Leading With Grace: Nokwanda Khumalo celebrates the women redefining leadership

Her new book, Leading With Grace: A Soul Speak Anthology, brings together the real-life stories of 32 South African women whose experiences show that leadership can exist in businesses, homes and communities.

Nokwanda joined Carol Ofori for Woman Crush Wednesday to talk about the inspiration behind the book, the women whose stories it celebrates and the legacy she hopes it will create.

32 South African women, 32 different leadership journeys

Leading With Grace is a collection of personal stories exploring the experiences behind the women we often simply see as “successful”.

The anthology looks at their setbacks, defining moments, resilience, purpose and the lessons that shaped them.

Importantly, Nokwanda did not only choose women with impressive corporate titles.

The book features executives and entrepreneurs alongside community leaders, housewives and a housekeeper, reinforcing her belief that leadership can begin wherever you are.

As Nokwanda explained during her conversation with Carol, leadership “starts with self”.

The book also has a strong KZN connection. Nokwanda, who is originally from Pietermaritzburg, revealed that 11 of the 32 women featured in the anthology are from KwaZulu-Natal.

Why the book is called Leading With Grace

The title has a deeply personal meaning for Nokwanda.

Grace was the name of her late mother, Grace Mbanjwa, and the project serves partly as a tribute to the woman whose life of service, generosity and belief in education helped shape Nokwanda.

But “grace” also reflects Nokwanda’s philosophy of leadership.

For her, leading with grace does not mean avoiding difficult decisions or lowering expectations. It means holding people accountable while still recognising their humanity.

The result is a book that focuses less on polished success stories and more on the real people, challenges and choices behind them.

Turning Grace's legacy into opportunity

The project extends beyond the pages of the book.

Proceeds from Leading With Grace will support the Grace Leadership Fellowship, an initiative aimed at helping young people access education and leadership opportunities.

Nokwanda hopes to build a bursary fund for students who may fall outside traditional funding options, including young people who do not qualify for programmes such as NSFAS but whose families may still be unable to afford university fees.

The fellowship is intended to eventually provide educational funding, mentorship, leadership development and access to networks.

For Nokwanda, it is a way of turning her mother's legacy from remembrance into tangible impact.

'Your story matters'

Perhaps the most important message behind Leading With Grace is that people do not need to wait for a title, platform or permission before recognising the value of their own story.

Nokwanda encouraged women to show up for themselves and their communities and to leave the spaces they occupy better than they found them.

It is a fitting message for an anthology built around women whose lives demonstrate that leadership comes in many different forms.

Leading With Grace: A Soul Speak Anthology is available through Soul Speak at soulspeaks.co.za.

Listen to Carol Ofori's full conversation with Nokwanda Khumalo to hear more about the women featured in the book, the inspiration behind the project and the Grace Leadership Fellowship.