Figure 1: The TIPS™ Managerial Leadership Framework

The seven layers of the TIPS™ Managerial Leadership Framework offer a multi-focal lens into emerging realities as illustrated by Figure 1. 

1.2       The Management of People: The Management of People is a central pillar that drives organisational performance, growth, innovation and long-term success. Over the years, the tt100 award-winning companies have demonstrated that effective people management practices go beyond traditional human resource practices. Effective people management extends into strategic realms where talent is aligned with technology drivers and where engagements are fostered to optimise innovation. This article explores the practices of tt100 winners across emerging, small, medium and large enterprises for the period 2020 to 2023, offering a comprehensive analysis of how these organisations have excelled in the Management of People. 

1.2.1   Facilitating engagement and agility: From the TIPS™ Managerial Leadership Framework, it seems that an overlap between the Management of People and the Management of Technology could allow for the emergence of principles and practices that result in organisations being more aligned towards external developments and challenges. On the other hand, an overlap between the Management of People and the Management of Innovation may result in organisations being more engaged, both within and externally.   

1.2.1.1 Emerging organisations: Emerging organisations often face the dual challenges of rapid growth and limited resources, making people management crucial for their success. The 2022 WHC (Water, Hygiene, Convenience) tt100 winner in this category exemplifies how a people-centred approach can transform an organisation’s potential and drive its success. By investing in continuous employee development and promoting a culture of innovation, WHC has promoted engagement amongst its workforce, ensuring continuous participation in the WHC business strategy and direction. At WHC, employees are viewed not just as resources but as critical drivers of innovation. The company’s ability to pivot during crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, was largely due to its strong focus on employee readiness and resilience. Through cross-functional collaboration and the empowerment of frontline staff, WHC ensured that every level of the organisation was engaged in problem-solving and the development of innovation-related strategies. This approach minimised downtime and enhanced the organisation’s capacity to adapt to market disruptions, thereby ensuring business continuity. Strategically, WHC's approach highlights the importance of workforce flexibility in emerging businesses. By cultivating a culture of learning, change and adaptability, they were able to link their human capital with market demands, demonstrating that agility is a critical lever for competitiveness in emerging organisations. 

1.2.1.2  Small organisations: In the small organisation category, Mochocho IT, the tt100 Management of People winner in 2020, demonstrated how the empowerment of employees can lead to alignment with technological requirements and enhanced business outcomes. Mochocho’s strategic approach to people management in predominantly rural settings focused on creating an environment that combines humanity and structure in a way that promotes engagement. The human factor manifests in the attention paid to employees’ well-being, such as by providing daily meals and being aware of their personal and family circumstances. Structure is created through induction and training on company culture and policies, ensuring alignment with the organisation’s business and governance goals. From a human resources perspective, this approach exemplifies the imperative to practise people management so that individual contributions are in synchrony with the organisation’s overall technology drivers and innovation requirements. By ensuring that employees have the freedom to explore new ideas within a structured framework, Mochocho delivered significant advancements in customer service and operational efficiency. At Tlotlokgolo Business Investments, a winning entry for Systems Thinking in 2022, a similar approach was taken, with a heightened focus on employee development and upskilling. The company strategically invested in enhancing its employees' skills to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing market. This approach not only boosted employee engagement but also ensured that the organisation remained competitive by continuously re-aligning itself to changing circumstances (primarily of a technological nature). Its success underscores the importance of developing internal capabilities in small organisations, where human capital often represents a significant portion of the organisation’s resources.  

 1.2.1.3 Medium organisations: Medium-sized organisations face unique challenges in scaling their operations while maintaining their innovative edge. For organisations in this category, such as Accsys, the 2021 tt100 Management of People winner, the key to success lies in their ability to rapidly adapt their people management practices to the evolving demands of the market. This company demonstrated exceptional agility in transitioning to a fully remote workforce during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their strategic focus on technology-enabled people management allowed them to develop new products swiftly, such as thermal and mask detection systems, to meet urgent market needs. The rapid development of these systems was made possible by a highly skilled and motivated workforce, nurtured through ongoing professional development initiatives. From a strategic HR perspective, this underscores the importance of organisational adaptability and the need for HR leaders to foster a culture where employees are both willing and able to embrace change. Through maintaining a focus on employee agility, medium-sized organisations can remain competitive by being capable of aligning their business interest with technology demands, especially during times of crisis. Aizatron, a winning entry for Management of People in 2022 and 2023, demonstrated how aligning talent development with technological innovation can ensure sustained competitiveness in volatile industries while applying smart technologies, particularly artificial intelligence-based technologies, to encourage social entrepreneurship and solve societal problems.  

