Mandisa Masilela: A Passionate Tech Leader Who is Changing the Status Quo

Mandisa Masilela is a passionate tech leader who is changing the status quo. She is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in the tech industry, and she is committed to creating a more equitable workplace for all. Mandisa is also a mentor and role model for young women in tech, and she is inspiring them to pursue their dreams.

In this blog post, we will learn more about Mandisa’s background, her passion for tech, and her advice for young women in the industry. We will also hear from Mandisa about her vision for the future of tech and how she is working to make it a more inclusive and equitable space for all.

I hope you enjoy reading this blog post and learning more about Mandisa Masilela!

Tell us about your background; Your humble beginnings

I started my career as a Business Analyst graduate at a software house after graduating from the University of Pretoria. I then moved into the IT consulting space which has been the bulk of my career.

What are you passionate about?

I’m passionate about analysis, data, and privacy. Outside of tech, I am a  poetry and music fanatic.

How did you come about having a tech career?

My LO teacher in high school took us through a couple of careers, IT caught my attention. I then took IT in high school and later discovered the various streams I could go into and the rest is history.

What do you love about your job?

The ability to enable change and the challenge that comes with that.

What traits or skills does one need to grow in this field?

The industry is continuously changing and keeping abreast of new developments and improving your skillset is important. So I would say be adaptive, curious, and enjoy learning.

Set goals and be responsible for your growth. There are always people ahead of you willing to assist you with getting you where you want to go; ask for help.

Be persistent, it won’t be easy but always remember what your end goal is.

Most importantly believe in yourself, you’ll make mistakes, and you’ll also achieve great things; take all of it in your stride as lessons. Outside Affirmation is nice and plays its role, but your belief in yourself is the most important.

What is the most challenging thing about your job, and what have you done to overcome it?

I held several roles and they all had their challenges. I would say overall the change management, aspect of it, change is not easy for anyone. However, communication is key, and ensuring that you take people on the journey with you and building relationships is important. You can never achieve things alone, so building those relationships with stakeholders is important.

Who do you look up to? And how have they contributed towards your growth?

So many people, how much time do you have, haha?  the interesting thing is that they’ve all come at different stages in my career, some of them have become consistent people that I am still in touch with, and some I haven’t seen in a while. They, however, have one thing in common, they’ve shared their time to either help me improve a particular skill or sometimes simply had conversations with me.

A fun fact about me is I learn through asking questions so conversations are my favourite way of learning something new and the perspective I get from them is something I treasure. I’ve also been lucky to work with people who are great at what they do and have been generous with their time and knowledge

How important is it to surround yourself with a community of like-minded people?

It’s extremely important, you cannot achieve things alone. In a community, you can learn from other people and also share your knowledge. Invest the time to find your community, it doesn’t just happen.

What do you want to be remembered for?

Changing the status quo, for a couple of years I struggled with feeling I needed to have one interest and now I embrace that I’m multifaceted and the many forms it takes.

Secondly, a career beyond myself is something I deeply resonate with; I am still in tech because of supportive leadership, and environment(s) that allow me to be and flourish. I would like to play it forward in whatever way possible big/small.