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When the odds are stacked against you, there is still a way you can make it to the top – identify the people who can help you, and find the tools you need to make it happen.
This is how Shirley Machaba, newly appointed CEO of auditing firm PwC, made it to the top.
During her speech on the topic of bridging the gender gap and on the secrets to smashing the glass ceiling at the Standard Bank 2019 Top Women Conference in Johannesburg last week, Machaba said: “You will know that, while we say we are fully represented here, woman leaders in business only amount to 4%, and we still have 20% of businesses in the cooperate space where there are no women in leadership positions.
“My view is that everyone has a different glass ceiling. ‘Glass ceiling’ can mean anything to anyone. It can mean a promotion to an executive position; it can mean being recognised for good work or even being treated fairly. However, it is important that, in that situation, you identify the people, the environment and the situations around you that will help you actually smash that glass ceiling,” she said.
“I am very happy to say that I got that tool at PwC, so I can at least smash that glass ceiling. So that’s why I am saying that I don’t have a winning formula. However, I got to where I am because I identified the people who could help me, and the tools.”
Ascending to the CEO’s office at the auditing firm wasn’t all smooth sailing for Machaba.
She was raised by her grandmother and was expected to fulfil certain responsibilities as the eldest of her siblings.
In that environment, studying for her articles in chartered accounting was a challenge, Machaba said.
Read: Shirley Machaba: A head for numbers
“Back in those days, if you did not raise your hand, you didn’t get anywhere.
“I served my articles in Pretoria, where most of the clients were Afrikaans. I remember the first client I got was [the now defunct] Saambou Bank and I had to do everything in Afrikaans. As I went through the financial statements, I had my dictionary right next to me. Whenever I didn’t know what something meant, I consulted my dictionary so that I could translate the information into English. And that is how I changed my whole way of thinking.”
Machaba puts her success down to not having a “no, I can’t do it” attitude.
“I can safely say to you that my articles were very empowering, mostly because, in those days, it was unlikely you’d find many black trainee accountants being exposed to central banks,” she said.
Today, she runs her career like a business.
“I have a strategy in place. I have to know where I am going. I have to know how I am going to get there because, even if you have a strategy but you do not know where you are going or how you are going to get there, it just becomes paper that sits in a drawer,” she explained.
But getting there “involves a lot”, she says. She adds that it’s important to find a mentor. She also keeps herself updated with what’s happening in the world, and has ensured she has created a brand for herself without losing herself.
“To this day, I still raise my hand. I raised my hand for the position of CEO for PwC. Somebody identified potential in me and, since then, I have not looked back. I was also confident in myself – I knew I was good enough to do this job.”
Machaba realises the effect she can have on the younger generation, and she is a mentor to many.
“As a woman CEO, I believe that I am a game-changer. I have to make sure that even the conversations in the boardroom are different, and I believe that this is just the beginning for me.
“If I can show the women in our organisation that the glass ceiling is something we all have to work together to break, then I will have succeeded in creating nurtured and developed young leaders for tomorrow,” she said.
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