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00:07
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Thank you. |
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00:11
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Welcome to the Standard Bank CIB Why She Leads podcast. |
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My name is Judy Lamini and I will be your host. |
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00:20
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In this series, we're looking at the powerhouse dealmakers who happen to be women. |
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00:27
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It's women who can stand their own anywhere in the world, but they choose to be at Standard Bank CIB. |
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They are inspired to inspire. |
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My guest that I'm looking forward to chatting to is Tandiwe Lihwaile. |
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00:44
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She is the head of Transaction Banking, South Africa. |
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00:49
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Morning, Tandiwe. |
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00:50
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Very good morning, Doctor. |
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00:51
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How are you? |
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00:52
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I'm well, thank you. |
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00:53
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It's an honour to have you. |
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00:55
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Yeah, privileged to be here. |
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00:57
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Yeah. |
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00:58
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You had six years as a practising attorney, and then you came here and never left. |
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01:05
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Yes. |
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What would you do differently, knowing what you know now, when you were planning your career and what to study? |
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01:17
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There's very little I would change actually, Judy. |
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01:21
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I was very deliberate about my career from a young girl in the village. |
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01:30
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I was very clear that I wanted to work for the biggest companies in the world. |
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01:37
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I wanted to be a lawyer. |
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01:40
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I equally wanted to study in the best universities of the country and I set out to do that. |
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01:47
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And when I graduated as a lawyer and I started practicing, I got exposure into corporate and I got exposure into banking but then it was about commercial litigation, it was about the drafting of contract. |
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We were working for some of the banks in South Africa. |
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And I was head-hunted from there actually because I was writing opinions about some of the banking laws that were changing at the time and therefore I feel like the legal background has actually taught me how to think, how to process problems, how to solve problems which I think I'm damn good at it. |
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02:27
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That's actually interesting because we always think of our careers based on the first professional training. |
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02:34
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Yes. |
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And we forget that it's just a thing, it teaches you how to think. |
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02:38
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Teaches you how to think. |
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I must say that when we are actually in the process of structuring a deal, I do put my legal hat at times and there will be lawyers in the room and I would challenge the lawyers because then I would be actually putting on my legal hat. |
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02:59
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But I would say largely, The law degree and actually the six years in practice helped me to solve problems because in the legal field you are given a multitude of challenges that our clients brought to us and therefore we had to apply the law to the facts and to the issue and then recommend a solution to the client. |
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03:19
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I'm very proud and I think of what I've learned and produced at the time but obviously got introduced into the bank and have never looked back since then and I'm loving it here. |
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03:31
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And it's been what? |
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03:32
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16, 19 years? |
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03:34
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It's going 18 years. |
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03:36
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Wow. |
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03:36
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Yes. |
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03:37
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That's a long time. |
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03:38
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What keeps you coming back to the same institution? |
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03:43
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Yeah. |
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03:44
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What's the pull? |
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03:46
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I'd say it's the culture. |
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03:47
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Okay. |
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03:48
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It's the culture, the Standard Bank culture, you can almost touch and feel it. |
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03:53
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Here it feels like home. |
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03:55
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It feels like home because throughout my career, I was allowed to make mistakes as I explored various solutions to the challenges of the bank. |
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04:07
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When you make those mistakes, you take accountability, you learn from them, you actually tend to make a much bigger impact on the bank when you then try to solve the problem. |
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Because we're not scared, you have the protection. |
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04:22
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And when we win the deals, we celebrate and we celebrate big. |
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04:27
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We celebrate big. |
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In my business, we have champagne months. |
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04:32
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When we hit our revenue targets or project targets, we have champagne to celebrate it because we would have worked hard. |
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04:40
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And it remunerates, actually, Standard Bank rewards the performance. |
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And when you're in a place where we're not appreciated, we're not rewarded well, you're likely to look somewhere else. |
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04:50
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And Standard Bank has not given me any reason to look anywhere else. |
