Sheba: Why gender should not define who you are

Dar es Salaam. Sheba Kussaga is the business development director at Clouds Media Group.

She has served in various roles during the past 18 years with the company.

Her areas of expertise include business analysis, strategy development, business development and creation of value for business partners.

Others are utilisation of statistical analysis tools to analyse and forecast overall business performance and assessment of opportunities for solutions in marketing products, just to mention a few.

At first, Sheba did not envisioned working in the media industry, but when she was looking for employment in 2006, her late father advised her to join Clouds Media Group and see if she could fit in as she would be more attached and effective in supporting his brother, Joseph Kussaga, the Clouds Media Group managing director. That is how it all started and the rest, as they say, is history.

Commenting on how challenging it is to work with her bother in the same company and make sure she excels in her career, she says her brother is the sort of a no-nonsense leader that any company would like to have at the helm.

Sheba says Joseph is not averse to taking risks and does not hesitate to speak his mind when he feels she is not keeping up with his pace.

Commenting on the most exciting experiences of her working time, Sheba says being creative by creating something from scratch and making a huge impact on stakeholders, analysing a situation and coming up with an effective solution and being a part of the team that is making a differences are among the various factors that gives her job satisfaction.

On how she has been able to climb the corporate ladder, she says it was not easy as she had to prove herself, and it was not just a matter of her being related to the chief executive.

“I had to go through various stages of growth, mentored by my brother and the late Ruge Mutahaba. I had to work for it. You need to prove yourself and consider yourself as an asset first, not as a woman. It doesn’t matter whether you are a man or a woman...if you are an achiever, gender should not define what you are supposed to be,” Sheba says.

She says her leadership style is strategic but “very democratic”. She believes in being inclusive and considerate and not throwing her weight around.

Sheba strives to ensure that every team member has a positive input in what they do at Clouds Media Group, and this has played a key role in the media firm’s success over the years.

She says time is of the essence in her leadership journey since it involves managing human resources.

The mother-of-one adds that she would love to spend more time with her 14-year-old daughter.

“As a mother, I believe I have not been able to spend enough time with her, although I’m glad she understands why.”

She says in supporting other people to grow, mentorship has been a crucial part of her journey and she has had to attend numerous seminars and short courses.

“Those helping others attain their career ambitions must do whatever they can to make sure they guide their charges on the right track and give them opportunities to equip themselves with the knowledge and skills they need. Mentorship is inevitable if you want to have a progressive company and see people grow,” says Sheba.

Sheba is also among the brains behind Clouds Media Group’s Malkia wa Nguvu initiative, which seeks to acknowledge and encourage women who work beyond the call of duty to achieve their objectives and make a positive impact on society.

“We decided to come with this platform to acknowledge and reward women who gone the extra mile to achieve their objectives. The whole idea is to empower, motivate and give them access to resources and help them when it comes to marketing what they are doing,” she says.

Sheba adds that the initiative has also provided connections for women with the government officials and get more help on what they are doing and it has helped to inform the world such women exist.

Commenting on her guiding principles, she says she never compromises on honesty, or entertain back-stabbing, which she describes as a “slow poison” that should be kicked out of the workplace.

On what the companies need to do to help employees climb up the corporate ladder, Sheba says at Clouds they support personal career development as long as it does not interfered with employees’ official duties. “Be confident, educate yourself, research, know your plans and believe in them because if you don’t stick to them, it is easy for someone else to help you stay on the right trace,” she says.