CPD Session – Leadership lessons learnt while climbing the corporate ladder – a letter to my younger self…

On the topic of leadership lessons learnt while climbing the corporate ladder, Gauteng Women In Insurance (GWII) hosted a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) session on 10 October, proudly sponsored by Old Mutual Insure.

Guest speaker, Palesa Ntoagae, a seasoned Human Capital professional who has worked in the financial services industry for over 19 years and is currently the Human Capital Executive at Old Mutual Insure spoke about the experience and the lessons learnt from her personal and professional life.

Where it all started…

“I ended up in the Human Capital department purely by chance, as I studied for a business degree and, after graduating, I applied for a number of roles just to get a foot in the door. I then landed an interview at Bidvest Logistics,” she said.

“My line manager, at the time, tasked me with designing and implementing the company's first learnership programme, and after seeing the positive and progressive human impact of giving people jobs – I decided I liked this space,” she added.

An act of kindness

“Schalk Grobler was my first line manager, and, on occasion, he would notice how early I came to work; or how I left just before the official closing time. In some instances, he would see me walk in the summer heat and rain to wait by the bus shelter, and he became curious about what it takes for me to get to work,” continued Palesa.

At the time, Palesa lived with her uncle in Soweto - the company was in Isando and so this meant she had to wake up at 4 am so she could catch the first taxi at dawn, which was 5 am. The second taxi was in Bree Street, downtown, so she could get to Kempton Park and hop on a train to Isando.

“From the train station, it was a 3-4km walk to the office and then my day would start between 7 and 8 am. It was hard, scary, and winter. During my second month of employment, Schalk offered me a salary increase and his instructions were simple, “get a licence and get a car.” And that is exactly what I did,” she said.

“To this day, that stands out as an incredible gesture of generosity, because there was no valid reason for giving me an increase. He simply wanted to empower me. My life became so much easier after that because I could focus on the job at hand instead of the worries and stress of the commute to and from work,” continued Palesa.

The most life-changing experience to date

“When I was at the JSE, my colleague at the time who’s since become my older sister, challenged me to train for Mt Kilimanjaro, to raise awareness and funds towards the eradication of period poverty. I do enjoy hiking and I am passionate about giving back to those in need, but I didn’t realise what a big difference there was between hiking and trekking!” She stated.

“The experience was a challenging and fulfilling journey of self-discovery and reflection, and I had to dig deep into the reasons for attempting to summit. The reasons changed from corporate sponsorship to personal ones about challenging myself; not giving up on myself; and doing something in service of others in a deep and meaningful way,” emphasised Palesa.

Our circumstances do not define us

“I hope that my story inspires and reminds others that if I – as a young girl from a small town in Springs, was able to ascend these corporate mountains – I’m a living testimony that our circumstances and backgrounds do not define us.  In fact – if used well – they propel us forward. Everything is entirely up to you. So, ask yourself, what would you do if you knew you could not fail?” she concluded.

See photos here