An intervention by a tertiary registration office employee changed the course of Standard Bank SA Risk CIO Phakama Qoboshiyana's life, steering her from tourism into a career that would see her rise to the C-suite of a major financial institution.
Growing up in East London in the Eastern Cape with parents who worked as a nurse and a policeman respectively, Phakama had limited exposure to emerging career opportunities. She initially enrolled to study travel and tourism. “The idea of being paid to travel the world seemed pretty appealing,” she says.
But an employee at the registration office had other ideas. After reviewing her matric results, she closed her counter and marched her straight to the dean of the technology department, demanding that she be admitted as an IT student instead.
Faced with a firm demand rather than a request, the dean had little choice. “Her actions profoundly impacted my life, and I am deeply grateful for her intervention,” Phakama recalls.
Phakama and the dean would meet again three years later when she was being awarded the prestigious Dean’s Award for graduating cum laude.
Phakama’s now 25-year journey spans across multiple industries such as consulting, parastatals and banking. As a technology executive at Standard Bank, Phakama’s primary responsibility is making sure systems are stable and secure so customers can do their banking. “Customers entrust us with their hard-earned money, it is crucial to uphold trust and reliability,” she says.
Her days are packed with strategic planning and execution, technology oversight, managing budget, risk and stakeholders, IT service management oversight and looking after the bank’s greatest asset which is its people.
Amidst all the pressure, Phakama finds her work deeply fulfilling “I enjoy collaborating with businesses to understand customer problems and co-creating solutions through technology,” she continues.
Conquering impostor syndrome
The climb to executive leadership wasn’t smooth, though – it was complicated by Phakama experiencing impostor syndrome. “It took me years to become self-aware and build the confidence to challenge and let go of negative self-talk and limiting beliefs,” she shares.
In fact, the mountains were where Phakama really found herself. In 2014, she summited Mount Kilimanjaro, which she explains gave her significant personal insights.
This experience has informed how she leads others. “I strongly believe that one of the key outcomes of good leaders is to develop and empower others to become leaders themselves. It has been rewarding to support my management team over the years as they embrace growth opportunities and become the best versions of themselves.”
This inclusive approach has become central to Phakama’s leadership philosophy. She does annual skills reviews, ensuring technical and leadership competency gaps are filled through internal training or outsourced programmes. Future technology training is also made available.
“Balancing mission-critical delivery, staff turnover, financial goals, and upskilling time investment is a delicate dance, but with intentionality, much can be achieved,” Phakama notes.
Indirectly, she has followed in the receptionists’ footsteps of servant leadership, using one’s position to serve and support others. “Ensuring no one is left behind as we modernise our technology estate is important to me,” she explains.
Change starts intentionally
Outside Standard Bank, Phakama is also passionate about making a difference. This year, she’s focused on healthcare accessibility – a daily struggle for 84 percent of South Africans.
Through St Michael’s Anglican Church outreach programme, she helps provide loaves of bread and 12 litres of soup to Witkoppen Clinic on rotation. “This initiative aims to provide nourishment to individuals who leave home early and endure long waiting hours for medical care, often without meals for the day,” she says.
She shares that she is also working on an early-stage project with a local charity to promote reading in underprivileged schools. This stems from Phakama’s own love of reading.
She’s currently working through Atomic Habits by James Clear and No-Drama Discipline by Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson, taking her time to actually apply what she learns. Atomic Habits has helped her make daily routine changes aligned with her values and vision board goals. No-Drama Discipline is shifting how she thinks about discipline and giving her new ways to understand children’s developing minds. “Both books are easy to understand, and both have practical stories and examples that bring those learnings to life,” she notes.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of Phakama’s favourite authors, and she is inspired by “her powerful storytelling abilities, courage in tackling uncomfortable stereotypes and ability to use her talent to influence change”.
If she could follow pure passion rather than paying bills, Phakama admits she’d probably be in tourism, doing interior decorating and events planning. Instead, she finds other ways to pursue her first love.
Over the weekends, you’ll find her watching movies that take her all over the world, or enjoying a relaxing spa day. She also hikes a 10 km trail twice a month on average to stay grounded and connected with nature.
