What I have learnt in my 21 years of working

beginning of September 2017 marks 21years of my formal working career. Here is what I have learnt over the years.

A great attitude makes all the difference

Growing up in my mother’s home, I was required to do chores. It was up to me to grumble all the way or to be positive about it and do my chores; it was more fun to do my chores in a positive attitude. At form 2 (equivalent of grade 9) I wrote the Zimbabwe Junior Certificate national exams and I failed mathematics. Luckily I still made it into the science class for the O’levels. In Zimbabwe for one to pass O’Level, you need to get 50% and above in five subjects including Mathematics, English Language and Science. The reality was for one to get a place in the best A ‘Level schools during the sixth form selection process which at that time was only merit based, you needed to get at least 5 distinctions at O’Level. My best friend James Chapuma taught me that I had to change my attitude towards all my teachers in the 8 subjects that I was doing, every subject mattered and counted towards getting 5 As. My Building studies and my Shona teachers started to like me as my grades improved. I had hated Building studies and Shona with a passion before then.

In July 2007, I resigned from my middle level management job in Zimbabwe and I came to South Africa and started a job at the level of a clerk and I have stayed at that level since. It was a big adjustment and I had a lot of disappointments when a number of employers would not consider foreigners for many suitable vacancies. I also attended a few internal management interviews and I always got the same feedback, “you are not visible!” I can guarantee that you won’t see me standing on top of a desk shouting and pretending to be someone who I am not. With every disappointment, I never lost focus of who I am and I never felt defeated. I continued to work even harder. In 2011, I won the overseas top performers award at work and I went for an 8 day long holiday to Thailand with my lovely wife. I went on to win the award two more times. People must realise that life is not fair; it is up to you as an individual to choose to be positive and make something with your life, each and every day you must choose to have a great attitude no matter how many hurdles that are placed in your path.

Even during my time as a teacher, I always had more respect for learners who struggled with the study material but had a positive attitude than for learners who quickly understood the concepts but did not care. A positive attitude is infectious to all those around you, whereas a bad attitude stinks. Even in a marriage you must have a positive attitude to life for all those up and more so for the downs.

It is okay to fail

In early 1996, my A ‘level results came out, I had passed all my three science subjects with lower grades, I did not make it to the University of Zimbabwe. I could not qualify even for a general BSc degree. This was the first time that I had failed to progress and I was crushed and I felt sick for a few months, I now know what I suffered from then is called depression. That experience of failure helped me the following year when I joined the insurance industry. I had to sacrifice and raise the foreign currency required to pay for the insurance studies. It was important for me to get a qualification. Five years later, I was able to get my first management role in the insurance industry.

 In 2007 when the economic situation became dire in Zimbabwe, I did not have to apply for SAQA evaluation as I already had a South African qualification and within a few weeks I obtained my quota work permit from South African embassy in Harare. In late 2009 when I decided a career change and enrolled for the Accounting degree, I would come home drained from work and I would remember the disappointment I felt after A ‘level and I would study late into the night. In 2014 I successfully completed my degree. Even though I could not secure a place to train as an article clerk, I had learnt about accounting which is very important in any business environment. I hope that I can still remember that defeat as I struggle to complete the LLB degree that I am currently enrolled for as well as the MBA degree that I am now finally going to enrol for again.

All experiences matter

In September 1996, I got my first formal job as a secondary school temporary teacher in the Ministry of Education of Zimbabwe. I got the job because I had passed Building Studies at O’Level and sciences at A’ Level. I had hated the subject Building Studies in the early years of secondary school and the irony was that it was the same subject that helped to take me and my siblings out of poverty when I started earning a decent salary. I went on to briefly train as a printing apprentice for 5 months. Working a 12 hour night shift in winter and having to touch near freezing water when cleaning the printing press. Standing in front of the machine monitoring the papers being printed, knowing that if you doze off and fall onto the machine that would be the end of your life. This is my reference of hard work and I have worked for 6 Insurance companies and whenever I hear people complaining about too much work, I always remember the real hard work that I experienced in the 5 months I worked as a printing apprentice at NCR Zimbabwe’s division  NCR Systemedia.
  

