The League of Extraordinary Women

In honour of women's month I have decided to dedicate this blog to four great women that you should look out for.

They are not world leaders, they are not mothers, they are not freedom fighters, they were not there on the ninth of August 1956 when crowds of women marched to the union buildings in protest of the Urban Areas Act (Pass Laws) chanting, "Wathint'Abafazi Wathint'imbokodo!" (you strike a woman, you strike a rock).

They are just four young women (all under 25) I have had the pleasure of meeting and befriending in life...

When they make it big....don't say I didn't warn you...

1. Sibongile Faith Kuta

I first met Faith in my first year at Wits when we were room mates at Girton Hall, a res off main campus. We both thought we wanted to be doctors then both dropped medicine after a year of ‘finding ourselves’. She went on to pursue a BA degree in Social Work taking it all the way up to honours level.

What I admire about this lady is her faith (excuse the pun); she lost both her parents at a very young age and as a result was raised by her grandmother along with her siblings and cousins in Tembisa, a township east of Johannesburg, yet this did not shake her or make her doubt her belief, or have her throw a pity party. She soldiered on. Everyone who knows Faith knows she is synonymous with "ray of sunshine"; always happy, caring, courageous and full of love! A very ambitious young woman who just wants to help others…oh, and she’s a poet too (promise to post one of her pieces sometime in the near future)

2. Theola Akermanidis

Theola and I, May 2011

Theola is my little Greek goddess. One, cause she's really little (half my height...ok, maybe not half) and two, cause she's Greek. We majored in the same courses but only became friends in our honours year when we realized we had more than education in common: fashion! (before that we just smiled at each other to acknowledge the other’s existence) Theola graduated with an undergrad degree in B.Comm Finance and Marketing then an Honours degree (with distinction) in Marketing. She's really THAT smart. As if being the smartest girl in class, and tutoring undergrads wasn't enough, she started her own accessories range called Theoalagy (smart name isn't it?) in 2010. Miss Akermandis is currently working at TNS, a marketing research company. More on Theola and her range in my next blog.

3. S'onqoba Nonkululeko Maseko

If I had to describe S'onqoba in one word it would be HUMBLE! Born on the same day as Oprah Winfrey, it is no surprise that she is, simply put; an OVER achiever. I met S'onqoba in 2006 when she shared rooms with a very close friend of mine. Being in first year, everyone was on a mission to prove themselves; "I passed my matric with 6 distinctions", "I was captain of my netball team", I had national colours in hockey"...and so the boasting went on...Not once did she mention her being Dux, prefect and RCL president at Germinston High School. While most people peak in high school only to become none achievers post that, Sonqoba just kept rising. Graduated with a BSC degree and then a hounours degree in Actuarial Sciences (Wits University). Was FNB campus ambassador two years running, president of the Golden Key International Honours Society (if you do not know Golden Key, ask my good friend, Google...if I had to go on about her achievements I would be forced to write a book so I will try state as many as I can in one breath..*takes deep breath in*

Helped find a N.P.O. (Advocates For Change) in 2006 and still serve as its Deputy Director (organization focuses on Youth Development in the Soweto and Alexandra).

As part of Golden Key she spoke at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls on two occasions

In late 2009 appointed Chief Operations Officer of an Investment Holdings company called Lante Investment Holdings

Currently working at FNB as an Actuarial Analyst (was promoted to Senior Actuarial Analyst in just 6 months)

Recently elected as a member of the Wits University Convocation EXCO as well as the Secretary of the South African Actuaries Development Programme’s Alumni.

Biggest Achievement?

Presenting BSc Honours Research Paper in 2009 at the South African Actuarial Development Programme's (SAADP) Launch. The audience included Actuarial Science lecturers, Actuarial commercial entities and businesses, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Blade Nzimande and Actuarial Science students and graduates.

Next move?

Registering a Consultancy that will deal with Personal Development

*some text missing* (no, really, a lot of editing was done here)

Remember I said Theola's half my height? Sonqoba is half Theola's height.

