself and his achievements, yet these achievements somehow humbles him. When you title a journal entry ‘Fucked up’, you realize you need help, and that is exactly what happened to me. After an entry with this title, I called on Andre for some help as I realized my own thinking has become my worst enemy. Thanks to technology, we could meet online. Within a very short time, Andre picked up on my ‘issues‘ and helped me change my thinking, and my life 

The Thrifa Application which he wrote himself, has become such a valuable piece of Armour that I can refer to at any time. I believe that it will soon become a popular ‘CEO’s self help Manuel’ as it is loaded with valuable information, assessments, tools, etc. Thank you Andre for your help on this great journey we call life. Thys. 

I learned a lot about both my team and myself.

What stood out the most for me was learning about the different archetypes that we all have and how our characteristics impact how we face everyday interactions with people both socially and professionally based on our natural instincts.

My favourite revelation was the fact that my happiness lies in the joy of achievement which is true on so many levels of my life. Given enough time and resources, I believe I can achieve any goal.

The exercise that we did at the end when we each listed the values that we see in other people made me realise that the combined values of our team are very powerful and that if we each strive to live up to those values, our team will be undoubtedly proficient and productive.

The session was very insightful and thought-provoking. It highlighted many character traits that I knew of and some that I didn’t know I had. I also learnt a lot more about my colleagues. The session also emphasized the following to me:

How to remain calm in certain situations

How to say NO in circumstances

How to deal with colleagues in  highly charged scenarios

The session also indicated how we all have different personalities no matter how similar we think we are to our team members and how we react differently to situations. The session also highlighted that I need to take more responsibility and how to perform better in the team dynamic so we can achieve our goals. I really enjoyed the session as Dr Smuts made it fun and interactive.

I found it very insightful especially regarding myself and my personality towards work.  It definitely gave me quite a bit to think about and reflect on.

I enjoyed learning about all the dynamics that affect the team as well as my individual personality and attitude.

I truly appreciate the opportunity and thank  Dr Smuts for his time and effort in this regard.

I learned a lot about myself as well as a lot about every team member.

I learned about my strong points as well as the things that I can improve on for my personal and career development.

I also now know exactly what is expected from me and what procedures to follow – I know what is expected from each individual in regards with performance and duties.

I also know A LOT more about algorithms and how everything in life is an algorithm and that change should start there.

I would like to thank you for your insights, wisdom and support provided, since we first engaged in June 2021.

It was really heartening, and much needed, to hear how clear and objectively accurate your insights were formed in such a short period of assessment time (June-July 2021).  Throughout the whole process, you kept your observations objective and balanced, yet communicated it with tact and empathy (heart) – thank you.  Even though you were under no obligation to do so, you also provided much needed support and representation – both of which carried me through the last year.  You communication style – and humour! – created an environment to open up and bring sensitive issues to light.  Especially if one considers that all our sessions were via remote Video Conferencing (Zoom, Teams).

Your skill in adapting to – and connecting with – any audience, combined with your vast knowledge and variety of experiences, make you a valuable asset to any, and size, of organisation.

It was a privilege to have shared the last year with you, something I am very grateful for.  You’ve influenced my thoughts and behaviour, thanks.

I’ve learnt that through the concept of Archetypes, everyone has their own unique character and behavior and also taught me how I shouldn’t be too quick to judge people not knowing what could be the universe’s response towards me.

A lot of factors and hidden talents were revealed, which made me realize that there’s a variety of career paths I can always choose from in case I need to go the extra mile.

Throughout everything, it was a nice and interesting training session and I strongly believe we’ll gain a lot of growth as a team if we do it more often 

I started a new position as Financial Manager.

When I joined, I inherited a team that recently split and also combined teams that used to work separately.

My new team had many new challenges to face with a group that were bewildered, here was a lot of insecurity and did not know what to do.

My directive was to clean-up procedures, improve the department and build a new team.

I decided to enlist the services of Dr Smuts to assist me with the team and guide me to a better understanding of their values and behaviour, so as to build a new strong unit and how to manage the individuals and team

I also needed help to educate them on our way forward as a group and how we will behave as a department.

We did the Assessments and Dr Smuts assisted me to understand my team:

Whether their current rolls work for them and the team.

Who to approach

How they would work together

How they see their current reality.

This had a massive impact on morale but more importantly productivity.

After our team session and Dr Smuts’s educating us on the current way, how we operate and helping me explain where we are going and why. Was a massive eye-opener to us all.

As a team we are much more cohesive, effective and very much driven to embrace the changes, understanding each other and the goals.

My team has done a complete 360,

I would recommend and suggest this for any team, dealing with conflict, change and other strategic change initiatives.

I could deal with the technical, but without Dr Smuts’s involvement, I would not have been able to include and encourage the individuals to have such remarkable buy-in.

This Change has had an impact wider than just my team, improving relationship, effectiveness and communication throughout the whole company/