Leadership coach Mpume Ncube-Daka, who was recently awarded the Woman in Mentor and Coach Category award at the recently concluded Woman of Stature Awards South Africa 2024, is still overjoyed by her recent win.
The ceremony was held during a glittering event held at the prestigious Indaba Hotel, Johannesburg in April.
This is because over the past 11 years since its inception in 2013, the award ceremony has made it its mission to be the platform and beacon of women empowerment and recognition of female entrepreneurs and professionals across various fields of endeavour.
Ncube-Daka said receiving the Mentor and Coach Winner Award was the icing on the cake for her as she was honoured among many other, incredible, women.
“Being named the category ‘Mentor and Coach Winner’ of the Woman of Stature Awards South Africa 2024 still hasn’t quite sunk in yet. The coaching profession is an incredibly diverse and competitive industry and this award is not just about the acknowledgement of the work I do, but also elevating the importance of coaching and mentoring. My vision and wish in life is that a whole lot of us can be able to engage a coach, and equally important is to be in a place where as a sector, engaging a life coach doesn’t have to be an expensive exercise,” she said.
With more than 30 years’ experience in corporate SA with big companies such as Unilever, Nestle, MTN, Ericsson and the MultiChoice Group, as business strategist and in other roles, Ncube-Daka has earned her stripes as one of the leading businesswomen and life coaches in the country.
However, it was the past four years which have catapulted her to even greater heights after establishing her own coaching and personal development practice, called About Change Conversations, which focuses on coaching, personal development, business strategy and leadership consulting.
When it comes to some of the key facets of her profession as a life coach, Ncube-Daka said it was all about challenging one’s mind.
“Coaching challenges your mindset. It gives you the space where you can reflect on where you are and want to go. As people and professionals, we don’t actually do that ‒ reflect on where do we really want to see ourselves, and even asking ourselves the important question of ‘why was I really brought into this world?’
“We barely take time to do that, we are caught up in just the day-to-day grind and putting food on the table.”
The KwaZulu-Natal-born entrepreneur, who previously worked as the supervisor for GIBS’ Entrepreneurship MBA programme, said accepting the prestigious ‘Mentor and Coach Winner of the Woman of Stature 2024 Award’ alongside South Africa’s ambitious and highly-driven professionals has been a special honour for her.
“The principle of coaching says ‘we all have answers within ourselves’ but sadly, as people, we find ourselves really just cruising in life sometimes, and we’re not bringing our whole self into our own lives because we don’t know to do it, something which I can very much relate to,“ she said.
The Star