Written by Hermann du Plessis
Many leadership books focus on performance, strategy, and results. Cultivate with Intent by Hermann du Plessis goes deeper. It asks leaders to look honestly at the environment they are creating around people. Hermann’s central picture is clear: culture is the water people swim in every day. If the water is unhealthy, people may still survive for a while, but they will not truly flourish.
From the leader to the environment
This book follows Hermann’s double best-selling Lead with Intent, but it widens the conversation. His first book focused on the leader. Cultivate with Intent focuses on the culture shaped by that leader. It is written for people who carry responsibility, whether in business, ministry, education, family, or community life. The message is simple but searching: leaders do not only manage tasks. They shape atmospheres, expectations, trust, conversations, and the emotional tone of the spaces they lead.
Why this matters now
In a time marked by burnout, anxiety, pressure, and disconnection, this book feels especially relevant. Hermann does not ignore the weight people carry into workplaces and teams. Fear, comparison, exhaustion, insecurity, and disappointment do not stay neatly hidden. They affect how people communicate, serve, make decisions, and respond to pressure.
A leader who is anxious can easily create anxiety in others. A leader who is guarded can make honesty feel unsafe. A leader who is present, grounded, and Christ-centred can help create a healthier culture.
A practical blueprint
Drawing from more than 30 years of leadership experience and work across organisations in Africa, Hermann offers a practical way forward. He deals with unhealthy patterns, including what he calls the “Toxic Triangle”, where fear and disconnection damage trust and relationships. In contrast, he points leaders towards coaching-style leadership, active listening, meaningful conversations, frontline care, curiosity, belief, and emotional safety. These are not abstract ideas, but daily choices that slowly change the water.
Leadership that reflects Christ
What makes Cultivate with Intent valuable for Christian readers is its Biblical foundation. Hermann roots leadership in the example of Jesus, not in ambition or control. The book reminds us that leadership is a stewardship. People are not projects. They are souls entrusted to our care in different ways and for different seasons. For pastors, business leaders, managers, teachers, parents, and ministry teams, this is a timely call to lead with greater awareness, humility, and intention.
A timely leadership resource
Cultivate with Intent is not a quick-fix leadership manual. It is a thoughtful invitation to examine what our leadership is producing in others. Healthy culture does not happen by accident. It is cultivated through prayer, wisdom, consistency, courage, and care. A healthy culture produces superior results. This book will challenge leaders to stop only asking, “Are we getting results?” and start asking, “Are people becoming healthier under our leadership?”
Physical copies are available from CUM Books, Exclusive Books, and selected retailers, with digital copies available online. For more information or to contact Hermann du Plessis directly, email hermann@ttli.co.za
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Date published: 16/07/2026
Feature image: Sourced from article originally published in JOY! Magazine September issue
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