The skills and positions you have mean nothing if you don’t like who you are.

Zukiswa Mandlana is the director of organisational effectiveness and innovation in the City of Cape Town. She has been the driving force behind setting up this unique department, and today leads a unique and impressive programme centred on making the organisation more value-driven. In this way, she’s helping the City to improve its leadership capabilities and to foster innovation.

The adoption of the Organisational Development and Transformation Plan has taken place under her guidance, and aims to ensure that Cape Town is future-proofed, geared towards sustainability, and seen as a city that takes a progressive approach to governance and business alike. Perhaps most importantly, the plan aims to improve the way in which the City serves its citizens — especially its underprivileged residents, who most need its support. Thanks to Mandlana’s insight, strategic thinking and diligence, many citizens are set to enjoy the improved quality of life that comes with residing in a city designed for the upliftment of all rather than just a few.

Mandlana commands immense respect from her peers, and from the team that she leads, but she maintains that it’s self-belief that’s central to success and fulfilment. “You don’t need permission from anyone to be great but yourself,” she advises others. “Allow yourself to be.”

Mandlana’s proficiency is backed up by a wealth of diverse qualifications: after matriculating from Kayamandi High School in Khayelitsha, she went on to earn a diploma in environmental health, a certificate in journalism, and years later, a master’s in business administration. She counts her MBA graduation among her proudest moments, and notes that the support of her husband and children was instrumental in this achievement.

She is also trained in project management, the implementation of corporate governance, performance management and diversity management, among other topics. This aligns with her guiding belief in self-improvement, but it’s a value that’s best understood in the context of a piece of advice that’s she’s quick to pass on: “Never stop working on yourself and building your character,” she says. “The skills and positions you have mean nothing if you don’t like who you are.”

— Cayleigh Bright