4. Pokuaa Busumru-Banson

Pokuaa (center, on Graca Machel's left)

Former Wits University SRC president (2009) but not your typical politician; smart, stylish, an amazing personality and a great sense of humour…not Julius Malema type of funny though (no offense if Malema is your uncle). While we’re on that topic, I think it is fit to mention that Pokuaa was recently part of the panel on MTV Base Meets with MTN, that got the opportunity to sit and chat with Malema, as a representative for African youth.

In 2010, this Ghanaian-born, Umtata raised, Wits University Law student was elected as part of a panel for the Fortune Global Forum where world leaders including the likes of Sir Richard Branson, Kofi Annan, Graca Machel, Mary Robinson, Jimmy Carter, Ela Bhatt were in attendance.

Pokuaa holds a BA degree in International Relations with Honours (Wits) and in 2008 was appointed chairperson of the Wits International Students Committee, and like S'onqoba, you can add member of the Wits University Executive Committee of Convocation to her list of credentials.

Once Pokuaa is done with her millionth degree, I’m sure she will be taking the world by storm and quite frankly, it’s about time the world got some morally grounded leaders!

And that’s a wrap folks! After putting all this down on “paper”, I’m feeling like quite the under achiever right now… so while you carry on with your life I’m going to go out there and save the world! I’m out! *does the Moonwalk*

When I grow Up

They say "quitting is for losers".
Then again, they also say "winners know when to stop"... In that case, I don't quit, I just know when to stop.
I've stopped a lot of things, subsequently qualifying as a (very good) winner.

Growing up I wanted three things in life; to be a model, an air hostess and to marry Benny McCarthy (please don't judge me, I was young and naïve).
In high school this changed and I wanted to be a doctor simply because I thought being referred to as Dr. Khumalo would sound cool. Oh, and the helping people part as well... End of Grade 10 I dropped Biology for Geography. Surely being an expert on contour lines and gale force winds would make a good doctor out of me?
Somehow, my distinction in matric Geography coupled with maths and science earned me acceptance into Wits Med School in 2006. Halfway through the year I decided medicine wasn't for me. Yeah sure I enjoyed cutting, I mean dissecting, all those animals in first year Biology but I figured there was probably more to being a doctor than dissecting a frog and enjoying it. That's when the winner in me decided to stop and I traded a white coat for a degree in commerce. A decision I don't regret.

So I've gone from wanting to b a model, to a doctor and have landed in corporate. I just wanted to be everything when I was younger so I thought it would be interesting to talk to young one's about this. First was my little brother (who's now 11), when he was eight I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he replied; "A businessman like Donald Trump". I wasn't surprised, this was the same boy who, at age 6 became a loan shark. He would lend you money from his piggy bank and accept nothing less than 100% interest...so I opted to steal his money instead...
Then there's my six year old cousin, I ask him what he wants to be he replies, "A fireman". I told him unless he wants to die broke and wife-less, he can go ahead, concerned, he quickly changed his mind and said he wants to be a security guard. I told him I'd pray for him...

Brand You

"Independent queen working for her throne" ~ Neyo


If you were a brand, what would your payoff line be?
To be the best you need to know what you stand for, what you represent, what you're willing to sacrifice and what you will not compromise on. Take me for instance; I would sacrifice my job to settle down with Will Smith. We could have a reality show and call it something original like "The Desperate Housewife of Will Smith". What? He's already married? Hmmm...ok. Plan B...



In second year I was introduced to a term widely used in Marketing: positioning. This, simply put, is how a certain brand is perceived in the minds of consumers relative to other brands. In a career context, it would be how you are perceived by a prospect employer relative to the other candidates? Unfortunately, you will never be the only one gunning for that position so it is imperative that you learn how to differentiate yourself from competition.

One question I was often asked in interviews last year was, "Why you?"
My answer started becoming a mantra I recited at all interviews. A mantra with a 99% success rate. While I would love to share it with you, it will have to stay between my interviewer and me for now. In the meantime, maybe you could come up with your own...

MissEducation

I can't recall a time when I did not know how to speak English. When I came out of my mother's womb, I believe that even my cry was that of an English tone.

