Charles Masuku (M.Ed., FAITD)
Learning & Leadership | Co-Founder, Emergent Learning
I apply a Practice Theory informed approach to improving Leadership, Learning and Performance outcomes in the complex adaptive systems that characterise todays organisations.
Performance is ultimately the consequence of practices
My work focuses on understanding performance and leadership as social practices that unfurl in complex adaptive systems and not simply the sum of the attributes of individuals.
With a Practice-based perspective, I help organisations identify and reshape the cultural, material, and relational architectures that are either enabling or constraining the practices drive performance.
Optimising performance, by changing pratices.
My Story
Experience
An obsession with "Why?"
For as long as i can remember, I have always been obsessed with wanting to know the why & how of success and failure beyond the obvious. Central to all my development are those two questions "Why?" & "How?"
From classic philosophical questions to what would become my career obsession - Learning & Leadership - these two questions would frame my analytical disposition regarding performance.
It is not enough that we succeed - we need to know why we succeeded and how we succeeded so that we can sustain it, repeat it and teach it. Even more importantly so, with failure, knowing why it happened and how is an existential necessity.
Practice Theory
Changing Practices
When sales are failing, it is easy for a sales leader to indict individuals attributes as the sole reason for poor performance - but that never sat right with me.
Sales is a dynamic and often complex social activity that is subject to many forces and influence by both your organisation and the customers.
The game-changer for me was my introduction to Practice Theory by way of my Masters in Education (Leadership & Learning). Practice Theory decenters the individual as the unit of analysis and concerns itself with the attributes of the practices and the arrangements either enabling or constraining them.
The other factors shaping performance suddenly took shape - and when you can see them, you can change them.
"A problem clearly stated is a problem half solved." - Dorothea Brande
Leadership
Service
Today, as Co-Founder of Emergent Learning, my main objective is service - to our team and to our clients. A lot of what i do is behind the scenes managing the business side of learning, key client relationships and contracts and most importantly ensuring our team are well resourced and supported.
The main types of projects i take the lead on are those involving Practice-based Analysis, especially in the context of Sales & Sales Leadership Capability Uplift. I also more broadly apply our Practice-based Analysis methodology across different contexts that require a different analytical lens to traditional quant qual approaches.
Let's talk... I'd love to get to know you better and explore your unique context!
Thoughts and Talks
Balancing Science-Backed Learning and Performance Impact
A conversation with Charles Masuku & Dr Kuva Jacobs about applying evidence-based design to create learning that is engaging, visual, practical and built for real impact.
Case Studies
