Citizen Leader Lab

03/06/2026

𝗔 𝗯𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲…
𝗔 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻...
𝗢𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴?

Over the past week, we closed three Leaders for Education cohorts in Durban, Fezile Dabi and Motheo.

But it seems that there is something misleading about the word closure.

Leadership is strange creature. It resists endings.

Yes, we celebrate the milestones, but what piques our interest is what happens next.

What will these leaders build, befriend, bridge and bring forward now that the formal journey is over?

The work of leadership, perhaps thankfully, always remains unfinished 💜🤍💛

01/06/2026

𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱.

During last week’s national dialogue on childhood trauma, hosted by the and , Komala Pillay, Ridwan Samodien and Dorcas Dube, who attended on behalf of Citizen Leader Lab, looped back to the same reality.

When children arrive at school dysregulated, learning becomes difficult. We often only realise the consequences of this much later. The sobering data feels so jarring because we often lose sight of everything that led up to it. Nearly 80% of Grade 4 learners unable to read for meaning is one of those moments.

It all begins in early childhood development centres already under pressure, in aftercare settings bearing an invisible emotional load and in homes and communities where instability is synonymous with life itself.

The conversation made that interconnectedness hard to ignore. Early childhood development schooling and leadership are not separate systems. They are one thing, happening at different points. When one component struggles, the rest inevitably feel it.

That is why care, relationship and the way adults lead cannot be relegated to the margins of the work we do in education. They are what keeps the system from fraying completely.

If we want different outcomes, we have to design for the ecosystem as it actually is 💜🤍💛

28/05/2026

𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆!

School leaders and business leaders stepped into the complexity of leadership together, not as experts with solutions, but as active citizens prepared to listen, learn and rethink what is possible.

There was laughter, honesty, nervous excitement and the unmistakable feeling of something new beginning.

This is what it means to keep showing up for education in our country.

Durban, you’ve started us off well! 💜💛🤍

27/05/2026

𝗡𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀.

“70 pupils per teacher: Gauteng’s classroom overcrowding crisis deepens.”
“Nearly half of Gauteng schools operating beyond capacity.”
“Province needs R35 billion and 200 new schools to ease pressure.”

And that is Gauteng alone, the economic hub of the country.

The reportage shifts slightly with each news cycle, but the underlying reality remains unchanged: school principals are expected to absorb this pressure and somehow create conducive environments for teaching and learning, often with fewer resources, less support and very little room to fail.

What stays with us about this piece is that it refuses to romanticise that pressure. It looks directly at the weight of school leadership in South Africa as it actually exists: Complex and demanding.
💜🤍💛

Public School Leaders Face Tougher Jobs Than CEOs Citizen Leader Lab’s “Impact Over Eggs” breakfast highlighted why school leadership is the missing link in South Africa’s education reform efforts South Africa’s education challenges are well known. What is less visible is the pivotal role ...

26/05/2026

“𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝗵𝘂𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁” 💜🤍💛

The impact of our Leaders for Education programme, through the lens of Citizen Leader Lab facilitator, Kay Moodley.

It's what happens when leadership becomes more human, more porous.

School principals rediscover themselves and their purpose. Empathy among business leaders becomes less of a value statement and more of a daily habit ⤵️

22/05/2026

𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝟱𝟵𝘁𝗵 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴, 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱-𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿, 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆?

Is it harmony? Alignment? An efficient system?

Community is the choice to stay in relationship even when things are unresolved, and to treat that relationship as the work itself.

In schools, this matters more than we tend to admit. So much of how a school is run rests on whether all stakeholders feel they belong, whether they speak honestly and whether responsibility is shared.

Schools are often described as systems, but being in community is something more sentient. Relational, occasionally uncomfortable, and still the thing everything else depends on 💜🤍💛

21/05/2026

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀…
𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 💜🤍💛

At Radinong Secondary School in Lephalale, it looked like a learner being placed 5th best Grade 12 performer in the Waterberg District for the first term. Radinong is a school in a marginalised area, where outcomes like this depend on consistency, effort and school leadership doing what it can, day after day.

At Ramashobohle High in Polokwane, it looked like seedlings being donated by business leader, , for a vegetable garden. It’s something practical and sustainable, improves food security and supports the basic conditions needed for learning itself.

This is what happens in Citizen Leader Lab schools where leadership is on the up and up!

North Mabunda

15/05/2026

𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲! 💜🤍💛

It’s almost surreal. This stopped feeling like a cohort months ago, and became a journey where leaders found one another for the long run.

A year of early mornings, rescheduled meetings, school visits, voice notes, uncomfortable conversations and the kind of trust that only grows when people keep showing up.

Their formal Leaders for Education journey may have ended, but the work of leadership was never designed to fit neatly into a programme timeline anyway, right?

These are the partnerships that will outlive the name tags! Kudos to our Nelson Mandela Bay graduates!

13/05/2026

𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 “𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝘀”. 𝗪𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲.

In Mthatha, we unpacked leadership and the art of listening like parcels that had been sitting on someone’s desk for too long.

In Welkom and Wesselsbron, we treated questions as if they were invitations, not problems.

In Emakhazeni, community didn’t feel like a theme, it felt like a verb.

Turns out, that’s the bulk of the hard work. Three workshops, a few towns and the sense that something had shifted deliberately 💜🤍💛

12/05/2026

𝗔𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗼 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹💜🤍💛

On 19 May, Citizen Leader Lab and are hosting a working session that asks a simple but integral question: If AI is already in the room, what does it actually change when leadership decisions in schools need to be made?

Add your voice to a working space for people who lead, decide and carry responsibility in schools.

If you meant to register, this is your nudge ➡️ https://citizenleaderlab.powerappsportals.com/event-registration/?new_eventid=1d69b178-915f-4a4d-8bb9-c15da415fa82