Publicity - Leap Training
7de Comrades vir 20 SAPD-vroue
Dis twee dae ná die Comrades. Lynette Viljoen kom aangetrippel – op hoë hakke.
“Ek is glad nie ’n atleet nie,” sê dié 47-jarige vrou wat pas haar sewende Comrades-marathon agter die rug het. “Ek is net ’n doodgewone mens – wat die Comrades hardloop.”
Dié jaar het sy dit vir ’n groep dapper polisievroue gedoen.
Sy was sewentien jaar lank ’n “skooljuffrou” voordat sy ’n paar jaar gelede haar opleidingsonderneming, Leap Training, in Roodepoort begin het.
Op skool was ballet die naaste wat sy aan sport gekom het. Dit was eers veel later in haar lewe dat sy en haar vriendinne begin hardloop het.
“Die eerste keer het ons 2 km gehardloop. Ons moes huis toe kruip!”
In 2000 het sy haar eerste (en laaste, of so het sy gedink), Comrades saam met haar man, Francois, gehardloop. “Ek wou net een doen, maar toe hou ek aan.”
Elke jaar neem sy haar voor dit is die laaste keer. Vanjaar het sy ook gedink sy gaan dit nie doen nie.
“Ek het mos klaar die Twee Oseane gehardloop.”
Maar toe gaan kondig sy voor ’n groep vroue aan dat sy tog die Comrades-wedloop gaan hardloop – vir hulle.
Dit is ’n groep baie spesiale vroue – twintig toegewyde, passievolle polisiebeamptes, almal met tussen agttien en dertig jaar diens, aan wie sy opleiding in leierskap en kliëntediens gegee het.
“Aan die einde van die opleiding moes elkeen met ’n projek vorendag kom oor hoe hulle dit prakties in hul werkomgewing gaan toepas. ’n Maand later moes hulle dit aan my en hul bestuurders voorlê.”
Dit was tydens hierdie voorleggings dat Lynette telkens gevoel het sy wil iets sê.
“Heeltyd kom die woorde, dan druk ek dit terug. Nee, Here, nie nou nie. Ek kan nie, ek het te veel werk. Ek hét mos klaar die Twee Oseane gehardloop.”
Dit was tydens die afsluiting dat die woorde uitgespring het: “Ek gaan die Comrades hardloop! En die leste een huil snot en trane.”
Al twintig polisievroue het ’n kort bemoedigingsboodskappie vir Lynette geskryf.
Dié het sy vooraf aan haar drafboekie vasgespeld en elke 4 km het sy een uitgehaal en met daardie polisievrou se boodskappie in haar hand en ’n ge-bed vir haar in haar hart gehardloop.
“Vir 4 km het ek aan daardie mens gedink, vir haar gebid en haar goeie dinge toegewens. Dan het ek die volgende een uitgehaal.
“Op enige gegewe tyd was my Comrades net 4 km lank. Is dit nie stunning nie?”
Nie dat dit maklik was nie. Die eerste helfte was “fantasties”, maar in die tweede helfte het haar “wiele afgeval” toe haar man weens ’n kuitbesering moes ophou hardloop.
“Ek het soos ’n babatjie gehuil, want my maat, my coach, is nie by my nie.
“Maar ek kon nie toelaat dat hierdie emosie my laat stop nie, want die rede waarom ek dit doen, is gróót.
“Elf uur lank het ek swaargekry, maar in my siel het ek geweet van hierdie vroue se swaarkry. Elke dag is vir hulle soos ’n Comrades.
“Tydens die opleidingsessie kon hulle nooit hul selfone afskakel nie, want hulle moes heeltyd op die hoogte van sake bly.”
Lesse oor goeie kliëntediens en leierskap was deurspek met berigte van hul polisiestasies af oor verkragting en moord.
“Hierdie vroue werk nie net met die publiek se probleme nie, hulle is ook die klankbord van hul kollegas se probleme. Niks kry hulle onder nie. Hulle stóóm voort.”
