The Sunday Mail
NOVEMBER is traditionally known as a sacred month, especially in Zimbabwe’s rural areas.
Changing Perspectives
Rutendo Gwatidzo
In the Dande area, Mashonaland Central province, where I grew up, a number of activities such as paying lobola, wedding celebrations and slaughtering goats were forbidden during the month.
It was generally believed going against these traditions would attract curses. I never really sought to understand more regarding this superstition until recently. As I was planning how to celebrate my birthday a fortnight ago, I happened to discuss some of the ideas I had with one of my associates.
I never expected her response.
The said associate was one of the people I was going to invite to my birthday celebrations. However, upon mentioning it, she told me she was not going to come.
I obviously got curious and asked why she was turning down the invitation.
She told me she did not want to anger the spirits by partaking in celebrations in November.
Stunned, I asked what she meant.
“Don’t you know that November is a sacred month and you should not celebrate anything? It’s either you do it in October or in December,” she responded.
The words triggered a conversation that ended up involving many people and vigorous research.
I remembered that I grew up hearing all sorts of odd things about the month of November in the village, but when I moved to the city, the conversations died down. It was, therefore, weird to then come across such a topic concerning my life when I am so grown-up.
I have had many birthday celebrations in November. In fact, from as far as I can remember, my family members would celebrate my life in so many different ways.
Now, this lady was telling me that it was wrong to do so.
I got confused.
After researching, I came to the understanding that what the month of November means to different people depends on the level of their superstitions or belief systems.
To some, it means nothing and to others it means a lot.
Organisational status
Almost every organisation or industry is known for a certain culture, and I believe many team members follow blindly without understanding why.
For example, accountants generally have a certain culture.
The same applies to bankers, farmers and lawyers, just to mention a few.
These cultures are largely shaped by the code of ethics that governs their profession. The culture of organisations should generally be governed by organisational values and mission statements.
It is, therefore, important to understand why certain values are important compared to others.
Following blindly can be a disadvantage.
For example, going into an underground mine in suits or high heels may prevent you from executing your job well and can cause harm.
You need safety boots, a work suit and helmet to be appropriately dressed.
Managers should take time to explain why they want things to be done in a certain way.
The challenge in many organisations is that induction programmes are taken for granted and not properly done.
Yet induction programmes are supposed to expose new members to information regarding why things are done in a certain way so that they catch it at the early stages and run with it with better understanding.
Understanding “why” motivates action and fuels passion.
No matter how big a vision is, if the followers fail to understand why they should follow the vision, it is likely to suffer in many ways.
Employees should be taken through the importance of their work so that they continue to find meaning and value in their jobs.
Many employees change professions due to lack of understanding on why they should follow a specific profession. The same applies when employees fail to understand a vision and why they should follow it.
It is not always about remuneration; it is about association and why one should be linked to a particular vision.
General facts
Do not just do things simply because everyone else is doing them.
Seek understanding and see if you want to be involved before rushing into it. The different facts that I learnt regarding the sacred month of November have nothing to do with birthday celebrations.
This is outside whether I believe in those superstitions or not.
The things that are generally considered sacred do not include birthdays.
Imagine if I had blindly followed the advice not to celebrate my birthday in November.
I would miss out on an important part of my life for wrong reasons. I would like to urge you all to seek understanding regarding anything, especially those things that take much of your time or that mean so much to you.
Legendary basketball player Michael Jordan once said: “I have missed more than 9 000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I have been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Knowing why will push you towards achieving a goal in most cases, regardless of challenges that may be encountered. Be challenged to seek understanding more and more.
Rutendo Gwatidzo is the managing consultant at The HUB HR Consultancy. She is a multi-award winning leader, consultant, speaker and coach. She is also an author of two books: “Born to Fight” and “Breaking the Silence”. Contact detail: 0714575805/ [email protected] / Rutendo Gwatidzo_Official FB public page