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04:54
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Yeah. |
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04:54
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And growth opportunities as well. |
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have been immense. |
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04:58
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I've had an opportunity to work in the rest of Africa, in West Africa region, exposed to other cultures, so it's been beautiful. |
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In the morning I look forward to to come into this place. |
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05:11
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I kick the blankets because I'm looking to make some form of a difference. |
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05:15
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Yeah, it's amazing what you say because it matters a lot for everyone. |
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You're involved in the origination of the deal, the structuring, you're involved with mergers and acquisitions, corporate advisory. |
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05:30
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What actually talks to you? |
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05:32
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Like which aspect of that? |
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05:35
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I think the day-to-day clients, transitional banking for me is very important. |
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05:41
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We bank the biggest companies in the continent, actually, in this bank. |
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05:48
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Those that employ a lot of people. |
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And therefore just processing a salary on a salary day is very big. |
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Because a security company needs the security guys to be paid so that at the gate of your estate, there's a security who shows up to provide the security. |
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So as in many companies, we pay salaries of teachers and therefore processing a payment, a simple thing as a payment, brings a lot of stability into our clients' companies. |
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And just processing an ordinary payment, when I see one of our big retailers' trucks on the road, I know that I'm moving that truck because I've made a payment. |
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So the simplicity of banking for me moves me. |
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06:36
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It's interesting you bring small companies too like mine, you pay the salaries for my staff. |
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06:42
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Exactly. |
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And it's important to receive that din-ding on the 20th. |
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It's important, you can't miss it and therefore we have to make sure that the stability is there in terms of our systems and processes so that we can deliver a seamless client experience for our clients as well as on your employees. |
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07:03
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Yeah. |
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07:04
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Now tell me, You have mentors, I assume? |
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07:07
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Yes, I do. |
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07:08
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What's the one thing that you are happy they told you that you use in your daily life? |
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07:15
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Two things actually I would reference. |
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07:18
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One is I should forgive myself whenever I've made a mistake and that there will be setbacks and that I should not dwell on those setbacks. |
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07:31
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And what's important is the comeback. |
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and that I should come back and do my utmost best to come out of it. |
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07:40
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Because at times we tend to punish ourselves when we've gotten something wrong. |
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07:45
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And therefore, I've learned to be kind with myself. |
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07:50
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Having grown from the villages again, worked hard to come out from where I was, and success drives me. |
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07:58
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Back then, when I didn't succeed, I would punish myself. |
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08:03
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And I would spend... |
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08:04
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days weeks actually reflecting on what had gone wrong but now i'm very kind to myself i learned from the setbacks and i move on yeah that's amazing yeah and i can relate to that i think women tend to be very unkind to themselves but kind to everyone else true you've been mentored and you also mentor others correct and what have you learned from your mentees if anything I learn a lot actually. |
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I'm very deliberate with my engagement sessions with my mentees. |
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08:40
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They have to be regular, they have to be planned so that we keep at it. |
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And whenever I walk away from that conversation, I feel energized. |
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08:50
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I take an opportunity to reflect on my own journey. |
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And to the extent that there is an alignment to, or in a way, similarities on the challenges that the mentee is having to what I have. |
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09:04
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gone through, I take the time to share my own lessons and I play more of a role of encouraging the mentee to try more. |
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09:14
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And when I walk away from that conversation and if I am experiencing a challenge at the time, I take my own advice. |
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09:22
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I take my own advice and apply it. |
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Well, I have a letter from one of those mentees. |
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09:30
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This one is from Shamiso Mapanga. |
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09:32
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Dear Tandiwe, Tandiwe, you've been a guiding force in my life, showing me how to balance a successful career with personal fulfillment, all the while breaking barriers and challenging norms. |
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09:46
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Your belief in me has opened doors, pushing me to excel and leading with purpose, integrity and heart. |
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Tandiwe, you've not only taught me the importance of prioritizing both my mental and physical health. |
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10:04
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But you've also shown through your own example how living a balanced life positively influences both work and family. |
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10:14
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You lead by example, achieving remarkable success in your career while nurturing a family and well-being. |
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Beyond your advocacy for women, you lead with boldness and inspiration, rewarding success, unifying teams, and driving business growth. |
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You have inspired me and countless others. |
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in unimaginable ways. |