Net soos Lynette die Comrades klaargestóóm het. “Niks kon my keer nie. Die mense lê langs die pad onder komberse, hulle klim soos sardientjies in reddingsvoertuie, maar ek stop nie, want ek het my huiswerk gedoen.”
“Huiswerk” is oefen, oefen, oefen.
“Mens try nie die Comrades nie, jy oefen dit. Ses maande lank 60 km ’n week, twee maande lank tussen 60 en 80 km ’n week, en ’n paar weke lank tussen 80 en 100 km ’n week.
“Halfses daardie oggend moet jou training klaar wees, want dan tel dit nie meer nie. Dis jou kop wat jou die Comrades laat voltooi.”
Van die 11 192 mense wat vir die Comrades ingeskryf het, het net 8 613 dit voltooi. Van die 11 192 inskrywings wat ontvang is, is minder as 2 000 vroue.
“Ek is baie begenadig en ek is baie bewus daarvan. Dis net emmers en emmers vol genade wat oor my uitgegooi word.”
Elke jaar stel sy vir haar ’n doelwit. Vanjaar was dit die Twee Oseane-marathon (voordat “Comrades” uit haar mond gespring het), verlede jaar was dit die 301 km lange ekostap in Namakwaland. Volgende jaar is dit die Ysterman-kompetisie.
En die Comrades?
“Nee,” lag sy. “Ek het mos gesê vanjaar was my laaste keer!”
Rapport – Gauteng 27/06/2008 15:17 - (SA)
Passion, fear the driving forces
Passion is what propels Lynette Viljoen, the co-founder and majority shareholder of Leap, to place the business among the leaders in the corporate training industry.
Standing for leadership empowerment achievement portal and symbolising energy, Leap is the brainchild of Viljoen and her two partners, Amanda Ferreira and Monique Blanchard. “We are so proud of the little ‘mannetjie’ (man),” she says, referring to the business’ emblem of a man leaping to success.
Between teaching and starting her own business, Viljoen has touched sides with the Services Seta.
This was done to align her training programmes and to register as an assessor.
She was also part of the merger process of five further education and training campuses which is now known as The South West Gauteng College, and spent a large portion of her week at the Soweto campuses.
Viljoen refers to herself as an obsessive teacher at heart.
She then started facilitating leadership and other workshops for a business in Blairgowrie, Randburg.
Viljoen was content until the owners – a married couple – experienced marital problems. The result was that she grudgingly left the business. “I packed my bags and instead of walking away on my own, other staff members followed.”
She said there were four ladies who started their own collective business.
True to her word, they started the business with no clients, workshop materials or a database. “We had four email addresses – our own! Now we have a database of over 3 000 client names and it is growing.”
They began with passion and fear, rewrote and designed their own material, and launched a few courses.
Today, these courses comprise of leadership empowerment skills, resource and time management, telephonic etiquette skills, feminine leadership skills, and presentation through communication. They also recently introduced a progamme for educators workshops and motivational seminars.
When Viljoen took the giant step of starting her own business, her husband Francois started his own business, dealing in plastic injection moulding. With their stress levels at an all-time high, it turned out a blessing that their two sons were grown up and out of the house, Wian was studying wine making in the Cape and Rickus was in a high marketing position with an established company.
A stress release valve for Lynette and Francois turned out to be road running, and they have run the Comrades a number of times. “We also cycle in tandem and scuba dive when not running or working,” she adds.
She ran her first Comrades in 2000 and learnt a valuable lesson for her business, never to bail out or give up. “In 1995 I ran the race in pain, but never considered bailing.”
Not a person to waste opportunities for accumulating business material, she often includes stories of leadership and team spirit in her workshops. These stories she finds while running with team mates from the Florida Athletic Club or interviewing celebrities, such as Bruce Fordyce and Raymond Ackerman.
While proud of her family and sporting achievements, she is extremely proud of her business, which is only 1.3 km from home.
This leaves Viljoen ample time to get to work without traffic constraints, as she spends six days a week there.
“Francois and I have a negotiable rule that Sundays are a no-go for business talk or work and is a special day for the family only.”
She has the full backing of her husband concerning her business, and she has the same for his business. She also gets total commitment from their domestic servant Regina.