1.2.1.4 Large organisations: In the large organisation category, the 2021 Management of People winner, Netstar, has demonstrated that structured and continuous employee development is crucial for sustaining long-term growth. The company has implemented a comprehensive talent development strategy, which includes leadership development programmes, succession planning and continuous learning opportunities for all employees. In this way, Netstar ensures that its workforce is with the skills needed to drive both innovation and operational excellence, thereby demonstrating the ability to align with ongoing developments and engage their peers and customers in developing just-in-time performance solutions for their customers. From a strategic HR perspective, large organisations like Netstar benefit from integrated talent management systems that link individual performance with broader business goals. This alignment ensures that every employee understands their role in the company’s success, fostering a sense of ownership and accountability. Additionally, Netstar’s commitment to fostering a collaborative culture has enhanced its ability to innovate, as employees are encouraged to engage and share ideas across departments and levels.  

1.2.2   Principles and practices: The emergence of agile and engaged behaviours constitutes the integration of core principles and practices, informing how actions at work emerge and ultimately directing prospective managerial leaders how to show up at work. These behaviours should be demonstrated continuously and over time, as required to effectively execute mutually agreed accountabilities and responsibilities at work.

The following managerial leadership principles seem to emerge once the eco-systemic linkages underlying the Management of Innovation and the Management of People processes are established:
  
1.2.2.1  Demonstrating social and emotional intelligence   This process involves the ability to connect and directly to self and others. It also involves the ability to sense and stimulate reactions and desired interactions from co-workers and stakeholders to achieve the anticipated business outcomes (tt100, 2024).   

1.2.2.2 Probing reflective engagements   The term “reflective observation” derives from the work of Dewey (1910) and Schein (1983) and Kolb (1984). Dewey (1910) states reflection refers to “... the active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it.”  Dewey (1910) also indicates that being reflective “...enables us to direct our actions with foresight … enables us to know what we are about when we act.”  The inference here is that knowledge workers/artisans could develop a questioning approach towards probing problems and reflect on why things are as they are, and how they could be. 

 1.2.2.3 Applying computational thinking   People applying computational thinking tend to demonstrate the capability to translate vast amounts of data into new, revised or alternative concepts and constructs, and to incorporate data-based reasoning by applying a combination of algorithmic and androrythmic principles. In doing so, such individuals tend to develop sets of problem-probing methodologies, processes and procedures, which will facilitate the integration of defined problems, the operating contexts and the implementation of alternative solutions. 

 1.2.2.4 Personal knowledge mastery: The practice of personal knowledge mastery includes sensemaking, as the ability to determine the deeper meaning or significance of what is being expressed. This involves the need at an individual level to take control of the multitude of existing perspectives regarding reality and synthesise such, and articulate these perspectives - with the intent to ground the individual in relation to others. Often, individuals see grounding as a current point in time, which may become restrictive. However, personal mastery is actualised when individuals are not only able to ground themselves in the present, but also envision a future self, thus harnessing past and presence as an uninterrupted continuum.   The following managerial leadership practices seem to emerge once the relevant principles underlying the Management of Innovation and the Management of People processes are established:   

1.2.2.5 Facilitate conversation: Conversation is a powerful learning tool. People want to participate in decisions that affect their daily work lives. The practice of facilitating conversations is about a conscious choice to involve the relevant stakeholders participating in the problem-probing process. Business leaders should leverage the interest and talent of those around them by including them appropriately in the decision-making process. In a systems-thinking environment, a business leader would be able to see the sum of the parts contributing to the holistic outcomes. By seeking the involvement of relevant stakeholders, various advantages could be leveraged, such as, but not limited to, more effective communication, better informed and more quality-orientated decision-making, increased commitment to action and higher levels of trust.  

1.2.2.6 Co-create direction Individuals and teams work with greater commitment when they are guided by a vision and believe their efforts can make a difference. By sharing their vision and values, business leaders keep the mission out front, like a beacon, guiding people toward greater achievement.  

1.3 Conclusion: The success stories of the tt100 Business Innovation Award winners from 2020 to 2023 illustrate the pivotal role which people management principles and practices could play in driving enhanced business performance and success. Across all organisation sizes, these companies have demonstrated that the implementation of people management-related principles and practices goes beyond HR administration; it is a core requirement for being able to participate in the creative networked economy. Such participation will inevitably enable innovation resulting in greater agility and better alignment with business developments related to technology advancements. Key takeaways from these companies include the importance of being agile and aligning with change. By fostering a culture of innovation and ensuring that employees are equipped to meet future challenges, these organisations have positioned themselves for long-term success in an increasingly competitive and dynamic business environment.