Network - Women in Mining South Africa (WiMSA‪)‬ Solid Gold Clients

We are brave - be brave with us too, please.

Raksha Naidoo (WIMSA, Chairperson 2023 - 2024) chats with Unity Makamu (WIMSA 2022 Mentee), Humbulani Havhi (WIMSA 2022 Mentee), Ndamulelo Mutshinya (WIMSA 2022 mentee), and Moyahabo Ntwagae (WIMSA 2022 Mentee) about their experiences as mentees in the Women in Mining South Africa mentoring programme 2022 and asks them what they want mentors to know based on their experiences.

These are the key things that they talked about and want mentors to know:
Asking someone to be your mentor can feel scary and it takes courage to make the ask - but it turns out that it's not as scary as they had imagined.

Mentees want mentors to reciprocate their courage by giving them tough feedback (and positive feedback) so that they can grow and learn as fast as possible.

Sometimes mentees don't know what they don't know and despite being committed to self-reflection, mentees sometimes need mentors to guide them and hold their hands, metaphorically speaking, until clarity and self-knowledge are developed.

Mentees need their mentors to verbalise their belief in them, to stretch and challenge them, and to help them see the things that they cannot see in themselves - it helps mentees in building their courage and confidence.

Sometimes mentees are scared of overstepping the boundaries or don't know where the boundaries are - they need their mentors to help clarify boundaries and what to expect from the relationship.

The conversation wrapped up with a note that most mentors will really appreciate - sometimes mentees don't pitch up and it's rarely a reflection of the mentor. Most often it's because of the mentees' own internal struggles and never due to a lack of appreciation for the time and effort that mentors invest in them.

At the recent WiMSA year-end event where out-going Chair, Petro du Pisani, handed over the reins to Raksha Naidoo, Zoya Mabuto-Mokoditoa delivered a powerful keynote address.

Highlighting Raksha's theme for the year of 'Be Bold, Be Brave, Be You!', Zoya shared her thoughts and moving message.

Please let us know your thoughts via info@wimsa.org.za

Raksha Naidoo, WiMSA Deputy Chairperson and WIMSA Mentoring Committee member chats with five of the 2022 WiMSA Mentoring Programme mentees (Ndamulelo Mutshiny, Humbulani Havhi, Ntshuxeko Unity Makamu, Vilencia Parsaraman and Moyahabo Ntwagae) about their journey in the mentoring programme.

The conversation starts with an emphasis on being intentional and how this philosophy of the mentoring programme has changed the way the mentees show up not just in the mentoring programme, but in their career and their personal lives too.

The mentees discuss how the programme has awoken an interest in personal awareness, in asking themselves who they truly are and what they bring to their careers when they manage themselves as a business.

A key theme of the programme has been #showupandshine and each mentee talks about how different aspects of the mentoring programme have helped them to do exactly this through quietening their inner critic, managing their career value chain, understanding their thinking preferences and how that influences how they communicate and show up in the world.

Vilencia talks about the impact of adopting the philosophy of managing her career as a business.
Unity elaborates on how understanding her thinking preferences has helped her engage with more impact.
Humbulani shares that the focus on self-care, burnout and setting boundaries reminded her to see the signs of burnout, and helped her raise awareness with her colleagues on the signs.
Moyahabo emphasises how the programme helped her to be more introspective and to put herself and her self-care at the forefront.
Ndamo shares how the theme on inner critic helped her separate her inner critic from herself and harness the courage to step up and show up.

The podcast wraps up with an exploration on the value of mentoring and encouragement to apply for the 2023 WIMSA mentoring programme.

Briony Liber, mentoring Lead for the WIMSA Mentoring Programme, chats with Mbali Milanzi (Tshepa Basadi Group | MD); Melody Mmesetse (WIMSA 2022 mentee and MEng Geotechnical Engineering student); Ndamulelo Mutshinya (WIMSA 2022 mentee and Anglo American Platinum | Section Ventilation Officer) about myths that seem to get in the way of mentoring relationships.

Some of the myths that get debunked in this conversation include:
- people are too busy to be mentors (it's not true - sometimes you just need to ask);
- you need to be impressive before someone will be willing to mentor you (it's not true - in fact, most people start their journey towards being impressive by asking someone to mentor them);
- mentors need to know everything and be able to mentor you on everything you want to know (it's not true - there are no unicorn mentors!);
- mentoring needs to be formal and it needs to take the form of a meeting (it's not true - mentoring can take whatever form you and your mentor decide will work for you);
- mentors are hard to find (it's not true - sometimes we just aren't looking at everyone in our networks as potential mentors).

One of the key points made in the conversation is that sometimes labelling someone as your mentor from the start, can add a lot of pressure to the relationship. Probably the most important conclusion in this conversation is that perhaps by dropping the label of "mentor", a more organic relationship can develop that serves the needs of a mentee and eventually grows into a relationship that can be labelled as one of mentoring.

This episode is one in a series of episodes focussing on Making Mentoring Matter.

Briony Liber, (Career and Self Leadership Coach, WIMSA Committee Member and Lead for the WIMSA Mentoring Programme) chats with Maria Combrink, Lauren Gamba, Vilencia Parsaraman, and Pity Pheko on the topic of what mentors want their mentees to know.

In the course of this episode they conclude that what they want mentees to know are the following: find a mentor, show up, own your journey, be vulnerable, cultivate self-awareness, expand your mindset, unlearn so that you can relearn, ask for help, take a risk, give back, be active in the relationship and reevaluate as you go.

Take a listen to this episode to hear the full exploration of what mentors want their mentees to know.

Guests in this episode:
Maria Combrink (WIMSA Committee Member, Principal Consultant - Data | CSA Global)
Lauren Gamba (Career Coach, Black Belt and Geologist)
Vilencia Parsaraman (WIMSA 2022 Mentee, Junior Process Engineer | Weir Minerals)
Pity Pheko (WIMSA Mentoring Committee Member, Production Section Manager | Thungela)

A lesson on how to navigate in a male-dominated mining work environment.

In this episode Petro du Pisani speaks to Dr. Patience Mpofu, who is a multi-award winner as one of the most influential women in Mining, and a former Vice President of an Australian listed company. She is a global mining sustainability thought leader (ESG) an IWF fellow alumni, executive leadership coach, and STEM advocate.

In this episode Dr. Mpofu gives an overview of her personal history, a story of grit and determination... and how she ended up writing her No. 1 International best seller "Unleashing my Superpowers," which teaches women how to navigate and succeed in a male-dominated mining work environment.