The example of Regina’s value to the family is often used in the feminine leadership skills workshop.
“She came to us with traditional white paint still on her face. Today she is a highly valued member of my home and business,” Viljoen explains.
Shining with confidence and optimism, she says her icon is Nelson Mandela and that she has worked for the Nelson Mandela children’s trust fund.
“Believe me, you have to be passionate about everything you do to succeed,” she tells delegates attending the first feminine leadership skills workshop launched at the Gooseberry Conference Centre in Linden, Johannesburg.
Gauteng Business, August 2006 - (SA)
Lynette has been coaching us over the last 4 months. I have seen a group of people transform into a team with maturity and understanding for each other as well as a sense of purpose.
... this has been the most empowering course I have attended in a very long time. I can now step into the mentoring & coaching process with confidence and a clear understanding ...
Dept of Public Enterprize
Lynette, your experience and enthusiasm for your business and coaching role is inspiring. You are positive, honest, open and does not beat around the bush - it was refreshing to deal with someone that possesses these types of qualities.
... You have inspired me to improve my lifestyle, my approach to my work and the way I interact with staff and colleagues.
Thanks so much for the empowering workshop and the valuable lessons which I am determined to implement in my day to day life. May you continue to bring the best out of people's lives.
... at first I
was negative about the training - within the first 10min you had sucked me into the training and my attitude changed - EXCELLENT!
... Needless to say that if it was not for your course I would have battled but I handled all conflicting issues with a breeze. Personally I benefitted a lot from you. You are a very confident and successful women and impressed me hugely.
We enjoyed every minutes we spent with you. On behalf of Management and staff wishing you all the best. We are practising what we had learned from the Customer Care Workshop.
..highly informative, humorous, passion for the subject, respect for her audience...
By just identifying LEAP you have struck Gold and what's left is for you to take it to refinery.
LEAP is simply the best.
They are very professional, they give adequate attention to their delegates and I was fulfilled and satisfied with and after the training.
I am proud to report that after the training with you a year ago, I had 2 promotions and I am going international now!
You have unlocked my brain and people are taking notice of me and recognizing my potential. I experience more balance in my spiritual and family life as well.
You have opened a lot of doors for me. To me this was not how to mange my workload, to me this was more a matter of redefining who I am and what I want out of life.
Thank you for the two wonderful days of training, it was truly an eye-opening experience enriched by your contagious enthusiasm, positivity and charisma.
You taught me things that can make a difference, not only at work, but at home as well. Thank you for giving each and every person who attends your courses the opportunity to grow and develop. I was very nervous at first and didn’t know what to expect and thought that I would just sit there wishing for the day to go by, but it’s not how it turned out to be. It was warm and welcoming from beginning till end... I think that every individual that attends your courses experiences it differently. I think every person who wants to grow and develop, has to attend the course themselves to really be able to appreciate and understand the whole concept about it.
... I got to work and looked at my boss and said: "I can definitely say that your money was well spent..."
Baie dankie vir die inspirerende werkswinkel van LEAP wat ek die afgelope twee dae kon bywoon. Alle reëlings het seepglad verloop en die werkswinkel was uiters professioneel en met oorgawe aangebied met slim wisseling tussen die aktiwiteite en goed uiteengesette gebruikersvriendelike notas. Ek het beslis verryk en entoesiasties daar vertrek en kan nie wag om voorstelle en oplossings verder vir my werks- en leefwêreld aan te pas en te implimenteer nie. Die beste van alles is, ek voel boonop asof ek 'n vakansie gehad het! Dankie ook vir die klein dingetjies, soos die pragtige sertifikaat.
Matla A Bana – A voice against child abuse, encourages community involvement in support of the Family Violence, Child Protection and sexual Offences Units.
Our Training project assits these members to stay sensitised and cope with the stress of every day when investigating crimes against women and children.
The Feminine Leadership workshop done by LEAP has made a huge impact on their morale.
More than 60 women in middle management of the Gauteng SAPS attended your Feminine Leadership workshop and the feedback given was:” excellent, amazing, empowering”. LIZEL VAN EEDEN