The African proverb ‘Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu’, which translates to ‘I am because we are’, perfectly encapsulates Mpilo Technologies CTO Sizwe Mabanga’s belief that great leaders are shaped by their communities.
CIO South Africa recently connected with newly-minted Mpilo Technologies CTO Sizwe Mabanga. A technologist with a deep appreciation for literature, Sizwe has benefited immensely from mentorship, a principle that aligns closely with both his personal values and Mpilo’s brand ethos.
Q: Where did it all start?
A: I am a thoroughbred Sowetan born and raised in Diepkloof. I grew up wanting to be a writer of fantasy novels because Stephen King, Raymond E. Feist and Terry Pratchett were my companions during my commutes to school and back.
Fortunately, my father worked as a mainframe operator and began my computer literacy journey early, so when I finally realised during university that a writing career was riskier than I had appetite for, I was easily able to pivot to programming.
I found programming to be a perfect fit for my existing writing skillset because I imagined I was still authoring delightful stories, the only difference being that my new audience was now compilers, interpreters and other programmers.
Q: How important has mentorship been in your career, and do you actively mentor aspiring IT professionals?
A: I have several mentors I still regularly reach out to. These are often older, more experienced people, but sometimes they are just friends with unique viewpoints on the world. These people have helped me overcome a lot of feelings of inadequacy (imposter syndrome), glass ceilings and stubborn technical problems.
This aligns to my favourite Zulu saying: “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu.” It is the core maxim of ubuntu and it translates to “I am because we are.” Anyone who takes this to heart quickly realises that the greatest human achievements are the ones that we achieve together.
To make sure that this sentiment is shared in teams that I lead, I always institute structured group learning programmes that cut across experience levels and career specialisations. In these learning programmes people begin to find that mentorship is not a formal one-directional contract between two individuals, but is often something that happens quite naturally and bi-directionally in professional environments that create room for it.
Q: In an industry that is constantly evolving, how do you stay updated with the latest technological advancements?
A: As mentioned above, I view a lot of the activities around continuous learning, tech-savviness, and continuous innovation to be group activities. I believe that Mpilo Technologies would not be any better off even if I were a technological savant.
What is always of deep importance to me is the quality and richness of the conversation on the “factory floor”. My approach is thus to support that organisational conversation through group learning programmes that create the shared context for our whole organisation. It is through this rich, multi-faceted conversation that Mpilo Technologies explores evolutions and advancements within and outside of our various specialisations.
Q: Looking ahead, how do you see the role of the CTO evolving, and has it already evolved?
A: There are many leadership roles, especially in the technology space, that are transitioning away from being the biggest “boffin” in the room who knows all the things and has all the answers, to a role that is based more on the ability to facilitate technical explorations, tactical implementations and strategic outcomes.
Facilitation, as a skill in my toolset, has become indispensable to helping Mpilo Technologies and our clients produce actionable solutions that keep organisational velocity and agility high. I suspect that this facilitation skill is the most significant role evolution for all technical leadership and will have the most impact on how technical leadership is chosen and appointed going forward.
Q: As a CTO in a fast-paced industry, how do you maintain a healthy work-life balance?
A: With ‘ubuntu’ being one of the core values at Mpilo Technologies, we put the human before the worker. An unhappy human makes for a horrible worker. We thus encourage an atmosphere of honesty and psychological safety within the organisation. This empowers everyone from interns to executives to prioritise their external responsibilities in a transparent fashion that allows their internal stakeholders to manage any disruptions or delays to production.
Q: If you hadn’t pursued a career in IT, what alternative path would you have taken?
A: So... this is a difficult one to answer as I have not completely buried my other interests. I still make music on fruity loops and author the occasional article. I still aspire to create civil society organisations that will have a significant impact on Africa’s future.
Basically, I do not believe in alternative paths, because all those options are still active and on the go for me. It is just that my IT career has had the most success so far.
Q: Are there any podcasts, films, or books that have influenced your leadership style or career journey?
A: These are the books that I revisit often for their valuable insights. Agile Conversations, Good to Great, Blue Ocean Strategy, Thinking in Systems, The Power of Habit and The Great Mental Models.
Q: Do you have any interesting hobbies, and how do you unwind?
A: Outside of family, friendships and social activities that keep me grounded, I make all sorts of beats on fruity loops which segue nicely with the fact that I have enough children to create a music group, so please watch out for the Mabanga 5 album drop on your favourite music streaming app soon.
Who knows? I might also publish a book here and there in the future.
