STAFF RETREAT A SUCCESS

Yesterday, Thursday 15 December 2022, the National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ) concluded a 3-day Staff Workplace Transformation Team Training for the Secretariat Staff facilitated by Bridget Kambobe and Kelvin Mengo from The Bridge Network for Transforming Africa Foundation.

The core objective of the training was to engrave a productivity culture that comes through team development, provoke the creation of a system of productivity culture, and set the foundation and tone to develop accountability, measuring, and staff evaluation via engagement.

The first session was on ‘Self ’and focused on a deep introspection of who each staff member is as an individual while the second and third sessions focused on ‘self and others’ and ‘Self-Team-Others’ which meant that who one is as an individual should be in line with how they relate in a work environment and what energy they take there.

The lead facilitator, Ms. Kambobe stated that for a team to be regarded as productive and effective it needs to have strong leadership, nurtured and potentially growing workforce which is productive and communicates effectively, members of staff who fulfill tasks without being pushed, and lastly have conflicts because they are human but can resolve them.

Facilitators Bridget Kambobe (L) and Kelvin Mengo (R) during the training

She further urged the participants to maximize their skills and abilities citing the available potential to grow and shift NOCZ to another level when characteristics of what made a productive and effective team were put into practice.

During the closing of the training, NOCZ Secretary General Boniface Kambikambi thanked Diane Huffman, senior advisor for the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) for supporting NOCZ host such a transformative training which will add value to the work and growth of the NOC and help drive it to a different level.

He also thanked The Bridge for accepting to facilitate the training which has been very impactful on the NOCZ staff as he looks forward to seeing the staff improve in a gradual process after the training.

“Change is not going to happen now, but we need to take what we have learned here as an action as it’s a progression that needs to be given time, self-leadership will not grow now but eventually will as we implement the learnings from this training.”

NOCZ Finance Officer Chaelelwa Kazika closed by offering a vote of thanks on behalf of the Secretariat Staff saying that the training was something that has brought self-introspection and also team development, he described the training as the best platform that has happened at the NOC as the staff was able to come together and share ideas and point out areas of improvement within themselves and the organization.

NOCZ Safe Sport Officer Prudence Nswana and Finance Officer Chaelelwa Kazika during the training

The NOCZ Secretariat is comprised of the following individuals who attended the training:

1. Boniface Kambikambi – Secretary General (Head of Secretariate)

2. Gloria Makungu – Administration Officer

3. Chaelelwa Kazika – Finance Officer

4. Prudence Nswana – Safe Sport Officer

5. Chipo Mulenga – Programmes Officer

6. Tinyiko Kamanga – Programmes Officer

7. Felix Munyika – Communications Officer

8. Musonda Zyambo – Assistant Communications and Marketing Officer

9. Jabess Zulu – Caretaker, Olympafrica Centre

10. Francis Mwansa – Office Assistant.