My first insurance job was at Eagle Insurance as a trainee underwriter and later claims clerk between December 1997 to May 1999. During that time, our parent company SA Eagle became part of Zurich Financial Services Group.  Companies were getting rid of typing pools and all underwriters would now get personal computers and type documents on their own. We would complain as to why we were required to go for keyboard skills course. Now almost 20 years later keyboard skills are so important for me in the call centre where earnings are performance based, I am so grateful that I got to do the training. At AIG Zimbabwe from around 2001 to 2002, I was a corporate claims examiner and my job involved writing reports for big claims and also claims in various classes of insurance such as fidelity guarantee, professional indemnity, Liability insurance, marine insurance etc. The reports would be sent to a senior claims manager somewhere in Europe. At first it was a daunting task and I would come to work over weekends to read the assessor's report before writing my brief report . By the time I became a manager in November 2002, I already knew how to write my reports thanks to my experience at AIG.

From November 2002 to December 2003, I worked as an Account Executive at Zimbabwe Insurance Brokers. This was my first management role, I was reporting directly to the General Manager Retail Broking. I  was managing the Personal Lines team, I learnt to manage people as well to interact with clients. By the time, I joined Zimnat Lion Insurance Company as an underwriting manager in January 2004, my experience as an Insurance Broker helped me a lot to deal with brokers as I could relate from my frustrations I had when I was dealing with insurance companies and having to serve clients at the same time. As an Insurance broker one of the best insurance managers that I dealt with was Mr. AZ Shoko then he was the marketing manager at Altfin Insurance Company. In my book he is the best insurance marketer I have ever worked with. Imagine my luck the following year when I joined Zimnat Lion, he also joined as the AGM and the head of our business unit and I was his number 2 and I learnt a lot from him.

People do give you a benefit of doubt

In late 1997 during my time as an apprentice, I responded to an advert in The Herald newspaper for trainee underwriters. I went very late to the employment agent after my shift had ended; he interviewed me on his way out. He slotted me for one of the last interviews with the Human Resources Manager at Eagle Insurance Company. For the week of the interview I was working night shift, during the day, I would go to the offices of the Insurance Institute of Zimbabwe to learn more about insurance. I passed the interview with the human resources and I was invited again to be interviewed by the operations managers. The two Operations managers who interviewed me were Ms Pat Saukila and Mr. Nedziwe. I started the job in December 1997.

Whilst I was ZIB, I would go with the Managing Director Mr. Nyakudya or the General Manager Mr. Mapani to visit VIP clients. During my time at ZIB I had the privilege of serving many prominent Zimbabweans. Some of my clients were the late Professor Walter Kamba, I also doing insurance for MPs one day my hero Job Wiwa Sikhala what a humble gentleman came to my office to collect his insurance cover note when he was still a member of parliament. I also served writer Ignatius Mabasa when he was moving from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and he joined The British Council as a Deputy Director. I met a number of CEOs and senior Managers for parastatals eg NSSA, IDC, ZESA, ZIMDEF (It was unbelievable how big the office of the head of Air Zimbabwe was), private sector including within SMM holdings which was the parent for our group at that time and it was a privilege to meet all these people.

At the end of 2003, I completed my Associateship exams. I was informed of a vacancy for an Underwriting manager at Zimnat Lion Insurance Company. Zimnat Lion then was the second biggest insurance company in Zimbabwe and was also listed on the stock exchange. I took a chance and applied for the position even though I doubted that I had the required experience. I had started my insurance career as a trainee underwriter at Eagle insurance company, I was moved to claims by Mr. Nedziwe after two young men where told to resign with immediate effect. In June 1999 I joined Diamond Insurance Company as a claims processor. In April 2000,I joined AIG Zimbabwe firstly as Farming claims examiner, then Motor Claims Examiner and finally as a Corporate Claims Examiner. In November 2002, I had joined ZIB as an Account Executive. At Zimnat Lion, I was interviewed by the Human Resources Director Mrs. Lynn Mukonoweshuro and the Late Willard Madanha the AGM who would be my direct boss. I got the job and started on the 1^st of January 2004.

