Nyeleti Shikwambane, IP Product Manager for Huawei at Pinnacle ICT, South Africa’s leading ICT distributor, doesn’t get an opportunity to slow down much. She keeps her household going, while juggling her career, her family and a newborn baby.
In her role, she has in-depth expertise of all the product sets in the IP space, as well as the technical requirements to ensure that all her customers’ IP needs are met. Shikwambane didn’t begin her career in technology, but rather pursued a degree in economics at the University of Pretoria after high school. Halfway through, she realised her passions lay elsewhere and discovered her love for technology, which remains with her to this day.
She has been in the networking space for over 12 years now and describes her current role as the highlight of her career, due to its well-rounded portfolio, and enables her to get involved in several areas of the business, from sales to operations.
When asked as a female leader in IT what the greatest compliment she has received was, she says she was once asked how she has become so unbreakable. “It’s funny, because as a woman, we have so many hormones are running through our body, and we are emotional beings. I took it as a compliment, but I’m not unbreakable. There have been times where I went to the bathroom to cry because someone didn't talk to me the way that I thought they should have, but I appreciate somebody recognising that when I’m at work, despite being a woman and being human, I am able to hold it down.”
When it comes to maintaining her femininity while remaining a strong leader, she believes her role at Pinnacle enables her to do both. “Your professional hat always needs to be on and off. When you’re done with the emotional stuff, you need to flush away the pity party, as one of my mentors put it, and get back to the space and do what you need to do.”
On the flip side of the coin, when asked what insult she has received that she is most proud of, Shikwambane says while not an insult per se, it would be the time when she was asked as a currently pregnant mother of three already, how she was going to cope. “It was relayed in the sense that I didn’t strike them as someone who had the capacity to manage it all, but I knew I can and would continue to juggle it all.”
She has been fortunate enough to work for several large organisations, has understood the requirement for each new role, and has learned to achieve balance. “Work is important, and my family is important. For me, it’s a 50/50 situation, which is why you’ll often find me working late hours at the office, but I have my personal cut-off time, and that is who I am. Another thing that helps me is, because I put in so many hours at work, I am able to take off the professional hat, knock off and enjoy uninterrupted time with my family. And that’s not to say the line never gets crossed, because between the two, you might find that something urgent comes up when I’m at home. My family understands, and knows that what I’m doing is to support them, and as soon as it’s dealt with, they will have my 100% attention again.”
When asked what advice she would give her 18-year-old self, Shikwambane says: “The first thing I would say is don’t be scared, go for it. This is the one thing that I'm still learning, and I've learned throughout my career. When we are hesitant in our approach we make mistakes, and this creates a lot of self-doubt. One of the best things my dad ever said to me, was: ‘My love, the one thing that I didn’t teach you, life is going to teach you, and unfortunately, life is going to be harsh.’ Our 18-year-old selves need to understand that they’ve got to be strong. They’ve got to go out there, because nothing will happen by sitting at home, and when something bad happens, you learn from it, and will be stronger and wiser for it, and will keep on thriving.”
Back in her youth, she says she was a small-town girl who just needed confidence. “Be a go getter, and never doubt. If you fail, it’s because you needed to, and you must be confident in your failure. Take ownership because that was a decision that you made. Go for it, whatever it is. It might just be a ride, but it might just be the greatest decision you ever made.”
In ending, she says to become tomorrow’s leaders, our youth need to have a drive inside them, one that shows physically in their walk and mannerisms that they are go getters who can make things happen. “Keep fighting. You need to have that fighting spirit inside of you, and if you need to be hard, make yourself hard on the outside, and keep on going. We need our youth to be go getters and emotionally strong in order for them to handle each and every hurdle that life throws at them."
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