Tell me what you do at work each day.
My day starts with morning calls to various teams — this is the time to recap, motivate and touch base. As part of the morning routine I also go through my e-mails. At about 9am, I meet the executive committee team and follow up on strategic initiatives.
Planning, strategising and continuous evaluation are central to our success. Each morning is an opportunity waiting and another chance to move forward. From 5pm onwards, we do follow-ups on strategic initiatives.
Your company operates hospitals. How did the pandemic affect your company and the way you work?
Covid-19 affected all of us one way or the other. From the company’s point of view, the pandemic affected us badly as we lost some colleagues as a result of [it]. This moment required me as a leader to be more proactive in ensuring that everyone was protected by getting personal protective equipment (PPE).
We had to have a contingency plan in place to ensure that we reduced the pressure on the limited number of employees we had and also ensure that their emotional, spiritual and psychological wellbeing was taken care of during this challenging time.
The way we work had to move from physical to virtual as movement was restricted and also to minimise physical contact. This gave us an opportunity to re-look the future of hospital operations.
What do you think makes you good at your job?
Respect for people and my ability to work with an amazing team of colleagues. I believe in my team, and I’m only a leader because they support my vision. The mutual respect we have for each other makes it easy to communicate and understand the issues at hand. Furthermore, networking with various stakeholders has yielded positive results for us.
How did you end up doing the work you do?
It is a case of “from humble beginnings”. It started with sorting out one hospital and in no time I ended up fully immersed in hospital management as I identified a shortage of capacity. Thankfully, a group of people bought into the idea, and today I am grateful for their support, which ensured that the vision became a reality.
What character traits do you look for when recruiting?
The basic recipe includes self-starters with basic skills in accounting and documentation, innovators and team players; stakeholder liaison is an added bonus. We pride ourselves as being out-of-the-box thinkers, so our home is full of new ideas in the quest for ways to outmanoeuvre the competition.
Team players who are willing to do the work, do so wholeheartedly and go the extra mile when needed. This is one of the things that makes us stand out in our sector.
What is your go-to career advice?
Build a vision and be open to various routes to get to the destination. Be humble and be a good listener. Always strive to be credible in your dealings. I have grown to understand that we are human before we are workers (even more so during the pandemic). With that in mind, treat your team with respect and understanding.
