Finding purpose through Lithon Staff Development Programme

Lithon Project Consultants CEO, Gert Maritz, is incredibly excited about the expanding possibilities at the Namibian-based engineering consulting firm. Along with his raft of new responsibilities, he is deeply committed to overseeing and advancing the staff development plan he designed during his tenure as COO.

Formally implemented over two years ago, the programme is based on four foundations: career development, culture building, team alignment, and coaching and mentoring. It aims to foster balance in life as a whole, rather than work-life balance alone, and focuses on building leadership capacity among Lithon staff by encouraging them to understand their purpose and develop their potential.

“The two most important days in life are the day you were born and the day you discover the reason why.” – Mark Twain

“At Lithon, we believe that while work is important, it’s also only one aspect of a 24-hour day,” says Gert. “How we spend the rest of our time is crucial to creating well-rounded individuals, who are more content within themselves. And that has benefits not only for everyone around them, but for the company as well.”

Lithon’s staff development plan lies at the centre of the programme and is based on what Gert refers to as the ‘The Seven Fs of Life’. “We encourage every member of our staff to focus on Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness, Finance, Function and Fun within a tailored development plan that includes their career growth goals, personal goals and skills development,” he explains.

The success of the programme relies, in large part, on the buy-in of management and senior staff – something Gert strongly believes he has. “There’s a wonderful quote by Dr John C. Maxwell,” he says, “which states that ‘Everything rises and falls on leadership.’ With coaching and mentoring being one of the foundational pillars of our programme, it’s crucial that our more experienced team members take the lead and see the change through.”

Moving forward, Gert plans to continue investing time and energy into helping staff understand their purpose. And while he has no immediate plans to change the programme, he believes it’s crucial that it remains agile and that those involved learn, test and adjust it along the way. 

“Staff input is hugely important to us and is one of the key drivers when it comes to implementing changes as and when necessary,” Gert points out. “To ensure that our team feels heard, we provide the space for them to attend breakaways and seminars and ensure that each Lithon staff member has a mentor within the company who they meet with regularly,” he adds.

“People who use time wisely spend it on activities that advance their overall purpose in life.” – John C. Maxwell

Making a positive impact on people’s lives, in whichever means possible, has always driven Lithon forward. It was founded on those terms, and continues to expand upon and find new and beautiful ways of fulfilling its purpose. As much as undertaking meaningful and impactful projects is a priority for us at Lithon, so is helping our Lithonians achieve holistic success. This is how we choose to spend our time and in return, not only is our purpose advanced, but our business goals are reached.