Joining Zimnat Group had special personal significance for me. A few years before my father passed on, he signed up for a life insurance policy from a Zimnat life Assurance Company agent. My father nominated me and my mother as the co-beneficiaries of the policy. When he passed on at the end of 1990, after the estate duties, the balance was shared equally between my mother and me. As a minor my share of the inheritance from the life policy was administered by the Master of High court and every start of the school year, I would go with my mother to the offices of the Master of High Court in Harare with invoices for school fees and school uniforms. 14 years after my father’s death, I would join Zimnat group as a middle level manager.

When I was still working in Harare at Zimnat Lion, I am so grateful for the help I got from insurance brokers. Among the people who helped me so much is Mr. Ish Makuzwa when he was still the General Manager at Aon Zimbabwe. When our second son was born in December 2004, I named him Isheanesu. Also the rest of the team at Aon head office assisted me greatly including Munyaradzi Maunze, Shelton Madiyiko, Victor Shonhiwa, Shame Nyamagodo, Sheila Moyo and many more. At Marsh Zimbabwe it was Mr. Temba Chibare and his team. At Care Insurance Brokers it was Mr. Nousenga and his team. At Capitol Insurance it was Mr. Allen Chipangura and his team. At Pat Lister it was Russell Lister and his team. I was also helped by many more brokers and unfortunately I can’t mention them all. I also got incredible help from the reinsurers especially Mr. Tarupiwa Tarupiwa and his boss Mr. Mufaro Chauruka at Zimre Reinsurance Company.

 One day Mr. Winston Makamure who at the time was an agent for Zimbabwean international footballer Peter Ndlovu among other players, was referred to my office on the fourth floor. I did not know why he was referred to me as I was not dealing with direct clients, regardless I listened to him explaining the new cover that he was now required to take by FIFA, it was not a conventional insurance cover. I had an idea what we could for him and I picked up my phone and dialed Tarupiwa at Zimre Reinsurance and we agreed to a 50/50 coinsurance and the policy wording and we issued the cover to him. Around the same time, Russell Lister came with a proposal for tobacco hail insurance scheme, I organised a business lunch with Tarupiwa and Russell at Dolce Vita restaurant at Avondale Shopping centre and we talked a lot more on this cover. By the end of that year we agreed to the cover in time for the tobacco farming season.

In 2005, as the lead underwriter for Zimasco which at that time was one of the biggest Insurance accounts in Zimbabwe, I visited the imposing Zimasco Smelter Plant in Kwekwe as part of the survey team. This was surreal for me as 15 years earlier; I had started my high school at Manunure High School about 1km away from the smelters when the company was still then known as Union Carbide. That same year, Mr. Nousenga from Care Insurance Brokers invited me for a survey to Hwange Colliery Company; this was a good sign that he was considering our company to insure such a big client. I remember the surreal moments when I climbed on top of the massive drag line that we had learnt about in geography studies at O’Level. We also went to the underground mine, viewed the continuous miner machines, the huge conveyer belt and the massive cocking coal plant. I remember the laughter in the board room when the risk manager in me asked where they got the water as I had not seen any dam around. The following morning, we then visited the mighty Zambezi River and got a chance to see the massive water pump that pumped water to the town.

In April 2006, I was transferred to Bulawayo as the branch manager. I got a lot of assistance from Trust Insurance brokers from the Managing Director Nick Marsh and his management team from Dave Judge, Charles Mulele, Xolani Ndiweni and the rest of the team. At Aon Zimbabwe I was helped by Joseph Shumba, Chris Dzvene and the rest of the team. Many more insurance brokers in the Bulawayo market and the agents in Beitbridge, Gwanda, Plumtree, Hwange and Victoria falls helped me a lot. In all my roles, I had the support of my managers as well the team members who reported to me. Being a branch manager was daunting especially after the realization that now all decisions from claims, underwriting, credit control, marketing, personnel management, public relations e.tc. fell all on my shoulders. Even though I had the exco above me they were all 400km away at the head office and I was on my own with my team.


