By Agatha Christie Akello
“It may seem as though other people stumble upon their dream lives, but the truth is that everything inspiring is layered upon itself through time.” ~ Brianna Wiest, The Pivot Year.
When I sit down to interview Ms Susan Nsibirwa, the Managing Director of Nation Media Group – Uganda (NMG-U), on a typical busy Monday morning, the aforementioned excerpt runs through my mind. As a young woman looking to change careers and grow in the communications field, our conversation feels like kismet. She speaks with a candour so refreshing, I can sense that my perception of purpose and life is about to shift for the better. I am not wrong.
The Makerere years
For Nsibirwa, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication degree was never on the cards. She wanted to be a part of the international scene and politics by way of studying French and Political Science, and sit under Mahmood Mamdani. However, having excelled at A-Level, she was advised to study something else. With no interest in Law, Mass Communication was the next best thing. At the time, it was a new course in demand and you needed points as good as those for law school to get in.
Ms. Susan Nsibirwa
“Studying Mass Communication at Makerere was a turning point in my career, because it fed right into my hobbies, likes and natural inclinations – like communications, public speaking, concepts, creativity, reading, writing, a deep curiosity for life and the world,” she says.
According to Nsibirwa, the course was introduced at the right time, allowing her to fully explore her diverse interests. Not to mention, Makerere University was a good melting point for people from all over Uganda. In addition to that, the institution grew her love for sport.
“What I loved about Makerere was the sports! It facilitated my interactions with a number of people. I was the Hockey Captain for Mary Stuart Hall. I was swimming, playing basketball and squash. In the mornings, the guys would come round, pick us and we would jog around the university while singing mchaka mchaka songs. In the market place now, a lot of people will relate to you simply because you went to Makerere,” she says. And it is true. Many people in the East African market who are seated in key decision-making positions, will tell you they studied at Makerere University.
Nsibirwa’s recalls interacting with the media greats while at the university and her first lecturers ended up being her mentors, as well as the cofounders of a newspaper that would come to change the landscape of the media in the country. Charles Onyango-Obbo who was one of the cofounders of Monitor Publications Limited is still her mentor to this day. Another cofounder David Ouma Baliwkowa taught her advertising, a profession she went on to have a career in as well.
“They took a chance on me, fresh from university, to write in the first Monitor newspaper edition. This was after I had taken a stint as a proofreader for the Weekly Topic while studying,” she says.
Nsibirwa did not stop at getting what her mentors taught her. Rather, she has built on it through on-job training and short courses. It is intriguing to find out that she did not need a master’s degree until later in her career, considering the fact that it is quite difficult to get decent employment nowadays sometimes even with a PhD, but, she says she did not pursue her Master in Business Administration till 2017 because her Mass Communication degree from Makerere and consistent learning were more than enough to get her to senior management level.
While Nsibirwa lauds Makerere University for what it provided her and believes there are bursts of brilliance in the institution, she states that it needs to invest more in research and Information Technology.
“My feel is that there are presently few graduates who are able to think critically and hold valuable conversations. We understand the need to employ young people, but their skill, knowledge, eye for detail, and commitment to excellence isn’t there, it’s dragging us back! I could make the byline as an intern. The guys in the newsroom are struggling because they spend hours rewriting and editing stories,” she laments.
While this feedback may be unpleasant for an unemployed graduate to hear, it gives room for them to get back in the ring, diversify their source of learning and focus on polishing up their skills.
Making a positive difference every day
With an admirable 25-year career, I am curious to know what keeps Nsibirwa grounded, and what it has taken for her to grow from writing an article in the Leisure Corner in the Daily Monitor newspaper, to working with diverse credible brands such as Vision Group, MTN and DFCU, and on to leading as the first female Managing Director of Nation Media Group - Uganda, a subsidiary of East Africa’s largest media conglomerate. Nsibirwa attributes her steadfastness to a purpose statement and mantra she wrote about 10 years ago and continues to live and lead by - making a positive difference every day! She believes that regardless of your background and upbringing, the earlier you get your head on straight and decide what you want to do with your life, the less time you waste in meaningless pursuits. It is a principle of effectiveness, that people who plan will definitely get ahead. It does not matter whether you drive a truck or sell tomatoes, when you set out to be the best you can be, life rewards you!
Susan Nsibirwa at a workshop in Kampala
After graduation, Nsibirwa worked as a press attaché which job she had for three years at the French Embassy. She got bored of that and pivoted as a media executive, which is how she entered marketing and advertising and developed a career in media marketing. She then went to MTN and after that moved to Commercial Microfinance and then to dfcu.
“I would be lying if I said I planned my career. To change and adapt to the Mass Comm field and go with what it offered me was divine guidance. God has opened doors for me to have experiences that now serve me in this role. Of course, I have questioned moves like leaving MTN for Commercial Microfinance because moving from corporate to downtown opposite Owino was a mind-boggling experience,” she says.
In retrospect, she realises that she probably would not have made it to dfcu Head of Marketing at the time or made new networks in the finance world. To add to that, she had decided to take a sabbatical after working with dfcu when New Vision came calling. Even though she questioned the move to New Vision, it is the place she has served longest in her career. The eight-year experience at New Vision was necessary and has greatly informed her performance in this current role as the MD of Nation Media Group – Uganda (NMG-U) where she is presently responsible for ensuring that the company plays their part in realising the ambitious digital transformation and financial targets that have been set for the regional group. She adds that there is a lot of work to be done in terms of skilling and reorienting teams to get them to appreciate the goals.
The journey from internship to leadership has been filled with different stories and lessons learnt from various markets, teams and bosses. Ms. Nsibirwa adds that although her essence, zeal for life, and passion to see a better nation have not changed, she is not the woman she was 10 years ago. There is a maturity that has come from working in different spaces and with different bosses, and experiencing the different expectations and objectives set for her.
Armed with a renewed understanding of herself, people and different temperaments, she affirms that she knows what makes for good leadership, followers, teamwork and great performance.
The elusive work-life balance
When asked how she balances all the ambitious professional goals with her personal life, Nsibirwa chuckles because to her, “this life no balance”! If you are gainfully employed, you will spend more time at work than anywhere else. Therefore, the key thing is to learn how to prioritise and allocate adequate time for the things that matter like family, friends, self-care and rest.
From busy Monday mornings to weekends, her life is scheduled around her life’s priorities, ensuring that what is important gets done. Her gym bag is in the car as we speak, because exercise is an essential part of her self-care. She equally ensures her weekends are closed off to rest and spend time with family.
“I have a 10-month-old daughter, so my morning routine is around making sure she is okay and set for the day before the nanny arrives. Then I use traffic as a good time to declutter the mind. During the 1 or 2 hours, I listen to inspirational content and reflect.”
Another part of balancing for Nsibirwa is saying no and delegating. While there are exceptions, like family emergencies and weighty work contingencies, she rarely goes along with activities that were not scheduled prior. She adds that she was not always like this, and that when younger, she was always consumed with work in lieu of the relationships that mattered.
As we wrap up the interview, Nsibirwa points out that she now is able to prioritise the people and relationships that will matter when she is done with the marketplace. She is now at this place owing to the maturity that comes with age, reading books like 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, doing personality tests, and extensive training on personal growth. She is the friend who schedules coffee dates, the relative always visiting in hospital, the best aunty to her nieces and nephews and overall, a present mother.
“You realise, what are the important relationships? When you finish work, where do you go to? Who is around when you’re old and grey? I see my dad now – he’s turning 85, majority of his friends have passed away, who is around? Us, Family! Not the people you were running around chasing deals with but your children, grandchildren and relatives.”
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