NRZ can turn fortunes around: Respina Zinyanduko

TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO

She took over the reins at the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) in December, becoming the first female GM of the troubled rail parastatal.

Respina Zinyanduko is undaunted saying her experience in the NRZ board and other previous appointments adequately prepared her to handle the pressure that comes with the job.

“My modus operandi involves effective communication, delegating responsibilities creating plans, prioritising and decisively avoiding procrastination,” she told Business Times.

“One thing I wished somebody had told me when I started out was that as a woman making inroads in the male dominated arena, my character would be tested more than my competency.”

She said her ascendancy to the top “demonstrates the trust that my super-ordinates have in me”.

“The trust is a pointer that I have what it takes to come up with a turn-around strategy that will restore the NRZ to its former glory. As such I shall push boundaries if need be, to achieve its mission, vision and goals as a service provider.

Making an effort to get to grips with the NRZ, learning its ins and outs in depth and building my knowledge about it will be my point of departure in the strategic management trajectory I shall take,” the executive said.

As the face of the NRZ, to the internal and external stakeholders it means being guided by the Ministry, board, liaising with my management team and public which will be the cornerstone of my work, she said.

The appointment, Zinyanduko said, means managing an industry.

As the NRZ is composed of various departments or industries, this requires her to have a thorough understanding of the organisation’s operations, should be skilled at managing and leading employees in order to make sound decisions for the organisation.

“This understanding will mean overseeing the daily operations of this industry, — the three regions, business segments, departments to ensure strategic goals are met by setting operational vision, mission, policies, creating and maintaining budgets, managing employees and more,” she said.

She will also lead the crafting of the five goals that supports Vision 2030 which aims to optimise the use of railways resources and ecosystem to offer a total logistics package that caters for national and regional operations and raising adequate funding to finance short, medium and long term recapitalisation needs of the organisation.

It also entails optimising the railways value proposition within the logistics ecosystem and grow brand consumption and volume of business, modernising and improve efficiency and effectiveness of service

provision and aligning human capital in line with business focus and strategy to enhance engagement, productivity and optimise performance.

Zinyanduko said her perception  is that NRZ is one of the companies in Zimbabwe that have potential to get out of the woods and contribute significantly to Zimbabwe’s economic recovery and growth.

“NRZ has the biggest assets that are required for its turnaround, that is, people who have the required expertise and the plant and equipment, given the correct guidance, input and expertise,” she said.

Zinyanduko said she would utilise goal-setting to push boundaries.

This strategy of goal setting can help clarify “my focus, measure progress and track achievements”.

“I will also place more focus on customer service as it would help to retain clients.

“This, in turn, would play a significant role in the continued success of NRZ,” she said.

Also, to avoid burning out, effective delegation of duties to key staff would be an integral part of taking the NRZ to the next level. This would be the way forward to reaching new heights and dizzy heights.”

Her philosophy is the belief that everyone at the National Railways of Zimbabwe is part of a team and has a specific role to play.

She intends to maximise the work product of everyone on the team.

“I will further provide guidance while also managing high-level organisational needs.

Furthermore, I believe there is always room to learn and that mistakes are teaching opportunities, not failures. Finally my philosophy in life, and in work, is to treat others with respect at all times,” the executive said.

The personal values that go alongside her philosophy are integrity, honesty, resilience, tenacity, courage and decisiveness.

“No matter what happens, I am there to make a difference,” she said.

“In terms of choices I make, smaller goals guide my days, while long-term goals guide my months and years of life. The sum total of these goals is based on my personal core values and these are rules I live by.”

Zinyanduko said she did not have  specific career while growing up as a result of bottle-necks in career development and limited career guidance and counseling services.

However, she was flexible to take up anything that would come her way and bring food on the table.

“…Let me hasten to say that works by William Shakespeare particularly the “The Merchant of Venice” inspired me to take up the legal profession which by its nature should lend itself to expert and decision support systems given that it is rule-based,” she said.

Prior to joining NRZ, Zinyanduko served as assistant company secretary and legal advisor for Zimbabwe Power Company, a subsidiary of ZESA Holdings.

She also worked for the Agricultural Bank of Zimbabwe Limited (now AFC) as a legal and compliance Manager, Allied Bank Limited as head of legal, compliance a n d corporate services for four years and the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority as head administration, legal and corporate services for four years.

Zinyanduko also worked as assistant administration manager for the Grain Marketing Board for over three years.

She also briefly worked for the Government in the then Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs as a public prosecutor and for Tuso and Partners Legal Practitioners as a legal practitioner.

Zinyanduko has served on various public and private sector boards and committees.

She was part of the legal team that drafted Transfrontier Conservation Areas agreements between Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and other SADC countries.

Ziyanduko was also part of the team that started the Grainmed, GMB Housing fund and GMB insurance fund. She assisted Parks employees to set up their housing fund which assisted a number of them to secure residential stands.

She told Business Times that as a woman, she had to work extra hard to prove that she is equal to the challenge.

“The challenges I faced include fewer leadership opportunities to vie for as well as lack of visibly female role models in senior management positions to look up to for inspiration,” the executive said.

Ziyanduko draws inspiration from a variety of people and things. “I basically draw my inspiration from a variety of people and things.

My family has also been a great source of inspiration through the encouragement they have constantly given me, always pushing me to reach for the moon in my career.”

She said young professionals, especially young women, have to dream big, leverage on their skills to build their own businesses and never allow obstacles to get in the way of success.

Zinyanduko describes herself as a dedicated, professional par excellence lady who seeks gratification from assisting others to achieve their dreams.

I am also a reliable, flexible and diligent individual whose energy is always channelled towards meaningful pursuits, she said.

The executive says worry is a total waste of time. It doesn’t change anything. All it does is steal one’s joy and keep “you very busy doing nothing”.

You cannot have a better tomorrow If you don’t stop thinking about yesterday, she said.

The executive said a successful woman/person is one who can build a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at her/him.

A trained lawyer, Zinyanduko is a candidate for a Doctorate in Business Leadership with the Midlands State University.