On the morning of 24 August 2007, the day after I arrived in Pretoria, I started looking for a job. I responded to an advert in Pretoria News about 4 days from month-end for a Business Claims Advisor at OUTsurance. The following afternoon, I was driving from an interview in Sandton and I got a phone call from Ms Anne-Mare Matthee from OUTsurance human resources department. I parked the car next to the Vodacom billboard just off the Buccleau Interchange on the N1 highway. She interviewed me telephonically for about 30 minutes and it was very uncomfortable in the car. At the end of the call, she told me that she was not impressed with my performance in the telephonic interview. Because she was impressed with my CV, she would still call me for a face to face interview with the Claims Managers at 2pm on Friday 31 August 2007.


I had another interview line up in Sandton on the same day and I decided to rather come to OUTsurance. I was interviewed by Glen Rae and Shaun Marshall that afternoon and the interview went very well for me. During the interview, Shaun Marshall told me that I had got the job and asked if I could start on Monday, I said yes and I waited for the offer letter to be prepared and I signed it. During that time, it was rare for a person to start straight in business claims, people would start in Personal Lines for sometime and then later move on to Business Claims. It was time to start an amazing new journey and join an environment with people of diverse backgrounds and where your earnings were based solely on your performance. On Monday 3 September 2007 when we reported for training, the very first person we saw was the Managing Director to welcome us and tell us about the company and all the senior managers came in one after the other and we had a chance to engage with them.

You actually work for yourself and not for the company

One of the most important transformational leaders in my career was Ms Tendai Chingovo who was my claims manager at AIG Zimbabwe. She taught me that as an individual you do not work for a company but for yourself. This is very important for an employee to realise that whenever you are working it is your personal brand that is on the line. For example you could see me working very hard even on my last day at an employer. Many employees have grievances whether real or imaginary with their current employers. It is a given that life is not fair, however what is important is to always see the bigger picture. If things do not work out at a particular employer, you continue giving your best and look for another opportunity. Do not slacken because you are not happy as you are doing yourself a disservice. Remember the saying you can't teach an old dog new tricks is true. If you become accustomed to slaking because of something that was done to you at a company, it becomes very difficult to shake off bad habits.

The sad thing is that employees who have these grievances start to change their behavior by taking false sick leave, slacking in their duties and in the process they start to have disciplinary sanctions loaded against them and the next moment they are fired. The first person to get affected by this negative change in behavior is the customer. Customers will start complaining to line managers, senior managers and even in the media. When you look at the complaints it is mainly for simple things like not responding to clients and doing basic tasks. What I have discovered especially with my experience in the claims environment, if you really want to have peace in your work life, you must service the client very well. For a start managers including senior managers are already busy with their tasks and they do not take kindly to getting unnecessary complaints from client about the same individual for simple tasks that are intentionally neglected. I have come to fear client’s more than I fear the MD. I remember when I worked as claims processor dealing with direct clients at Diamond Insurance Company between 1999 and 2000, I would choose to rather go to the offices of the most senior managers including the MD and negotiate to have the claims cheques signed immediately instead of having to face the direct clients and have to come up with some story.

We all go through challenges, why keep on digging when you are already in a hole. If you work for yourself would you take false sick leave? In American politics they talk of political capital for politicians I think this also applies to ordinary employees you must build-up a big goodwill reservoir, you must not cry wolf and always try to cultivate a good name for yourself. Sooner or later if you last long enough at the company you will have real personal issues and no one will believe that you are now facing a genuine problem. It is important to build to a state where people will give you a benefit of doubt. Do yourself a favour and always do the right thing even if it is not easy to do so.

I have worked for two employers where in my time, there has been voluntary retrenchment exercises initiated when the companies were downsizing. There is nothing as fulfilling as also applying for a voluntary packages and your bosses saying in no uncertain terms you are going nowhere. In my career I have seen once great professionals becoming a shell of their former selves. I believe your motivation must come from inside. Yes it is true that your environment is very important and we have to react to the environment as people with emotions. However you must always choose to be positive no matter how bad it is. It is better to keep on doing your work well and you ride the storm as manager come and go, if it becomes necessary look for another job. 

