Zed Xaba
Facilitator, Southern Africa, WomenLift Health
Zed Xaba is the facilitator for the Southern African Hub. She is responsible for the instructional design cycle, from needs assessment, design, contextualization, and implementation of WomenLift Health Leadership Journey for mid-career Women in Health in Southern Africa.Zed has over 35 years’ experience in the design and facilitation of Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) interventions, Conflict Transformation, Women’s Leadership Programmes, Training of Trainers and Personal Mastery. Zed holds a Master's Degree in Conflict Facilitation and Organizational Change from the Process Work Institute in Portland Oregon (USA), a Postgraduate Teaching Diploma, and a Bachelor's Degree. She is an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Mediator, a CINERGY Conflict Coach, and a Diamond Power Index Coach. As a black woman who grew up under apartheid in South Africa, Zed is passionate about reconciliation and does this work on a pro bono basis in schools, universities and communities. In 2017, she recorded a TEDx Talk on Internalized Oppression and produced a mini docuseries on the same topic.
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All Sessions by Zed Xaba
Conflict Dynamics: Build Better Relationships
Led by: WomenLift Health.
Conflict is inevitable, unavoidable, complex, and can be mentally, emotionally, and physically draining, and difficult to navigate. Conflict can also negatively impact personal progress and goals, team dynamics, and workplace culture. Research shows that women in particular tend to avoid disagreement, corresponding to socially constructed norms of femininity.
Conflict can also serve a purpose. It can generate new solutions, build better relationships, and can increase job satisfaction. It is key to innovation and can be a critical component of risk mitigation. Conflict follows a predictable pathway and will diverge to become either constructive or destructive. The question for this workshop is: How do we navigate the path of conflict so that it is constructive, and we can walk away feeling positive, relaxed, and even motivated?
In this session, for beginners and seasoned practitioners alike, we will explore the Conflict Dynamics Model by unpacking the behaviors and actions that influence interpersonal conflict. Attendees will reflect on and map out a recent work disagreement by focusing on the active, passive, constructive and destructive response pathways. We will understand how to identify our own “hot buttons” and contributions to either escalating or de-escalating a conflict.
Foster Belonging, Lead Inclusively
Led by: WomenLift Health.
There is a well-known quote by Verna Myers which says, “Diversity is being invited to the party, Inclusion is being asked to dance.” Individuals from marginalized groups, for example women or people with disabilities, don’t feel like they belong even when they’re included. How might leaders create environments that foster belonging? How might we lead inclusively?
We begin by exploring the many aspects of our identities which impact how we show up and how we are perceived in the workplace. We relate our personal experiences of exclusion and inclusion. Then, we connect the dots and discover the misalignment between our intention and our impact. Our words, actions, and often our inaction, are all drivers of inclusion and exclusion. This session is one of many steps to recognizing the power of fostering inclusion and belonging, not only for an individual leader, but for an organization as a whole.