Everyday Woman: Career tips from Safaricom CCO Sylvia Mulinge

Working for the top telecommunications company in Kenya is no small achievement. And to have a senior role as Chief Customer Officer, reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, has made Sylvia Mulinge a role model for women in Kenya and Africa as a whole.

In an interview on KTN Home’s Everyday Woman, Mulinge reflected back on her career journey and shared tips on how women can take charge and excel at their careers.

Give your best in whatever situation you find yourself in

I studied food science at the University of Nairobi. I did well. I went to work in Unilever. I thought I would go and work in the factory, [I] never got there. [I] started working in the commercial side of the organisation and that's what has shaped my career path since then. Did I know I would become director when I was young (I became director in Safaricom when I was 34)? No. Was I working towards that? Not really.

The principle in my life is, in every space where I am planted, how do I maximize the value that I bring in that space? Am I giving it my very best? Am I applying the very best of what I have learnt? If I was very fixated on this is what I want to be, this is where I want to go, this is the path I want to follow, then you don't leave room for life to expand.

What makes a good leader

Leadership is a privilege because there are people who are constantly looking up to you to give them guidance, to work with them through certain challenges that they have. There is nothing as fulfilling and rewarding [as] when you win together, to see the outcome that you've ultimately delivered.

Balancing responsibilities as a woman

There are many things that restrict us as women mainly from the way we have been socialised. From the background we have come from, what is the role of a woman? How far can we go? Then the roles we have to play in society: you're a woman leader and at the same time you're also the mother at home. You're also a wife, you need to make sure that you're also supporting your husband in all the things that he needs to do. So how do you bring all that and still ensure that when you sit across the table with a man who does not have the additional responsibilities that you have, you’re still able to deliver as effectively if not better?

There are choices you have to make in terms of what can I outsource, what is the ecosystem that I will build around myself to support me? How will I reorganise my life so that my life at home, which is just as important to me as my life at work, doesn't suffer? 

Be courageous enough to go for what you want

What I find mainly limits us as women is courage. Your life will expand or contract based on your level of courage. Are you courageous enough to believe that you can? You see it in interviews. When women apply for roles they want to make sure they have everything; that I have all my certificates in order, I have all the credentials that I have been asked for, so I want to be at 90% if not tending towards 110%. [For] men, as long as they have 50% or 60%, the rest they will fight it out in the interview. What is the difference? Just the level of courage. 

When I went to Safaricom, I didn't know anything to do with telecommunications. All I knew was marketing. I encouraged myself [saying], at the end of the day, these customers who are buying airtime are the same ones buying Sunlight which was the product I was responsible for on the other side. So it's the same customer mentality, just a different product. That's how I gave myself that courage. As women we have to learn how to dial up our courage. 

Use negative energy to propel you through challenges

When I look back at my career, there have been many challenges of bias; bias of people who think you are not good enough or people who think you are too young or people who think that you're not schooled enough. How do you take what they are giving to you and ferment it into something that gives you energy to scale that challenge?

On your journey to the top, look back and guide others

As women we have to learn how to support one another, sharing our stories, sharing our scars; if you have gone ahead, how many women are you reaching back [to] and telling them, 'I have gone, I have surveyed the terrain, it's not as bad as you think. come on, I think we can actually do it.'