Unfortunately for my mother, this was not the case. According to my dear mother, the first English phrase that she recalls learning was " he he he. I am laughing" (said in an African accent). Now my mother had no idea what this meant but she so often heard her teachers recite it that when she felt like showing off to her siblings, she would confidently chirp "he he he, I am laughing", in or out of context, based purely on luck. But who can blame my mom's lack of understanding of the English language when all they did in the Agriculture class was draw a cow?

That was in the 1970's...fast forward 2 1993. Education had seen a vast improvement. I was 5 and looking forward to finally starting (then) class one. The applications forms were sent in and I patiently waited for my interview date. In the mean time I prepared a schedule. Everyday I practiced counting, pronouncing words like my friend Lauren, learning the alphabet (with the kind help of my big brother) and writing my name. Yes, I studied hard for my class one interview...

Then the day finally came for my interview, I was prepared! I knew my ABCs, could count to twenty -error free- and not only write my name but those of my siblings too! When I got there they asked me my name and I said it in English (Zee-yan-der Coo-ma-low). Score, one to me, zero to failure. Round two was conversational. Round three they gave me a picture of a cow and instructed me to colour it in. Once I had done my best Leonardo Da Vinci impersonation -perfectly colouring within the lines- the interviewer took my paper and thanked my mom and told her the interview was done. What? That was it? After all my hard work they are going to take me back to my mom's Agriculture class era??? I was not impressed!

I got a call back! I mean, I passed the interview, and started class one (will hence forth be referred to as grade one for the younger generation) at Empangeni Preparatory School. Now I took grade one very seriously so when Mrs Cattroll started teaching us the alphabet I was probably thinking I got this, silently running through what my brother had taught me..."Ay, Bee, Cee, Dee, Eee, eF..." Then Mrs Cattroll went off "Ah, Buh, Kah, Duh, Eh, Fff...". Oh! What a waste of time! Needless to say, I spent the most part of that year unlearning what I had learnt.

So now you can see that my determination started at a young age. I've always been driven and not afraid of a little hard work.
See work started off a bit slow for me. Naturally I like having a lot of things to do, it keeps me sane for some odd reason. After my brief cry for more responsibilities at work I finally got loaded with plenty to keep me busy for a while! While some people wouldn't mind getting paid for doing nothing, I find it pointless. Where is the growth in that? To accept waking up to spend the whole day at the office surfing the net and living on social networks says something about you. Shame on you! Recently I spoke to a friend of mine who started working for an insurance company last year and spent the first couple of months doing nothing but the occasional photo copying. And she found this immensely frustrating, all she wanted to do was work! It was comforting to hear this from a young professional. We so often hear that South Africans are lazy and have low work ethic, but to know of people who actually want to work is promising. It shows that we are heading somewhere as a country. We are fortunate enough to have received an education that our parents could have only dreamed of, they have played their part, now the onus is on us to make a change in the way we do our jobs be it corporate, government or anything else in between.

P.S my mom has since perfected her English and has been using the phrase; "He he he, I am laughing" in the right context for as long as I can remember

AttitudeLatitude

It’s funny how my next blog (this one) was inspired by a hip hop song. But let us not judge, Hip Hop is a career too!

The other day I was listening to a track by Rhymefest featuring Kanye West, titled “Brand New”, and one particular line caught my attention; they say your attitude determines your latitude… Now focus on this line (the rest of the verse is pretty irrelevant)…

On Saturday night I was out with a couple of friends to celebrate a friend’s birthday. A majority of the guests were recent grads and former classmates of mine. We hadn’t seen each other since our last varsity exam so this ‘do’ also doubled as a mini reunion. Spirits were high as we exchanged our experiences of the working world, music was blaring from the speakers and this old white man (who looked like he was ready to walk to his grave) at a table next to ours was dancing like a grasshopper with epilepsy with the ten young (black)girls he had taken out for the night. Concerned.

Our table grew larger and so we had to move to a secluded section. Now most of us are in the marketing industry and one or two are in financial services. There were mixed feelings about work life, some loved their jobs others hated, while others were already experiencing office romance *clearing my throat*. And so the conversation flowed:

“The women outweigh the number of men at my office”

“There are way too many men at our office”

“People don’t dress up! What’s up with that?”