I have also learnt that no matter how liked or disliked you are by the boss, you need to carry your load. No one wants to have a “baby” reporting to them. Your bosses have their own work and don’t think for a minute that they will take kindly to doing the work for you that you are being paid for, you are better off doing your work quickly and asking to help your bosses in their work. About 5 years ago, I had grave concerns with the management style of my immediate boss and I almost resigned without a job until I raised the issue with the head of department and I was allowed to do a lateral transfer. Even during that challenging time my boss did not want me to leave the team as I was a top performer and the boss would lose money whenever I would leave.

Your development is up to you. Even at a lower level, where you do not have much authority you can learn a lot about the business. When you ask your boss for a decision, always give your opinion and if your boss recommends a different solution find out where you went wrong and learn from that.  When your boss has to write a report, volunteer to write a report for the boss. I have heard many people refusing to get more responsibilities because it is not in their job description then when are you going to learn? One day you might become a manager yourself and it will be too late to start learning those skills. Maybe you intend to go into business as an entrepreneur, the same skills such as being hard working, being able to measure your progress through writing reports and making sound decisions are very key, there is no better time than now to start learning those skills.

When it comes to doing your work well day in and day out at whatever level you are on. You must always do your tasks on time otherwise if you let the work pile-up sooner than later everything becomes urgent. Don't think the task will go away on its own. The other thing is that people get paralysed by the fear of having to make a decision and they keep the matter pending for a long time. In business, you are never going to get all the information, you work with what you have at times you make mistakes, you learn from them and hopefully make a better decision next time. Also generally people do not want to tell other people bad news, it is better to give the bad feedback whilst you still have control than to wait until the recipient of the news is already angry. If you are not sure about how to do the task, ask someone who knows how to do it and learn for the future. At times you get so much work, as they say you eat an elephant one bite at a time and if it becomes too much talk to your boss about the challenge and don't keep quiet. You must know how to prioritize so that you can keep in control. Preparations is very key, even in management meetings you could see who had not prepared properly.

If you do a good job someone will notice
Ms T Chingovo also taught me the importance of doing my job well as someone will notice. The person noticing might be another manager in another section, a client or even a competitor. This is how many people get head hunted. In an organisation it is not difficult to see who does their jobs well. In my career, I have had other managers in other organisations phoning asking me to recommend someone who had previously worked in my team. I have had no choice but to tell the truth about the work ethics of the individuals. I know whenever I was moving companies and changing positions some people had to give honest opinions about my conduct as well.

Proper communication is very essential
In the early 2000s in Zimbabwe inflation was in the double digits and at the same time the Zimbabwean dollar was devaluing almost every day. It meant most clients were under insured and we had to apply average even for motor vehicles, some cars even after claiming for a windscreen would have to be written off. As the team leader for Personal lines at ZIB in 2003, I had designed a template were my brokers after getting the assessment report, would quickly write to the client our settlement offer. One of the word I put on the template was “wreck” to refer to the damaged vehicle.

It so happened that one of the claims was for a car for the wife of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe, Professor Levi Nyagura.  When my settlement letter landed on his desk, he took strong exception to the word wreck to describe his vehicle. We were all summoned to his office at the university. The people who went were the managing director, the general manager, the divisional manager who was dealing with the corporate account, the other account executive and me. He explained to me that this vehicle had been bought for him by the university when he was still the dean and his car was not a wreck, I did apologise. I actually felt like a failure, imagine I am the guy who could not make it to the university after high school but I still managed to get a stern rebuke from the vice chancellor. From that day onwards whenever I communicate to external clients ,I use simple words.

