Tshidi M Wyllie,Ph.D.

Communication is an essential aspect of human existence; it can either have a positive or negative impact on individuals, families, organizations and nations. Poor communication has potential to destroy businesses, economies and nations. Unnecessary wars have been fought triggered by distorted communication over the years. Thoughts affect emotions, and decisions driven by irrational thoughts and negative emotions could have significant influence on human behaviour. Thinking from cognitive brain has to be balanced with thinking from the heart. Empowering the cognition without empowering the heart can have adverse consequences in life. Distorted thoughts can impair communication; therefore there is need for alignment between the cognition and the emotions. Having awareness of the impact that emotions can have on human interaction is critical. According to Goleman (1995); "Emotional Intelligence can matter more than IQ." And Dalai Lama (29 Nov, 2012) posit that it's important to educate the heart, not just the mind: https://youtu.be/SOYOa4FIj-Y

Leadership is perceived as a social process where the leader directs, guides and influences the followers to achieve a goal. Group dynamics is concerned with exploring the nature of human groups, their interactions with individuals and other groups and group development. The earlier theory of leadership pivoted on the personal characteristics of the leader linking the leader to specific traits that identifies a leader from the other members of the group. However further researches on leadership and power identified some leadership styles as: Autocratic or authoritarian leadership style which emphasizes on individual control and centralization of decision making powers to the leader.

The issue of measurement and instrumentation is crucial in research, Marczyk et.al, (2005,2015) states that measurement is essential in research design for two critical reasons: it enables researchers to quantify abstract constructs and variables, and Secondly; the level of statistical sophistication used for data analysis derived from a study is directly dependent on the scale of measurement used to quantify the variables of interest.

No one particular leadership style could be considered appropriate in all workplace settings; for example the leadership style that maybe appropriate in a military and police force workplace setting may not be appropriate in a mental health environment. Similarly, education is very diverse and complex and hence leadership in an educational setting may differ from one department to another and from one country to another. With this in mind, this is my perspective; based on my workplace setting, though currently retired now.

In research Collecting data maybe easy, Analyzing data on the other hand can be taxing and challenging process which requires the use of appropriate strategy compatible with the research method used to reach desired outcomes, for example Qualitative approach collects voluminous amount of data which is extracted through various techniques and tools such as interviews, observations and focus group discussions which cannot be Quantified e.g  variables and/or attributes such as attitudes and perceptions of respondents are not easily measurable. nonetheless, for the research to have meaning it has to be appropriately analyzed and to this effect, thematic analysis or thematic network analysis is usually used in Qualitative data analysis.
According to Cassell & Symon (2004) thematic analysis engages a series of steps or activities such as coding for basic themes, sub-coding or organising data in conceptual or basic themes and global themes, further more mapping, interpretation and inductive inferences are made and a report is compiled. According to Astride-Stirling (2001);

Is it possible to find something to be appreciative and thankful for during this pandemic period? It is hard to be appreciative in the midst of challenges; we are currently living in a highly stressful global environment which constantly requires problem-solving for leaders, families and just ordinary individuals. Research shows that self-appreciations and self-affirmations can help reduce stress levels in challenging times such as these. According to Creswell et al (2013) "high levels of acute and chronic stress are known to impair problem-solving and creativity on a broad range of tasks" and he further posits that "Self-affirmation can buffer stress and improve problem-solving performance." Therefore, could self-appreciation help in coping with what's going on today; in the world of plagues, viz; COVID-19?

COVID-19 came, the world stood still, the corporate world saw lockdowns, restricted movement, social-distancing, face-masking and the need for employees to work from homes with efforts to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. "Big Tech" saw an increase in usage and ITC spiked as a mode of corporate communication between employees, supervisors and customers. Though virtual learning and E-management had always been in use, COVID-19 brought a massive increase in usage of AIT. The world was transformed into a "Media Age" which permeated into leadership practice and transformed the way leaders communicated with their followers and their clients. E-leadership became a critical aspect in the day to day running of businesses which saw virtual training seminars, virtual conferences, virtual parliament sessions, virtual psychosocial support services and so on. According to Haider et al., (2016) The importance of media communication gained popularity in the 1980s when managers who had a wide business social network circle were considered to be effective managers, he goes on to argue that with the advent of new technologies, gadgets, high-tech equipment's and smart devices; human life has dramatically changed. This paper is therefore an attempt to discusses the possible chanllenges of E-leadership.

Communication is an essential aspect of human existence; it can either have a positive or negative impact on individuals, families, organizations and nations. Poor communication has potential to destroy businesses, economies and nations. Unnecessary wars have been fought triggered by distorted communication over the years. Thoughts affect emotions, and decisions driven by irrational thoughts and negative emotions could have significant influence on human behaviour. Thinking from cognitive brain has to be balanced with thinking from the heart. Empowering the cognition without empowering the heart can have adverse consequences in life. Distorted thoughts can impair communication; therefore there is need for alignment between the cognition and the emotions. Having awareness of the impact that emotions can have on human interaction is critical. According to Goleman (1995); "Emotional Intelligence can matter more than IQ." And Dalai Lama (29 Nov, 2012) posit that it's important to educate the heart, not just the mind: https://youtu.be/SOYOa4FIj-Y

Is conflict inevitable? Unfortunately it seems to be a natural part of human interaction and on its own its not evil nor harmful, it's how its perceived and handled; as well as the actions and behaviours portrayed by those in conflict that can either resolve it or escalate the conflict. Wall & Callister (1995) states that; "when we're in a conflict, we don't see it that way. There are good guys; there are bad guys; we don't just disagree. Conflict-to most of us-is mighty unpleasant"(p.515). Conflict is therefore inevitable due to the diversity inherent in people. People experience conflict in various areas of life; between families, among colleagues, between employees and employers, between people of different political affiliations and differing believes, religions, tribes and between countries. Some even experience Intra-personal conflict (internal conflict within one 'self).

