Inspiring Woman of the Month

In the past 12 years Deshun has been on 12 major mountaineering expeditions, spanning five continents, and reached a personal record of 8 300m above sea level in 2003 in Mount Everest’s ‘Death Zone’. As one of South Africa's top speakers, facilitators and trainers, her climbing and other adventures, sport, community involvement, etc, have taught Deshun that:

• summits happen in stages
• in life every day is a summit
• success is when you get back down.....alive!

Deshun is one of South Africa’s top conference speakers and has captivated businesswomen and audiences around the world with her fascinating and inspiring talks.  Her 2 passions (facilitating the development of others in reaching their full potential and climbing high mountains) combine seamlessly into a  business that thrives on getting "high".

After a brief stint in teaching, Deshun has spent the past 17 years in training and consulting.   She is a Friend and Ambassador for Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and was nominated in the 2007 Shoprite/Checkers Woman of the Year.

D Deysel Associates, is a speaking, training and consulting entity, focusing on developing customised  leadership models.  GET ALTITUDE!  is not merely the spirited message  -  some of our interventions have, in fact, included a trekking expedition to Mt. Everest Base Camp!!

Besides being a recipient of Four Outstanding Young South African’s Award (FOYSA) in 1997 Deshun is a Friend and Ambassador for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.  

In addition she is an active honorary member of the Golden Key International Honour Society. 
Besides membership of the National Speakers Association of South Africa (NSASA) Deshun is also a member of the Business Women’s Association of South Africa (BWASA) and the GIBS Women Empowered Forum

In 2007 she launched her "7 Summits" program to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents.
These are Aconcagua (South America), Carstensz Pyramid (Oceania), Elbrus (Europe), Everest (Asia), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Denali (North America) and Vinson Massif (Antarctica).

Deshun's message to Inspiringwomen subscribers: "Stick to your goals"

Climbing Everest is like reaching a series of mini summits.   Every time you reach a personal milestone, you've mentally and emotionally reached the top of another mountain.

Key points:

• know what you really want
• understand the nature of “Big Scary Audacious Goals”
• setting realistic goals (not easy goals, but not unrealistic either)
• manage energy - not time
• team dynamics under extreme conditions
• dealing with dissapointment, learning from "failure"
• revising the importance, or significance, of the goal

The same leadership principles apply whether on a mountain, on a cricket pitch or in the boardroom:

• To become a good leader, one must learn to be a good follower
• Modern leadership is more about flexibility of role, than knowing all the answers
• Leading sometimes means that you have to take your place at the back of the pack
• Making any decision is better than no decision at all!
• If rank and position is the objective, true leadership suffers
• Leadership is about taking people to heights they don't think they can reach by themselves

Deshun, we salute you!

www.deshundeysel.co.za