The other important issue is on e-mail. Many people takes more care when they write a normal letter to external clients but when it is an e-mail they are very careless. Around 2008-2009, I participated in the internal interview process for Young Aspiring Team Managers (obviously the young part does not apply to me!). After the interview process, the head of communications sent an e-mail with the names of people who had qualified. I wanted to forward the e-mail to Nesbert a Zimbabwean who had also been unsuccessful. In my haste, I just replied to the Head of communications instead of forwarding to Nesbert. Luckily I had not written anything nasty in the mail. Another incident was when I was communicating with the client informally via e-mail for days and when the decision did not go the way the client expected he then complained to my manager that my e-mail was not professional. From that day onward, whenever I communicate via e-mail with a client, I am always formal and professional even if it takes longer.

The same when it comes to the phone, at times clients and suppliers do drive you to the edge, it is always important to keep composed, calm and not to bang the desk even after you have cut the call. Sometimes you think you have ended the call and say something whilst the client is still on the other end and still listening and you can’t take back what you have said.

It is important to believe, take a chance and also challenge oneself

In September 1996 on my first day at school as a temporary teacher, I was on assembly duty. It was a scary experience having to address the school assembly, In my student days, I never became a prefect or a class monitor, I had no choice but to do this.  Some of the students were obviously older than me, scared as I was, I remembered the way my teachers used to address us during my student days and I addressed the assembly and it went well. When I was studying for my insurance studies, I knew it was important to choose the subjects that I found challenging. In 1999 I sat for the Introduction to Reinsurance subject and the following year I went to the Insurance Institute annual end of year dinner at Sheraton hotel to accept my book prize in Reinsurance. I then set for the introduction to Marine and Aviation insurance. At Associate level, I also sat for the Business Interruption subject as somehow even in the office very few people could explain to me what the cover was all about.

In 2005, I had applied at the state universities in Zimbabwe for a place to study for an MBA and they did not accept my Associateship diploma as a sufficient entry requirement into the MBA program. I kept on applying, towards the second half of 2005, I approached the Open Learning Centre in Harare, who at that time was providing tuition for a 3 year management program that would result in the award of the MBA degree from Nottingham Trent University. I was accepted into the program and started the lectures that were being held on alternating weekends. In the class we had senior managers from across Zimbabwe corporates as well as a few business owners. I only completed the first module and I dropped off in the middle of the second module after I could not raise the British Pounds that were now due. This program was very practical and I learnt a lot from the real life case studies. I really regretted not having completed this MBA program.

As a manager, whenever I presented my budgets I never seem to agree with the Finance Directors on my proposed figures and I realised that I needed to learn more about accounting and I am glad that I managed to complete the accounting degree. In 2007, I took a chance resigned from my job and came to South Africa. When I joined OUTsurance in 2007 at first it was a daunting task. At that time in my section there was only one black South African lady who resigned the same month that I finished my training. Most of the team members where Afrikaans speaking, there was one Indian gentleman and the team manager who was English. At times during the meetings and general discussions in the team, I would feel invisible when most conversations would easily drift into Afrikaans. I also had a challenge with clients both black and white client, I would pronounce client’s name in the English way and clients would be cross with me. The first month I finished training and went on the floor, I exceeded the target by about 10%. After the March 1998 elections in Zimbabwe, the situation back in Zimbabwe depressed me a lot and it affected my work. By June 2008, I saw that there was no hope of going back to Zimbabwe anytime soon and I concentrated on my work and ever since I have exceeded my target in over 95% of my ten years here.

It takes a whole village to raise a child

My development was a result of many people, from the government of Zimbabwe which never saw it fit to play politics with our education. Up to O’Level, I went to township schools which were heavily subsidized by the government. We had excellent teachers; I want to say special mention to my O’Level Mathematics teacher Mr Muzite. From grade 3 to 7 the school fees was $6 per annum ($2 per term) and the standards were very good. I only went to Marondera High School a former group A school for A’ levels as it was the only school at that time that offered A ‘Levels for boys in the whole town.