The concepts of leadership, management and Administration have for years captivated scholars and continue to draw significant attention in all the various fields of study. Similarly, the Education sector has equally found the need to explore these concepts and the impact they have on the educational advancement. The 21 st century brought with it diverse challenges due to socioeconomic , political and technological advancement and complexities which challenged governments globally to revisit their Educational leadership, management and administration approaches. Suffice to say, the concept of Leadership have therefore captivated scholars, motivational speakers, Emotional Intelligence facilitators and/or coaches and trainers the world over ;

It is undeniable that COVID19 has drastically changed lives. People are having difficulties adapting to the new normal, economies have been destroyed and lives lost, small businesses have collapsed and jobs lost; and uncertainty is prevalent. The situation has impacted both the developed and developing countries alike; the rich and the poor, and the hardest hit are the middle income societies and poorest of the poor. Statistics is growing and it's no longer just figures but names of people we know and loved. It's obvious that certain situations we face in life bring anxiety and sometimes anxiety can help us avoid danger, it has always been part of human survival to try and avoid a threat through "fight" or "flight" response. In the case of COVID19 unfortunately, there is nowhere to run (flight); the only thing left is to "fight". It's not just socioeconomic fight anymore, but the largest battle is going on in the mind, a battle to survive the impact of COVID19 and still remain sane; the battle of the mind to stay rational and mentally healthy. The world is having a mental health battle of a life time. There are tools and strategies that could help in coping in this battle. This article briefly discusses the physical but mentally stimulating activities that could help in coping with the uncertainty brought by COVID19 and any other distressing situation.

To accumulate a body of knowledge which can inform and improve socio-economic and political human existence requires evidence-based approaches, as such, conducting scientific researches is usually carried out to find solutions to a prevailing phenomenon; therefore, extracting and accumulating such a scientific knowledge and/or information is a crucial process. In this endeavour, researchers usually deploy various scientific approaches and methods; methods which are mostly informed by ontological and epistemological underpinnings. In discussing quantitative and qualitative research approaches and drawing distinction between the two approaches this paper will explain the three major dimensions considered critical in research process

To function effectively Organisations need leaders as opposed to bosses; there is a difference between a leader and a boss as depicted in the video on the link below. To provide quality products and services organizations need employees, and for a well-coordinated strategic performance and effective achievement of organizational goals and objectives employees have to be guided, mentored and motivated to deliver. Therefore, to have effective service delivery there is need for effective organizational leaders with appropriate transformational and performance enabling leadership styles and skills that could positively impact human resources and employee group dynamics. It is on this premise that this paper briefly explores the implications of leadership on group dynamics and employee performance.

Worrying is a normal social phenomenon, it is something that we all experience from time to time in our human existence. However some people have a positive view and attitude to worrying whilst others perceive it negatively. Those who perceive it in a positive light see it as a helpful tool that motivates them to "fight"; engage, prepare and perform better , for example; there are those who believe that it helps them to feel more in control and alert and achieve better results such as when preparing for a job interview, for a tournament or engaging in a challenging new project etc. Whilst those with negative perspective towards worry, consider it to be debilitating and thus become even more worried about being worried. That being the case, COVID19 has taken worry, anxiety, stress and mental health issues to another dimension as globally more and more people are experiencing uncertainty and therefore struggle to cope with the current situation. As new information emerge and statistics of death tolls and new infections keep rising as well as reports of mutations of the virus strains,  vaccines etc large numbers of people seems to be experiencing hypothetical worry. This article is an attempt to empower young people in Botswana with evidence based Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) coping strategies to psychologically survive the COVID19 era and beyond.

Research is about acquiring knowledge through a systematic study or approach, through exploration, thinking, observations, experiments and testing hypotheses. In the quest for acquisition and accumulation of knowledge data is collected through interaction with human research participants, in efforts to attain data some practices have proved to be harmful, inhumane, exploitative and unethical. History reveals that some data collection strategies deployed in research involving humans as research subjects impacted negatively on people's  lives and in some cases lives were lost in the process (MacColl et.al, 2005). This article discusses the importance of ensuring adherence to research ethics.

Leadership is a process of influence which can have  either a positive or negative impact on employees’ behaviour and their general performance. According to Reza (2019) & Stone et. al (2014) Leadership is an important concept mostly directed towards people; it’s a process of influencing people to achieve organizational goals; therefore leaders and/or organizations are concerned about the impact of their  leadership styles on employee performance.

There is usually a number of reasons why  research is carried out. One of such being to find answers and close existing research limitations or gaps.
Every research project addresses or closes a knowledge gap; i.e. research has to answer an existing question that may or may not have emanated from previous research. The purpose of conducting research mostly is to close an existing research gap by providing a new body of knowledge which is why it’s important for researchers to identify research gaps in their area of interest. In a nutshell, research attempts to contribute new scientific research literature rather than duplicate what already exists (Miles, 2017).