“There are so many things that I have to learn and remember”

“I’m everybody’s skivvy”

“I’m giving corporate a year and I’m out”

“I hate my job”

“It’s all so mundane”  

“We go drinking with the bosses…”

Like I mentioned in a previous post, I love my job, sure it has its ups and downs but I’ve realised that that is something that comes with every job, period. Quitting your job in the hopes that the grass is greener in the other office may not always be the best solution, sometimes you just have to stick it out and turn your complaints into opportunities. Now I’m no motivational speaker but one valuable piece of information that I can add here is that an adjustment in attitude can sometimes make a world of difference. If you are always negative about things, you might just miss the good ones while you’re busy wallowing in your sorrows. Yes it won’t be easy but sometimes you just have to look at the bigger picture; where you want to be and what you need to get there. If your job is boring, think out of the box – how can you put an interesting twist to it? Change your attitude, smile more, make a friend at the office, sign up for gym(and actually go), take up a hobby, look for how you can make a difference in the organization no matter how small. The way I see it, life is like sour worms, if you want to get to the sweetness, you have to bear with the sour part first.

It's a man's world

“This is a man’s world, this is a man’s world/ But it wouldn’t be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl”

These were the wise words sang by the legendary “Godfather of soul”, James Brown. Brown wasn’t too far off, but I can’t help but object – that’s only because men had a head start (no, I am not just saying this to console myself). This song has been playing in my head like a stuck record all week mainly due to the overwhelming number of males I’ve encountered this week when I started my first day of work in Jo’burg. I suddenly found myself adjusting my voice to sound little deeper, or quickly turning around to google a few facts about the cricket world cup, or the results of last night’s Barcelona vs Arsenal game...and when all else fails, I’ve decided to add the occasional “I know hey!” when somebody mentions how “Player A” was in good form or how “Player B” was offside (*names have been changed to protect the individuals’ identity). Ok, back to the principle of this article...

So Brown confidently lists the wonders that men have made; “cars that take us over the road...trains to carry heavy loads...electric lights that take us out of the dark...boat for the water...” As I listen to this song I think about what women have made in the past million years, then I come to an epiphany (word used for dramatic effect): it was a woman who made that man who made that car, boat, light bulb, train, so I came to a realisation, Brown and I have been on the same page the whole time! He was talking about gender equality!

On paper it all sounds good, this gender equality thing but in reality it’s not that simple. While women are trying to step up and compete with their male counter parts, they still have to report to other duties outside of work; being a wife, a mother, or both. The reality of this struck me while we were busy in a meeting and one of my colleagues asked to be excused so she could go pick up her son from school before it got too late. This got me wondering; how much would I, as a woman have to sacrifice to climb up this corporate ladder? I need some inspiration!*cues for Alicia Keys’ “Superwoman”*…

Land of Milk and Money

On the 10th of January 2011 I entered a new chapter in life: the working world. Five weeks down the line I am proud to say, I love my job! It's been really hectic, waking up at 7am, attending presentations, playing paint ball, factory visits, laughing with the directors, breakfast with leadership teams and fun workshops...yep, hectically fun! So now I am faced with two more days of this Fabulous Life of the Young Professional then reality hits!

You'll often hear people comparing working life in Johannesburg to working in other parts of this country. Johannesburg has earned titles such as "city of gold" and "concrete jungle", characterized by a fast paced life, well I've been at the other end of the radar, the Western Cape. Let me paint you a picture, today I was working with a rep in Hout Bay, just driving around makes you think you're on holiday, you're constantly surrounded by mountains and beaches. Traffic out of Cape Town subsided in approximately ten minutes, I've been here for barely a month and I have almost forgotten about life in Joburg. Then there's Stellenbosch where staying 10 minutes from work means actually get there in less than 10 minutes (note: no speed limits were exceeded). This is the life I've been living but it's all about to end as I get ready to head back to Joburg where the real work begins: now I have to learn foreign languages like Waking up at 4h30 and getting 101 guide books titled "How to make it in Johannesburg after you've been away for four months"...