 In my first year of teaching a guy that I only remember as Brother Nation advised me that when I eventually get employed in the private sector, I should first get a good qualification in whatever industry I got a job in and later on I would be able to change to what I loved as long as I first get a good base. I did exactly that when I joined the insurance industry and I sacrificed so much as most of my earning in the first two years were going towards repaying my study loans; it was a challenge to raise the foreign currency for my studies in South Africa at that time the Zimbabwean dollar was devaluing very fast.

At Eagle Insurance I was helped by Alois Mautsi, Victor Chibwe, Hwanya Hwaire, Vusi Masuku, Constance Chidawanyika, Anthony Kambani and our manager Martin Chimonyo. At Diamond Insurance Company, I learnt the importance of having a good work ethic from Godfrey Matambo who was then the senior underwriter in our team. My manager was Ms Pepelapi Gumbo. At AIG, my first claims supervisor was Mr Herman Hendricks one of the most fair bosses I have ever have in my career, also my claim managers Ms Tendai Chingovo, Mr Taffy Mathews and the senior claims Manager Mr. Lawrence Mareya. At ZIB I got a lot of help from my boss the General Manager Retail Broking Mr. John Mapani it was not easy as this was my first time as a manager and he was very patient with me. I also learnt a lot from the Managing Director as he would accompany me when we visited the VIP clients. I also learnt a lot from my peers the other Account executives Austin Samakande, Agripah Marangwanda, Raymond Chidawanyika and the Late James Pswarayi. Also special thanks to my first secretary Mrs Loice Shangwa and my very able senior broker Mrs Netsai Nyaunde and it was easy for me to leave knowing that she would take over from me.

At Zimnat lion Harare, I was helped by my boss the Late Willard Madanha, my next boss AZ Shoko, later on Ms Pepelapi Gumbo again. I also was helped by Mrs Precious Chasara the AGM in charge of claims as well as Mrs Maureen Chigumadze the claims manager who was always willing to help. Also from my managing director Mr. Calson Chiswo who always liked to remind us that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. I also dependent on other managers and staff including Ms Emilia Hatendi our Human Resources Manager, who never got tired of saying, “Kanyoka you must show emotional intelligence!. I also depended on my secretary Ms Sandra Chipunza, my Chief Underwriter Mrs Rumbidzai Chinwada, the credit control manager Mr Didymus Mangwarire, Mr Amos Dzimunwe the finance manager, Mr Sam Matsekete the Finance Director, my peer Mrs Tambu Madzivire and many more people.




 In my 21 years working life, the management team at Zimnat Lion was the most qualified that I have worked with, we had chartered accountants, a number of insurance associates and fellows, qualified human resources practitioners, engineers, qualified It personnel, lawyers, qualified Internal auditors. During monthly management meetings or quarterly strategy reviews, you needed to be well prepared and to be sure of your facts otherwise any member of the management team would take you to task.

Whilst at Zimnat Harare between 2004 and 2006, I was representing the company at the special risk consortium at the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe. The special risks consortium would insure risks that no one insurance company would accept on its own e.g. the professional indemnity of insurance brokers, Professional Indemnity for security companies, the passenger liability for fare paying passenger vehicles etc. Almost every Thursday morning I would go for the meeting where we would underwrite the risks and validate the claims. Other members of the council were Mr L Nazare then the Managing Director for Intermarket Reinsurance, Mr. Francis Zimunya the Managing Director of Global Insurance company, Mr Munyaradzi Daka the Marketing Manager of Altfin Insurance Company, Mr Donald Muthe the Managing Director of RM now Old Mutual Insurance and Ms S Dawood from the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe. I always looked forward to the discussions in that meeting.

At Zimnat Bulawayo, I was helped by the staff including Mrs Sinanzeni Zivengwa, Bongani Muhau, Vongai Machonisa, Langton Makombo, my secretary Alice and many more. In my 10 years at OUTsurance, I have had help from many of my immediate bosses from Glen Rae, Wayne Araujo, Trevern Naidoo, Maureen Siobo, Isabel Erasmus and many more. In 2011, I briefly worked as an Acting Motor Claims Team Manager and I was reporting to Cardo Martin and he assisted me greatly.

I do not take for granted the help I got from many people and I will be forever grateful for this.