A RISING STAR!
She’s assertive, intelligent and never one to back down from a challenge. We spoke to Lebo Zwane about her civils road to success.
Choosing a career path can be a stressful moment for some young people. For 32-year-old Lebo Zwane, her older sister heavily influenced that decision. “I wasn’t sure about what I wanted to do but I knew that I wanted a job that offered me financial security. My sister suggested civil engineering. She told me that if I didn’t want to drive a Toyota Tazz for the rest of my life, this was the direction to take,” Lebo laughs. Luckily for Lebo, once she got to study in the field, she found that she really enjoyed it. “I was surprised by what a good fit it was for me. When I was in tertiary, civil engineering was still very male dominated. In my class of 40, there were only three women. That gave us an extra push to do really well and to prove those who doubted our capabilities wrong.” After working in the technical side of the business, Lebo joined the Motheo Group. “When I met Archie Rutherford (CEO of Motheo Infrastructure), I was offered the opportunity to get into the business side of civils as a Business Development Manager. It was very intimidating because it was new to me but I wanted to acquire new skills so I joined the team,” she recalls. It’s over a year since Lebo joined Motheo and she is settling very well into her new role. “This part of my career is very different to the technical part of the job, which is what I was used to. I am now working to build the Motheo Infrastructure brand into being well known in the industry. I look for new business and opportunities and look for other ways that we as Motheo Infrastructure can grow our foot print.” Even though the job has its challenges, Lebo says she went into it expecting that. “I have been very fortunate to have someone like Archie who has been happy to guide me along the way. I am getting increasingly confident and have no doubt that in the next few years, we will be well on our way to where we want to be,” she says. Outside of growing the Motheo Infrastructure name in the civils world, Lebo’s plans include going back to school. “I want to get some formal training to help me with the sales and business side of my education. I have always believed that education is the cornerstone to a greater future and that has not changed.” When asked about what has made her a trailblazer, Lebo laughs. “I’ve never really thought of myself in that way,” she admits. “I think it’s important to always go above and beyond what you are mandated to do. It’s also very important to be patient in your career; things do not happen overnight so expecting that will cause frustration that will take your attention away from doing the work at hand.”
