Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa
Background
Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, Naspers South Africa CEO, is a people-first strategic operator who pairs high standards with grounded empathy. She leads with clarity, develops leaders deliberately, and treats execution as non-negotiable. Mahanyele-Dabengwa’s leadership is composed, direct, and steady; she navigates complexity with calm confidence and builds trust through consistency. Distinctive for principled leadership and talent stewardship, she shows how clear direction, capable teams, and disciplined follow-through can move organisations forward anywhere.
Operating Beliefs
1) Lead with clarity.
Ambiguity kills momentum.
Enbaling Behaviours:
- State the goal in one sentence, then repeat it.
- Define what “done” means before work begins.
- Cut distractions fast and protect the main work.
2) Build leaders, not dependence.
Teams scake what you teach.
Enabling Behaviours:
- Delegate outcomes, not tasks.
- Coach in real time: praise, correct, repeat.
- Promote people who multiply others.
3) Standards with care.
Trust grows under discipline.
Enabling Behaviours:
- Hold firm lines on quality and ethics.
- Give direct feedback early, not late.
- Create psychological safety for hard truth.
Reccomended action
Choose one priority you’ve been vague about, rewrite it into a one-sentence goal with a clear “done” definition, and run a 30-minute check-in that removes one blocker and gives one piece of direct coaching this week.
.png)
