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7 Questions with Michael Zolowere Phiri
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Jonno White
7 Questions with Michael Zolowere Phiri
Name: Michael Zolowere Phiri
Current title: CEO
Current organisation: CLICKIT - SA
I'm Michael Zolowere Phiri, 27-year-old CEO and Software Engineer at CLICKIT - South Africa. From an early age, Technology has always been an interesting part of my life. I remember trying to understand Radiofrequency by spending time with my radio, trying out experiments, and disassembling my electrical toys just to use the motor inside for something else.
I watched my 8-year-old understanding of what the internet would be, unfold over the last decade and a half.
I Started CLICKIT in 2013 while studying Software Development at Pearson Institute of Higher Education - South Africa, not knowing where this would go after, I decided to pursue an adventure by taking what I had learned and started implementing my skills by doing free projects and slowly developed connections and a client base.
8 years Later We are an established IT brand that has different teams in our Marketing, Training, Development, and Leadership. I can begin to see that what We have created is bigger than just a person's dream, but a Legacy for everyone involved.
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1. What have you found most challenging as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise?
Learning to communicate and build up meaningful conversations with everyone I work with. I have found that dedicating time to understand everyone's needs, wants, ambitions help me become a better leader and this opens a lot of doors to collaboration.
2. How did you become a CEO or executive of a large enterprise? Can you please briefly tell the story?
I Started CLICKIT in 2013 while studying Software Development at Pearson Institute of Higher Education - South Africa, After giving up on whether I would get employment due to the lack of experience I decided to work on my own portfolio by doing unpaid projects that I felt would make a difference, from this was the birth of CLICKIT which has grown with time to be the brand it is today.
3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?
I have no family yet and I'm still young so I spend most of my time working,
My day starts in the evening the day before, I sleep around 7-8 and I wake up at 3:30 am
I work in time blocks of 30 minutes and I try to take breaks in between, whatever tasks that need to be done I write down and allocate time blocks to them.
I find the 1-2 Tasks that I need to make sure are done before the end of the day and those are the ones I rate my performance with.
4. What's the most recent significant leadership lesson you've learned?
Building healthy relationships with the people you work with, Collaboration gives better than competition. I believe that teams working well together achieve more in a short space of time than a person working alone over a lifetime
5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?
The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results is a non-fiction, self-help book written by authors and real estate entrepreneurs, Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan. The book taught me how to account for my time and in turn, I passed on these principles to the people I work with.
6. How do you build leadership capacity in a large enterprise?
Developing everyone and helping them see the potential in themselves. I believe that helping a person be the best version of themselves unlocks the leader inside them.
7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise so far?
Seeing people grow and develop in this environment gives me so much joy because I get to see the idea and vision live beyond myself and it's the greatest story I will forever appreciate.