Faith of a Coach: Lindelwa Xingwana-Jabavu

by Daluxolo Moloantoa · April 14, 2023

Lindelwa Xingwana-Jabavu at the sea. She says she cannot understand why Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ seems to be more popular outside the Catholic Church than within.

After a long career in the private and public sector, Lindelwa Xingwana-Jabavu became a personal coach and climate change activist. She talked to Daluxolo Moloantoa about her work and faith.

God’s Creation should be a subject for discussion at Masses. “Every Sunday at Mass, as we talk about the bread and the wine and see the flowers on the altar, I wish that we could take the time to talk more about the God of all creation,” said Lindelwa Xingwana-Jabavu, a Pretoria-based personal coach, as she considers the Church and its role in combating the most pressing issue of our times — climate change.

On that subject, she finds it “interesting that Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ is admired more by non-Catholics than us Catholics. I think we must do more to spread the word on climate change within the Church”.

A climate activist, Jabavu believes that the time is now for South African Catholics to become purposeful about climate change and other social ills that harm our society today. Contact with the environment from an early age in Mqanduli Village, near Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, conscientised Jabavu to the importance of taking care of nature’s endowment. Today, climate change is a social cause which she is actively promoting in the Church and in society in general.

The Sacred Heart Sodality member is the youngest of five children, born to a civil servant father and a teacher mother in Mqanduli. Her father died when she was only ten years old, leaving her mother the task of singlehandedly raising five children on her meagre teacher’s salary.

“My father’s death was a time of drastic changes in my family. It’s an experience which prepared me for the continuous change that life brings to every individual,” she told The Southern Cross.

A constant feature of young Lindelwa’s primary and high school education was her robust participation in Church activities. In her youth she joined the Chiro Youth Movement. “I developed a deep appreciation of my Catholic faith as I grew spiritually, and advanced in my relationship with God,” she explained.

Beyond her primary role as a mother and grandmother, Jabavu is a qualified executive personal coach. She is the managing director of Lilitha Coaching and Consulting. She holds a master’s degree in management and executive coaching from the Wits Business School in Johannesburg. Before her career in personal coaching, she worked in both the private and public sectors, in South Africa and in a number of other countries.

Living in exile

In 1983 she went into political exile, landing up in Lesotho. From there she went briefly to Mozambique and then to Dar-es-Salaam. In the Tanzanian capital she completed an advanced diploma in banking. In the early 1990s, after a brief stint in Harare, she went to work in Britain for a national bank as a client advisor for international trade.

“The years I spent in exile taught me about what it is to be a refugee, far from your home, and to rely on the hospitality and the generosity of others. I also learned to appreciate the international solidarity from various countries who were against the evil system of apartheid,” Jabavu said.

“I was also exposed to great and very spiritual leaders like Julius Nyerere, the father of modern-day Tanzania, a statesman and a liberator who was also a Catholic. Hopefully the beatification of this Servant of God will progress to finality. In a nutshell, my experience in exile broadened the way I look at life, and it also deepened my respect for other people and cultures.”

In 1992 she returned from exile and worked for a bank as a housing loans consultant, and in 1998 began an illustrious career in public service. “The public sector became a natural choice as I had already spent part of my life fighting against the injustices of the apartheid government. The few years that I spent in the banking industry awakened me to the fact that I was not merely interested in making profits for businesses. I came to the realisation that I would be fulfilled in my career if I looked towards a higher purpose. For me, this was to make a meaningful contribution towards the lives of South Africans, especially the poorest of the poor,” she explained.

Over the next 25 years, she worked in the public sector. It was during those years that her relationship with her faith grew strong. “I grew in my faith and spirituality as my career advanced. My faith carried me through the most difficult years, when I was a senior leader within the public sector, especially during the state-capture years”, she said.

New life as a coach

On her retirement from public service in 2020, Jabavu shifted her focus to other areas which supported her purpose to serve others. She started an executive coaching service, called Lilitha Coaching and Consulting, which offers services in leadership management, coaching and consulting.

“My coaching career is shaped by my faith, and it is about eldership, good stewardship and caring about the legacy we leave for future generations, including how we respond to the social issues of our day,” Jabavu said.

The issues which she feels need the most urgent attention and action are climate change and social injustice. “I am grateful that Pope Francis is very passionate about climate change and also about social injustice. These Catholic values have influenced my career in a very deep way,” she said.

Like many others, Jabavu made use of the long days of the Covid-19 lockdown by reading. Among her discoveries were the Catholic mystics who, she said, remain relevant to the challenges the modern world struggles with to this day. These include Francis of Assisi, Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Teresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich and others. “These are men and women who lived ahead of their time, and who sought to understand and to interpret the love of God in a more meaningful way.”

In addition to reading about them, she attended sessions on these great men and women, mostly hosted by the Jesuits. “Quite interestingly, these sessions are attended by Catholics and non-Catholics because of their value and relevance to today’s societal challenges,” Jabavu noted.

Shaped by Catholic faith

The Catholic faith has been a constant guide in Jabavu’s life. “My Catholic upbringing contributed a lot to who I became, right from when I realised that the apartheid system was ungodly, to the time I left South Africa to go into exile. My career path was shaped by the values I learnt in the Church. I grew up at a time when there were a lot of [Catholic] role models, leaders who were able to live their faith for the benefit of their communities, especially the poor. These Catholic values have influenced my career in a very deep way,” she said.

Jabavu she sees her business as a platform to make a contribution to society through coaching and leadership training. “It is my humble way of paying it forward and helping to develop leaders who care about values-based leadership, and creating a better world. This includes how we respond to issues of climate change. As I coach leaders, I emphasise the importance of social justice. That they cannot be solely focused on profits.”

She views her role specifically to develop young African leaders, “especially women and the youth who want to create a peaceful and prosperous Africa. Part of my work is to ensure that we improve and democratise access to coaching. If we want to transform the world, then coaching can no longer be the preserve of senior C-Suite executives. A sustainable future is possible only if we also pay attention to the development of young leaders today.”

Daily spiritual routine

Prayer and interaction with nature are a big part of Jabavu’s daily life, more so since she moved out of the city to a more quiet part of Pretoria. “I spend time in the morning praying and meditating on the daily readings. To close my day, I do the Examen prayer,” a technique rooted in Ignatian Spirituality of prayerful reflection on the events of the day in order to detect God’s presence in them and discern his direction for us. “I find that it helps me to reflect on the day, to prepare for the next day, and to continuously improve my work. I also reflect on the night through the psalms,” she said.

“I also take long nature-walks every morning and every evening. As I take these walks, I never miss the opportunity to remember that I am part of creation, just like the birds and the flowers that glorify God every day.”

Jabavu’s advice to young Catholics beginning or still contemplating choices for their career paths is this: “Find something that you are really passionate about and pursue that with all your energy. More importantly, grow spiritually and get to understand your faith more deeply. It is the only thing that sustains you when the going gets tough — and it will get tough.”