The leadership habit that quietly breaks teams
When leaders stop including others, teams don’t usually protest. Instead, people begin to lose interest and eventually leave.
Leaders who try to handle everything themselves can end up hurting the teams they want to help.
Trying to be strong can actually leave teams feeling left out instead of supported.
In the latest episode of When Shift Happens, Saray Khumalo talks with Helena Dolny and Busisiwe (Totsie) Memela-Khambula. Both have decades of experience leading teams and organisations, and they discuss what happens when people are left out.
Dolny is a respected leadership coach and expert in organisational change. She has worked in government, banking, and executive development, and has seen this pattern many times.
I have seen teams start to look for other jobs when the leader has gone it alone and not included them.
"There’s a high price to pay… in terms of organisational success," says Dolny.
This problem is hard to notice because it rarely appears as open conflict. Instead, it grows slowly. People start to pull back, do less, and lose interest in the results.
By the time it becomes visible, the shift is already underway.
ALSO READ | LISTEN: What failure can teach you about your next move
Memela-Khambula is a transformational executive and global conscious coach with over 30 years of experience. Her background in leadership, ethics, and human development gives her a unique point of view.
You need to understand that each individual is different… and you need to engage them differently.
This takes more than just basic communication. It means truly engaging with people, being aware, and making the effort to include them in important conversations.
This idea goes beyond formal leadership. Whether at work, at home, or in any group, people want to feel included in what they do.
When people feel included, they get involved. When they do not, they start to pull away.
And once that shift starts, it is not always easy to reverse.
Listen to the full conversation at the top of the page, or directly below.
Dr Helena Dolny
Dr Helena Dolny is a leadership coach, consultant and author with a career that spans community development, academia, government and senior roles in the banking sector. She was appointed Managing Director of the Land Bank of South Africa and later held executive roles at First National Bank and Standard Bank. Her work today focuses on helping individuals and organisations navigate change, build resilience and lead with greater self-awareness. She is the co-founder of the LoveLegacyDignity Institute, a public education initiative that encourages more open conversations about mortality, legacy and the realities many people avoid until it’s too late. Drawing on both professional experience and personal loss, her work brings a practical and human approach to difficult conversations, leadership transitions and life beyond the workplace.
Busisiwe (Totsie) Memela-Khambula
Busisiwe (Totsie) Memela-Khambula is a seasoned business leader, former CEO of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), and a global consciousness coach with more than 30 years of leadership experience. Her career spans financial services, development banking, education and public administration, where she has led large-scale transformation, strengthened governance, and driven programmes focused on inclusion and access. She has played a key role in initiatives that support economic participation, education funding and social development, including leading national efforts to deliver social grants at scale. Today, she works closely with leaders and organisations to build more human-centred, purpose-driven approaches to leadership, helping them navigate complexity while staying grounded in values and impact.
Meanwhile: What happens when success doesn’t go your way?
In a previous episode, business leader, psychologist and mountaineer Louis Carstens (pictured above with Saray) reflects on failure, accountability and the lessons that only come when things don’t go to plan.
Listen below.
About Saray Khumalo
Saray Khumalo is an award-winning mountaineer, business executive, speaker and author. She made history as the first Black African woman to summit Mount Everest and has also completed the Seven Summits challenge, climbing the highest mountain on each continent. Beyond mountaineering, Saray has built a successful corporate career and is the founder of Summits with a Purpose, an initiative that raises funds and builds physical and digital libraries in disadvantaged African communities. Through her partnership with Jacaranda FM, she now brings her leadership insights to audiences through When Shift Happens, a JacPod Original podcast dedicated to helping others navigate change and realise their potential.
Missed an episode? Catch the full When Shift Happens podcast channel here.