From business insights to technical deep dives and life-changing advice, these podcasts have Nkosenhle Ngongoma, divisional director of IT at City Lodge Hotel Group, Hilton Martin, chief of ICT at Ster-Kinekor, and Tiaan van Zyl, CIO at DataNoble, glued to their screens.
From Simon Sinek’s podcast on leadership and management to Vusi Thembekwayo’s difference between management and leadership, self-employed and entrepreneur, all the way to Jordan Petersons’ guide to leadership – these are just some of Nkosenhle Ngongoma’s favourite podcasts.
“The way Simon looks at the style of leadership that we are pushed to portray, which is mostly linked to financial performance, and neglect the human factor of being a leader, the empathy and caring for society and environment we operate in,” says the divisional director of IT at City Lodge Hotel Group, “he always gives a different side, which most of us in business never think about, which now has an effect on the way I make leadership-related decisions – not necessarily in IT but also in ordinary business,”
Meanwhile, Vusi’s podcast opened Nkosenhle’s mind more on his contribution in the business he works in. “His content has a genuine African perspective and his other podcasts explore global politics, social and economic factors that affect business, and how one can respond to them,” Nkosenhle adds.
However, Peterson’s Big Think podcasts have been very insightful from a project management and leadership perspective for Nkosenhle.
For Hilton Martin, chief of ICT at Ster-Kinekor, The Daily Bible, C-Suite for Christ, Ideas That Matter with Vusi Thembekwayo, Ask the CIO with Jason Miller, CIO Leadership Live, 9to5Mac Daily, On Purpose with Jay Shetty, The Joe Rogan Experience and Michelle Obama: The Light cover all the bases for him – from personal to career enrichment.
“I like the Lex Fridman podcast,” adds Tiaan van Zyl, CIO at DataNoble. “I watched videos of his lectures when he was teaching at MIT, so I relate well to him on the tech side. He also investigates politics and history, which were my majors when I did my BA. I think that I like his presentations. I’m open to seeing anyone’s podcast if it has decent production, and if the topics are interesting to me.”
Some sound advice
According to Nkosenhle, podcasts offer great business, technical, or personal development advice – but listen with caution. “My go-to podcasts constantly shape me as a person but do not define me. Unfortunately there is lots of fluff, and fluff that one has to sift through to identify the correct and relevant advice on the subject at hand,” he points out.
He highlights that both Peterson’s and Sinek’s podcasts on leadership and management have influenced lots of his daily decisions, directly and indirectly.
“I think podcasts have the power to influence us quite deeply,” says Tiaan. “Everyone in our CIO forum is ambitious and understands the value of learning. With podcasts, we get time with the most influential people in the world. We get to learn how successful people do things, and the long format allows for much detail.”
Hilton agrees. “Podcasts keep me focused and grounded spiritually, mentally and technically. However Vusi Thembakwayo’s advice to ‘always believe in yourself and never give up on your dreams’ remains with me,” says Hilton.
“I think the impact of our learning is gradual and happens over time, rather than singular big ‘aha!’ moments,” Tiaan notes. “There are so many bits of wisdom shared in podcasts that we naturally aggregate them, and they become part of us. Learning to lead and make good decisions is a never-ending endeavour.”
Keeping abreast with all things tech
Podcasts can also help CIOs stay ahead of industry trends, technological advancements or leadership strategies.
“For industry trends and technological advancements, I rely mostly on TED talks and CIO Mind including cio.com podcasts, which align with most research, but now will have industry leaders sharing their experience and what has worked and not worked for them. For leadership strategies I rely on the podcasts I mentioned above on leadership,” says Nkosenhle.
If you're an IT leader looking for your next inspiring and entertaining podcast, Hilton and Nkosenhle have you covered:
“REDD Digital, Preparing yourself for your first 100 days as a CIO – this podcast helps prepare a generic plan of your first 100 days in a CIO position, this structure fits perfectly with most organisations, although there may be conflicting priorities from your plan and what the business expects from you,” says Nkosenhle.
“CIO Mind, The Gartner CIO Podcast, keeps you informed about the latest technological advancements and processes, CIO Leadership Live speaks about continuous upskilling of the CIO in this ever-evolving technological age, and Ask the CIO with Jason Miller offers ongoing education to become a more capable and insightful CIO,” Hilton concludes.
