Debswana has launched Setho Pele, a new Culture Transformation Programme designed to reshape the company’s organisational culture and strengthen the capabilities needed to deliver its Ya Masa Strategy. The programme comes as the diamond producer works to build a sustainable future while responding to changes in its operating environment. Setho Pele aims to create a more accountable, agile and collaborative organisation where employees can contribute effectively to the company’s goals. It also places greater emphasis on innovation, openness, execution and results-driven performance across the business. Through the programme, Debswana is seeking to make organisational culture a practical part of how its people lead, work, communicate and make decisions every day.
The launch reflects Debswana’s recognition that achieving its strategic ambitions requires more than setting business targets. The company believes that the way employees work together and respond to challenges will play an important role in determining whether its strategy succeeds. Setho Pele is therefore focused on strengthening behaviours and capabilities that can support better performance across the organisation. Accountability is expected to encourage employees and leaders to take greater ownership of their responsibilities, while agility can help the company respond more effectively to changing circumstances. Collaboration and openness are also central to creating an environment where employees can share ideas, solve problems and work towards common objectives.
Innovation forms another important part of the programme as Debswana seeks to strengthen its ability to operate in a changing business environment. The company’s approach recognises that employees need to feel empowered to contribute ideas and identify better ways of working. Creating space for innovation can help organisations respond to operational challenges while improving efficiency and performance. Setho Pele also seeks to strengthen execution by ensuring that strategic objectives translate into action and measurable results. By connecting innovation with accountability and performance, Debswana aims to create a culture where employees are encouraged not only to generate ideas but also to help turn those ideas into meaningful outcomes.
The programme will be embedded into everyday leadership, decision-making, communication and collaboration across Debswana’s operations. This means that culture transformation is not being positioned as a separate initiative that exists alongside normal business activities. Instead, the company intends to make the principles of Setho Pele part of how employees and leaders approach their daily responsibilities. Leadership behaviour will be particularly important because managers and executives influence how organisational values are experienced by employees. Stronger communication and collaboration can also help create greater alignment between different teams and ensure that employees understand how their individual responsibilities contribute to the company’s wider strategy.
Speaking during the launch, which was held simultaneously across Debswana’s operations, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Motsomi stressed that employees will play a central role in making the transformation successful. He emphasised that the transformation would not happen around employees but through them. This message places responsibility on the entire organisation rather than treating culture change as something that can be achieved by senior management alone. For Setho Pele to have a lasting impact, employees at different levels will need to understand the programme and apply its principles in their daily work. Their participation will therefore be critical to turning the programme from a formal initiative into a sustained change in organisational behaviour.
Employee empowerment is another key element of Setho Pele as Debswana seeks to create an environment where people can contribute and perform at their best. Empowered employees are better positioned to take ownership of their responsibilities and participate in finding solutions to business challenges. Creating this environment requires clear expectations, effective communication and leadership that encourages employees to contribute. It also requires an organisational culture where accountability and openness can exist alongside collaboration. Debswana’s approach aims to bring these elements together so that employees have both the responsibility and support needed to deliver strong performance.
The programme is also intended to strengthen the employee experience as Debswana navigates a changing operating environment. The company recognises that its ability to deliver its strategy depends on the people responsible for implementing it across its operations. Strengthening leadership behaviours and ways of working can help employees understand what is expected of them while creating greater consistency across the organisation. A stronger employee experience can also contribute to engagement, collaboration and performance when employees feel that their contributions are valued. Setho Pele therefore links organisational culture with both business performance and the experience of the people who drive the company’s operations.
At the centre of the programme is the relationship between strategy and organisational culture. Debswana’s Ya Masa Strategy provides the direction for the company, while Setho Pele is intended to create the cultural conditions required to deliver that strategy. This approach recognises that strategic plans depend on people and systems that can turn objectives into action. A culture built around accountability, agility, collaboration, innovation and execution can help support that process. By launching Setho Pele, Debswana is positioning culture transformation as an important part of its long-term business strategy and its efforts to secure a sustainable future.
The launch of Setho Pele marks a significant step in Debswana’s efforts to strengthen its organisation from within. The programme seeks to influence leadership, decision-making, communication, collaboration and employee engagement while building the capabilities needed to respond to a changing operating environment. Its success will depend on consistent participation from employees and leaders and on the ability to translate the programme’s values into everyday behaviour. By placing employees at the centre of the transformation, Debswana is seeking to build an organisation that can execute its strategy with greater accountability, agility and collaboration. As the company works towards the ambitions of its Ya Masa Strategy, Setho Pele is set to play an important role in ensuring that its culture supports both present performance and long-term sustainability.
