Impact Stories

Janet founded Engagement Dynamics in Johannesburg, South Africa, a leadership and organisational development consultancy, in 2007. The company is driven by intentional thinking, deep connection with clients and delivery-focused action. Janet shares that Engagement Dynamics supports and promotes superb strategic leadership, effective engagement of people and dynamic responsiveness to change, complexity and conflict. Their new flagship offering is the Astute Leader Programme and they are developing the Astute Leader Ecosystem - a global village for ongoing, collaborative leader development. Engagement Dynamics is especially passionate about fostering African inclusion in the global economy.

Like most entrepreneurs, Janet’s journey has been really challenging. Whilst she could develop great solutions and she knew how to run a company in 2007, she did not know how to sell consulting services to corporate clients – and the idea terrified her. She also encountered a few major setbacks – the global financial crisis hit when her business was just a year old, her Dad died in 2013 leaving his business in her hands too until 2017, and of course, Covid put another bump in the road in 2020. In the many lean years at the start of the business, despite fervently believing that this was God’s plan for her, Janet found herself questioning whether He had left the building. She clung on to Ecclesiastes 11 and the belief that this was a season for action, a season to go beyond book-learning and believing in DOING. After 10 lean years, Janet realised all that God had allowed her to learn and that His “silence” was Him letting her figure some things out that she would need to know if the business He had birthed inside of her was going to achieve its purpose.

Janet found the isolation of entrepreneurship especially challenging. Her lack of initial profitability made family and friends very sceptical and she was warmly encouraged on many occasions to get a job. From 2011 onwards things very gradually began to shift and by the end of 2019, Janet was on the verge of meaningful growth. Then with the onset of Covid, she lost 2 key clients, who were both in the hospitality industry. Although the next year was not bad, once again Engagement Dynamics had taken a big step backwards.

By 2021 Janet felt a really deep need to connect with a strong faith community. She has been a follower of Christ for 45 years and has led in many church contexts. However, she needed something different – something she has found in FDE – a place where other people understand the connection between faith and entrepreneurship, a place where she could learn from people who can teach her things she does not know about business from a faith perspective. She has been so encouraged since joining Tom York’s FDE Group in July 2021 and then facilitating a September group. What does not seem coincidental is how Janet’s business has also suddenly flourished since she has joined FDE.

As things stand right now, for the first time since starting her business, Janet will go into 2022 with NO arrears on any of her personal or business accounts – a great milestone!!! She has had some very exciting and creative recent client work, using narrative and games to support increased influence in a sales management team. She has doubled her coaching clientele and has been publicly honoured as a partner of a prestigious awards programme, who also gave her hundreds of thousands of rand worth of publicity as a thank you for guiding their judging process. In a few weeks, she will lead the design and facilitation of an international professional conference, among people she has respected for years as the best in her industry. Best of all, she has recently partnered with an experienced business development professional who wants to promote what she offers, on a freelance basis. On a more important note, however, she has received very positive feedback regarding the impact she is able to have with clients, who describe their coaching journeys as life-changing and workshops as the best they have ever had. Janet loves nothing more than seeing how God consumes the gifts she places on His altar – how He takes the best she has to give and does infinitely more with it than she can ask, think or imagine.

It feels to Janet as if this is a defining moment in the life of her business and that her involvement with FDE is a key part of what God is doing on a personal and entrepreneurial level. She deeply values the integrity of all she has experienced in this group and looks forward to partnering with many people in this community to bring the Life of Christ to leaders and organisations across the planet, especially to places of greatest need. She is a big dreamer and cannot help wondering what God will grow with the seeds He is planting in the hearts and lives of the people in this community. She is excited to watch, to participate and to be a channel and partner for God’s Amazing Grace.