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I'm deeply grateful for your unwavering support and dedication to empowering women to reach their full potential. |
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10:51
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Thank you, Shamis. |
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10:53
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Oh my goodness. |
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10:55
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Oh, that's so beautiful. |
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10:58
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Really humbling. |
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10:59
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You never know how you're touching people's lives in those engagements. |
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11:05
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You think that it's a conversation. |
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You don't know how people take their advice and apply it in their personal life and work. |
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11:14
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To hear such a beautiful letter for me, it is fulfilling as well. |
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Because one thing I'm trying to do is to leave a legacy behind. |
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Because I've been helped by others before and I take the time to help others. |
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to inspire others, to guide, to mentor. |
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Because without that, sometimes we don't know whether what we're doing right, you know, and whether we're headed the right direction. |
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And getting the feedback, it's such a beautiful gift. |
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It makes it worth it. |
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11:53
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It makes it worth it. |
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11:54
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It makes it worth it. |
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12:01
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You know, when I lead, I feel so fulfilled. |
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12:09
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And when I'm able to shift a situation that is dire and I produce a positive outcome, I feel so fulfilled. |
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When I win, I feel so fulfilled. |
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And I think that all comes from that girl child that wanted to escape the villages. |
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And it fulfills me to this day. |
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And when I go back home, I try and spend time with the kids in the village in my school where I went. |
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12:47
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Because I want them too to believe that they can escape the poor, the poverty life, the dusty roads and villages of the Eastern Cape and become lawyers and head of businesses. |
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13:01
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That's my purpose. |
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13:02
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Yeah, that's amazing. |
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13:04
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It's a purpose worth living for. |
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13:06
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Yeah. |
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13:06
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I want to lead here. |
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13:07
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and I want to live in my home and I live in my village where I come from. |
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13:12
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That's amazing. |
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13:13
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You know we still have issues when it comes to gender equity, gender equality. |
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Men still lead in all sectors of our lives basically. |
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13:24
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What do you think both men and women leaders can do more to change the status quo because SDG 5 and 10 matter for all countries. |
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13:38
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How do we work closer to it as leaders across gender? |
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13:42
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I think programs such as these, Why She Leads, are very instrumental. |
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13:47
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We've got to work on women to believe that they can. |
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13:51
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They can lead, they can run businesses of the significance of business I lead today. |
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13:59
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Because we tend to doubt ourselves because of our upbringing or maybe the challenges that we... |
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14:07
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encountering. |
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14:08
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So being intentional about the women development, it's important. |
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14:15
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I didn't get here on my own. |
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14:18
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I got support, even though at the time there were no formal programs. |
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14:22
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But having somebody who recognizes my potential and say if this lady is given the opportunity and is supported, she can have a significant impact on the business. |
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14:33
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So we've got to be intentional about that. |
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14:37
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The more of women that believe that they can, we can overcome that. |
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14:42
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And then I suppose from the men's side, creating the space for women to lead and being comfortable that women can lead, being comfortable to give a woman a meaningful mandate. |
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15:00
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When I took over this business, we had a program we called Women Agenda. |
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15:05
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We wanted to ensure that we invest in the learning and development of women. |
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15:11
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So our budget was going towards women in terms of learning and development. |
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15:18
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Senior sponsorship programs towards women. |
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15:21
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Recruitment was very deliberate around women because I didn't have women largely at my table, so it's a level below. |
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15:32
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And therefore when you work with people in culture, the HR, I think somewhere else it's called, When you work with your resourcing team and you say, I actually want to attract women, I want to help them learn, you actually start to shape the leadership teams. |
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15:50
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You actually start to shape the workforce, and therefore it is being deliberate about the programs. |
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15:58
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Because naturally it's just not going to happen. |
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16:00
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No, definitely. |
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16:01
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Yeah. |
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16:01
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Definitely. |
