Vodacom Group CHRO Matimba Mbungela took the delegates through his career journey and shared valuable insights on the evolving role of HR practitioners, the importance of gaining enterprise-wide knowledge, the value of humility and how HR practitioners should leverage smart applications such as AI to enhance their productivity and stay ahead of the curve.
Technical aptitude and excellence can accelerate one’s career in the HR field, but to reach and operate at the chief HR officer level requires an HR practitioner to transcend beyond functional expertise, said Matimba Mbungela, CHRO at Vodacom Group.
Matimba made these remarks during a one-on-one fireside titled: Think like a CHRO at the HR Indaba at the Sandton Convention Centre.
“To reach and stay at the pinnacle of the profession requires commercial understanding, strategic thinking, influence and the ability to operate confidentially at the highest level of the organisation. It is about having an enterprise-wide thought process. You can never measure success based on the HR programme you are running. You must always consider whether the organisation you serve has the capacity to deliver on what it plans from an HR perspective. I have been asked whether HR has a seat at the table, and my answer is that there is no table without HR,” said Matimba.
He said that, as an HR executive, it is important to have the requisite commercial skills to serve as a trusted counsel to the organisation, absorb information, provide guidance and be someone the CEO can bounce ideas off, not only on people decisions but also on complex business decisions.
He implored HR practitioners to stretch themselves by considering what the business aims to deliver and the capabilities required to achieve those goals. He emphasised that there is no business strategy without an HR strategy.
Matimba stressed the importance of continuous learning, urging delegates to remain curious beyond their areas of expertise and influence. “If you don’t, they will not miss you at the table and you will lose relevance based on your lack of technical capabilities,” he said.
Importance of commercial acumen
He noted that commercial acumen is often confused with understanding and using technical jargon, but cautioned that it goes beyond that. “In Exco I enjoy contributing to topics outside of my own area,” Matimba joked.
“Make it your business to understand the belly of the organisation and ask yourself basic questions like, ‘How does this organisation make money?’ If you don’t know, go and ask. Once you understand that, you can work on ensuring that the organisation is equipped with the right capabilities to deliver on its strategic objectives. Understanding the operations of the organisation enriches your conversations, making them more relevant and strategic,” said Matimba.
Defining moments
Matimba recalled being barred from attending a meeting by a former CEO during his tenure at a previous organisation because he was a minute late. Having come from an organisation where he was a high achiever, he said the experience was a bitter pill to swallow. Although the encounter rattled him, he acknowledged that it became a defining moment that reminded him of the importance of humility.
”We sometimes need moments like that to be humble,” he stated. “Defining moments don’t often come with success; they come from being humbled. The truth is that you need some challenging moments to humble you, to refine your thinking, more so when you have been on a successful trajectory,” he added.
Curiosity did not kill the cat
Matimba emphasised that success requires recognising the support structure around you rather than pushing ahead alone. “Sometimes we overestimate what success looks like, and you think that it’s just about you without thinking about the ecosystem around you,” he said.
Matimba said that throughout his decades-long HR career, he had to unlearn many things and concedes that curiosity will help you unlearn.
“Unlearning things starts with being curious. It is also critical to understand trends such as the emergence of AI, which presents us with an opportunity to unlearn some of the old habits and assign mundane tasks to tools that make us more efficient and productive. When you are curious, it is easier to let go of old habits because you can adapt and unlearn habits that keep you stuck in the current. If you don’t unlearn, you’ll remain in the current and the future will go past you,” he said.
