Zama Mkosi on lessons learned

As the CEO of My Word Group that specialises in providing film, television and entertainment insurance solutions. Her main focus is to grow businesses whilst protecting them. http://www.myworldholdings.com/

Mkosi Inc. on the other hand provides professional legal advisory service. https://mkosiinc.com/

Zama Mkosi is a deep thinker that is solution driven. She was the executive producer of the internationally Emmy award winning television program “Hopeville” and was involved with ground-breaking productions like “Tsotsi” and “Hotel Rwanda”. She was also instrumental in the development of programs aimed at sustainable growth and positioning Global platforms for the industry. She focused on the empowerment of women and young adult businesses that were interested in film making. They used to fund project by project but that meant that all your eggs would be in one basket. These programs ensured funding for multiple projects running simultaneously to minimize the risk factor that the industry is famous for.

Zama grew up in KZN and describes herself as a daddy’s girl. She worshipped the ground he walked on. She said, “he was my go-to person and the one that inspired me to choose law as profession. He was a lawyer himself, so I grew up in an inquisitive environment where it was okay to ask questions and dissect problems. He constantly reminded me that in life and business, team members don’t always play the same game as you. It might look that way from an outside perspective, but the inner circle will teach you a different reality.”

She was one of 5 sisters, now 4, that was given a beautiful life by her loving mother and father. Her mother was a strong woman that used her own power and education to help her father get his degree. They both worked extremely hard and aimed to offer the best education to their daughters. They were groomed and educated at Inanda Seminary School for Girls – a school that had a long history, being founded in 1869.

As a chubby child that was bullied by people in and outside her immediate circle, she really appreciated the fact that her mother and father always treated her the same as her sisters that had perfect figures at the time.

“They taught me that I could do anything I set my mind to.” She laughs, “they even entered me into beauty pageants, completely oblivious to the fact that I was not seen as the perfect body type by the outside or pageant world.”

After 50 years of marriage, her mom and dad passed away during the Covid pandemic. It was a very difficult time for the whole family, but Zama consoles herself with the belief that they are looking over them all from above.

On the home-front, Zama is the proud mother of two beautiful boys and her husband supports her in whatever she sets her mind to. She sees her children as her biggest achievement in life and hope that they will always know that they are loved unconditionally despite any imperfections they might feel they have.

In 2018 she resigned from a very stressful job as CEO of the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) to spend more quality time with her husband and children.

“Sometimes in life you must know when to let go and then exit with grace. I believe that we all have divine guidance and I usually follow my intuition. I learned and achieved so much in my time with the National Film and Video Foundation and have many fond memories of my time there.”

Lessons to women in leadership

“Even if you have a team you trust, do not drop the ball by not checking up on what they do. As a leader you will be accountable for the people under yourself. Somebody needs to take the fall and better one person than an entire team. Keep your accountability in your minds eye at all times.”

“Always have a personal board of advisors outside of your field that have nothing to gain by your failures. People that want to see you succeed and will give you constructive advice.”

“If you go into the public sector, make sure you have at least one politically orientated advisor on this team. One person can never know everything, and all leaders need help with blind spots.”

“Most of all, lead yourself first. Keep on doing the inner work because you need self awareness to be able to get up after you’ve been knocked down”

What the future holds

Zama is slowly but surely reinventing herself after rediscovering her love for teaching. Zama always had a talent for crystalizing a problem and simplify it in such a way that everyone could understand.

“Covid 19 was a time for reflection and introspection. I thought of ways to share my lifelong journey through law and the entertainment industry by paying it forward. I realised that all South Africans do not have the funds to invest in a legal advisor and therefore joined Udemy (a forward-thinking new learning platform that empowers organisations to address their workforce training challenges). As an instructor, it was so refreshing for me to go back to the drawing board and re-discover my passion for the law.”

Zama is quite happy to work behind the scenes and is much more interested in her inner world than her image, her status, or her looks. However, anybody that has ever seen this lady on the red carpet or the way she conducts herself in a live interview, would know that she was made to stand out – a natural in front of the camera. Some people are born for the limelight, and Zama Mkosi is one of them.

https://www.udemy.com/course/learn-the-legal-basics-of-business-contracts/