Diane Radley

ByWBSComms

Diane Radley

Current title Non-executive Director, Murray & Roberts Holdings Ltd, Transaction Capital Ltd, Base Resources Ltd (ASX); Trustee, DG Murray Trust Course at Wits Business School Master of Business Administration, 1995 A defining moment in my career When I was growing up I feared failure and the devastation I thought would ensue. I wanted to be perfect and felt any form of failure was letting me and other people down, particularly my mother who had made tremendous sacrifices in bringing up three children alone on a music teacher’s salary. In my final year at Rhodes University, I became overconfident having had an exemplary undergraduate academic track record. I failed my combined Honours and CTA but strangely enough, the world did not come to an end. I learnt from this hubris and did not fail any other subsequent exam, but did not stop failing in many other ways. Every time I failed I ensured I learnt from it and added skills developed through the process into my toolbox. This gave me the courage to take personal risks in order to grow and not step back from challenges and into security. The fear of failure is an inhibitor to growth and makes one risk-averse. Although this fear has not totally been eradicated, its reduced impact has released me to take a risk on myself as well as on others in order to grow and develop.

Similar Posts

Jerard Scorgie

Jerard Scorgie

ByWBSComms

In February of 2014, I joined a small consulting organisation as a senior project manager, immediately after I had completed my MBA. The organisation was in a start-up phase, had been in existence for about 18 months and formed part of a global corporation with the aim of establishing regional offices around the globe.

Lezanne Human

Lezanne Human

ByWBSComms

The defining moment of my career was when I left a successful career in the corporate world to join a few ex-colleagues and friends in starting a new bank. This was a daunting move after having spent most of my career in a world where complex challenges were sheltered by the relative security of size, then moving to another world of complex challenges with no security.

Thabo Mokwele

Thabo Mokwele

ByWBSComms

WB Yeats said, “Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold,” which holds a harsh lesson for me. I took my radio broadcasting talent for granted. Because it came so easily, I began not to pay it attention and focused on what others considered important.