Never tell your boss you have nothing to do, and other lessons well worth learning
I was introduced to Mishinga Seyuba Kombo by an acquaintance. She works as an intrapreneur at the Pick ‘n Pay group, in their Enterprise Development Academy.
Mishinga’s job is help small business owners who manufacture great products to get these onto the shelves of Pick ‘n Pay. I first met her when she came to my YouTube show as a guest, to talk about procurement for retail and the wholesale sectors.
Our first meeting was tense and awkward. I haven’t had the privilege of working with or meeting people of colour who were successful. Mishinga was my first experience. I only read about such people in magazines.
Mishinga appeared as though she was saying, “Please don’t waste my time” with her body language. I was so nervous that in the first few minutes of our interview I kept stumbling.
I didn’t want to waste her time and I wanted to impress her, to show her that I knew what I was doing. Mishinga smiled and told me to relax and take my time. It was only that sisterhood she afforded me that allowed me to relax and the interview flowed smoothly.
A few days later, she sent me an email and thanked me for the opportunity, complimented the good job I was doing with the show and told me she had had a great time. She came back on my show for another interview and this time around she was more relaxed and friendly.
I then realised she had not intended to intimidate me in our first meeting, but she is just a busy person.
I later witnessed this firsthand when I worked on a project with her. Pick ‘n Pay was celebrating 50 years in the business. Mishinga had a task of putting together a booklet, focussing on small business owners who supply the group with products. My role was to help with content. I was working alongside the Communications Manager, and Mishinga was overseeing the project.
During those few weeks, Mishinga gave me complete autonomy. She went away for a week, leaving me freedom to do what I needed to do. In the short period we worked together, she taught me a great deal about discipline, dedication, and respect for one’s craft.
I had the privilege to watch her in action, juggling work and family. Her leadership is also one of “open door policy” and she makes it easy to learn from her. She also imparted a few lessons during our brief chats while sharing lunch with me in the company’s kitchen.
One of the lessons was this, “Never tell your boss you have nothing to do”. Since I have no boss to answer to, as I run my own laundry business, I apply this lesson by ensuring that I am accountable to both myself and my customers by keeping my word.
This in turn, makes my customers trust me. I’ve had many referrals and as a result, my customers have multiplied.
Mishinga walks the journey with these business owners, some of them who are not ready to supply Pick ‘n Pay. Having Mishinga guide them is invaluable to their journey. She plays the role of coach and mentor to them.
Watching Mishinga interact with these entrepreneurs, I learnt the importance of having people who believe in your vision as much as you do. I have a few people I regard as mentors and I speak to these people when I need to make big decisions. These people push me out of my comfort zone and propel me forward.
These are the people who have been in the business for longer than I am and they help me avoid some of their mistakes. They also help me get connected to their networks, making things a little easier.
Mishinga taught me that you can be highly accomplished and still be a hero for the underdog.
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