Malebogo believes that “Many individuals, like uncut diamonds, have shining qualities beneath a rough exterior, they just need to be discovered’’. She is an industry leader in human capital development, having worked for large global entities such as Anglo American, Standard Chartered, Debswana, and now currently serving as the Group Head – Talent Management and Learning for DeBeers Group based in London. Through her experiences in leading major business transformation and organization review projects, she is currently re-imaging alternative ways to nurture and manage talent from early entry to C-Suite level using the power of social capital.
What are you currently reading?
The 100-year life by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott. It is helping me to spend time interrogating my financial status, the social capital I have, my professional interests, values, career growth options and more importantly my health.
What is your favourite way to recharge?
Travelling. That way I get to unplug whilst building new human connections with other people by learning about their culture, food, history, language and the way they live their day to day lives. Traveling helps me to gain a greater understanding of myself to create a feeling of wholeness within my own individuality.
Who or what has inspired you this year and why?
I am inspired by Carla Harris. She is a black woman who has navigated the leadership ladder in an industry historically dominated by white males. She understands the importance of bringing diverse talent to the table and is a fierce champion for the advancement of women and people of colour, within the financial services industry. In many ways I can relate to her story, being a black female who works in a predominantly white male industry. To come to where I am, there are many obstacles and unconscious biases I must overcome. Secondly, I believe leadership is about advancing the course of others. The work she is doing of removing barriers for other women of colour and using her voice to advance their course, resonates with me and embodies who I am as a person – standing for each other’s success, especially the under-represented is my personal mantra!
What is your biggest source of motivation?
My biggest source of motivation is my very own thoughts. My thoughts impact my actions, behaviour and most importantly how I treat and interact with others. As a result, I am intentional about what I feed my thoughts. Anything that will fill my mind with thoughts of defeat, failure, self-pity, external validation – I eliminate. Thoughts that are about excellence, achievement, victory, self-validation – I embrace and play in my thoughts repeatedly. I remind myself constantly that my thoughts become my words. My words become my behaviour. And my behaviour becomes my habit. That anchors me to embrace thoughts that drive me to advance and evolve as a person.
How would you describe a typical day?
It is spent in lots of meetings, mostly on Teams calls or occasionally face to face. Thereafter it is about making time to meet with business leaders, HRBP’s and my peers to provide advisory support, thought leadership on matters under the portfolio I handle. Time is also spent in meetings with my team discussing our strategic priorities, progress against agreed deliverables, including one on one discussions around where they need my support and guidance as the leader. In between all that I try and find time to respond to the emails that hit my inbox – fast and furious. Fridays are declared my “no meetings day” and that’s when I have the head space to respond to emails, work on presentations, reports and all the work that requires me to think! That is a day in my life!
What’s one thing about you that most people don’t know?
I can’t hit the right note with my voice if my life depended on it (I’m glad it doesn’t). My daughter once secretly recorded me singing and laughed so much on the background as she was recording because it sounded so funny. But I sing anyway. Often. Loudly. And yes, it still sounds funny. My family finds it hilarious – most times. Sometimes, plain annoying!
What’s one thing about your organisation that you wish more people knew?
The role that it plays in the countries, in which we operate, especially our producer countries. The stories behind the people that mine the diamonds, the diamond for good story is a narrative that needs to be shared more widely and be better understood, especially by our customers. De Beers is an organisation that balances the importance of achieving both commercial value and social value.
What habit have you picked up during the pandemic that you will maintain in future?
Stop counting the days and start making the days count! Sadly, the pandemic claimed the lives of so many souls. They all had dreams. Regrettably most of them did not realise all those dreams. The pandemic has really taught me to stop counting the days until something happens or gets done, and instead start focusing on making each day count as it is happening. When I have the willingness and ability to do something, I act, without hesitation. I don’t wait for the perfect time. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. I make the time I have right now count. I am now doing all the things I wanted to do but kept postponing because my work kept me busy all the time. I am grateful for each day. I claim it. I embrace it. I make it count!
How has your perception about the world of work evolved over the past three years?
In 2019 The International Workplace Group (IWG) released their annual Global Workplace Survey report, which revealed that 70% of professionals globally work remotely at least one day a week, and more than half work remotely at least half of the week. Working remotely is therefore not a new concept, it is just perceived differently, and has increased in the past three years. Companies considered those who worked from home and those who worked in the office, as separate entities. They invested their resources on the workplace experience of the physical workplace, while disregarding the home workplace environment. However, the pandemic has changed that perception. Everyone in the organisation was forced to work from home, and therefore experienced the importance of creating a working environment and culture for all employees, regardless of where they work.
What is undoubtedly clear is that in the past three years, resources have been and continue to be invested in ensuring that the corporate culture is consistently felt by all employees, anywhere, especially in today’s world where equity, inclusion and diversity is critical.
Where do you see the biggest opportunity to transform the way we work?
Digitisation and technology are the biggest opportunity to transform the world of work. The first is to build digital skills. We have to help our employees upgrade their skills and develop new ones. The second is leadership. Digital brings leadership styles that are different from the conventional ones. We have to shift from a somewhat top-down management to a more collaborative style. The third is attracting new digital talent. We have to complement our build strategy with buying from the market, especially where such skills do not exist in the company. Digitisation brings new approaches to hiring, developing, leading and engaging employees.
If you’re looking for new ideas, fresh perspectives and insights on the future of work, then you’ll want to attend HR Vision Events.