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16:02
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No, that's profound. |
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16:04
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19 years of marriage. |
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16:07
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two kids later yes climbing the corporate ladder yeah what would you tell your 16 year old self in the village knowing what you know now well you've done well girl i would say that um there's been tough times um is i was um starting a family With my husband, we had our son on our first year of marriage, it was easy. |
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16:43
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Two pregnancies thereafter, I lost. |
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16:45
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I'm sorry about that. |
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16:46
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So there's a seven-year gap between my daughter and my son. |
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16:50
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Somehow, I think God designed it in a way that I'm able to manage it. |
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And in that seven years, one does invest in the career growth. |
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17:02
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It was not easy, I must say, because I lost the two. |
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17:06
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kids at 28 weeks, both of them. |
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17:08
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So I was quite advanced and therefore that was hard. |
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17:14
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That was hard because I felt like I was failing as a woman. |
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17:18
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I was failing to have a child and in a way kind of also blamed how hard I was working at the time because when you get married and you're likely in your middle management level and you're starting to grow your career but at the same time you want to have children. |
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17:36
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So I blamed myself a lot about the loss of those kids. |
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17:40
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But I've learned to forgive myself. |
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17:43
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I've learned to forgive myself and I had a very supportive husband who assured me every time that I was enough. |
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And I made it here. |
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17:56
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And now that I have two children of my own, in December... |
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18:02
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I've got seven children at any given point in time because I take my sister's kids and my brother's kids and my nieces and therefore they spend time in my house. |
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18:11
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I am still fulfilled. |
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18:12
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I wanted to have four children. |
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18:14
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I've got two children of my own but I've got enough space and life for all other kids in the family. |
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18:21
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So I've done very well. |
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18:23
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That's amazing. |
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18:24
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You have done amazingly well and you know you say something that's very important that I think we always have to say to young women especially how it matters to have a supportive partner. |
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18:38
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Yes. |
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18:39
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So choosing the right partner for you matters, would you agree? |
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18:42
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I've had an opportunity to have conversation with women that are struggling to fall pregnant and women that have had numerous miscarriages. |
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18:54
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And when I would encounter those women, I would ask myself, God, is this the lesson I was supposed to impart or a lesson for me too, so that I can have conversations with these women. |
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19:11
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But nevertheless, it was hard. |
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19:13
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And I think to that 16-year-old girl, I would say when these things happen, you must take it easy on yourself. |
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19:21
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You really, really have done well. |
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19:23
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I've enjoyed the journey. |
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19:25
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Yeah, and you've inspired so many. |
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by just being you, you know, and living your life, you know. |
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19:32
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I try to bring myself to work. |
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19:34
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Yeah, that shows. |
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19:37
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I bring myself. |
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19:39
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If I was to pretend to be somebody else, I would not be where I am today. |
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19:46
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I'm a hugger. |
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19:48
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I hug a lot. |
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19:50
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I love fun. |
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19:52
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And therefore, if you are to go to my office now, I've got a cupboard with whiskeys and champagne. |
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19:58
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Because we work hard. |
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20:00
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I do have tea. |
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20:03
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I do have all kinds of tea. |
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20:05
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I do have tea because we work hard. |
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20:08
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We spent eight... |
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20:10
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10 hours of our lives here at Standard Bank and therefore a moment of celebration with the team. |
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20:18
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High five and then pause and say look how far we've come and let's show up tomorrow again and do it again. |
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20:26
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That is why you can win year after year and year and year and I suppose the environment also becomes easy for people because they want to work for you. |
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20:38
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They will not come here and have fun. |
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20:40
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they want to deliver for the business you make work home home wow that's profound oh it was such an honor to meet you and may the future be even brighter than now god willing thank you very much for the conversation i thoroughly enjoyed it thank you i enjoyed it too it was an honor to meet you thank you |
