In celebration of Women’s Month, the chief executive of African Bank, Basani Maluleke, the first black woman chief executive in the banking sector, shared 10 of her top life lessons learnt along the way:
* There is no substitute for hard work and passion.
* As a woman it is important to learn how to defuse a situation and when to stand your ground.
* Invest in relationships and consistently produce good work.
* There are no quick routes - keep investing, especially in your intellectual capital.
* Reading fiction is critical to help you better understand people.
* Be engaged - know what is happening around you and surround yourself with different people.
* Be patient - settle into the journey and unpack your bags, because there is a long road ahead of you.
* Remember that life is unpredictable - if you don't face failure or adversity from time to time, then your dreams are not big enough or you are not trying hard enough to realise them.
* One can never underestimate the value of support from family and friends and strong mentors - they are your best cheerleaders.
* We can all do anything we set our minds to. The key is to surround ourselves with the right people and to be resilient.
* Take pride and place effort in mentoring and uplifting other women.
