Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Sort by
Sort by

Listening with her heart: introducing Portia Thokoane, Human Resource Director

Listening with her heart: introducing Portia Thokoane, Human Resource Director

Portia Thokoane, Human Resource Director at Nestlé East and Southern Africa Region (ESAR), is an interesting dichotomy – she is passionate about people, but loves time alone to think and describes herself as an ‘ambivert’. She loves being a mom and the chaos that comes with that role, but she also thrives when challenging herself physically alone in the gym.

Perhaps it’s her ability to enjoy contrasting spaces that draws her to the culture work she’s leading at Nestlé ESAR at the moment. She explains, “Last year our 3-year strategy launched and it brought a lot of change and associated discomfort. This year, we’ve changed gears. We’ve set ourselves up for the future and now we’re focusing for growth.

Going into 2025 and beyond, we’re investing in talent development and working on our culture: coaching leaders, running workshops on conversational intelligence, surveying what’s working and what’s not.”

Leadership coaching is close to Portia’s heart – she originally wanted to be a clinical psychologist because she loves to connect and collaborate with diverse people, not only to learn from them but also to help them.

Portia explains, “One-on-one collaboration is what I love the most. I have HR Director connect sessions, mentorship sessions with individuals and then team coaching with leaders from our sister market in the continent.  

“I love understanding what’s happening in their world, elevating some of the amazing accomplishments, sharing experiences and understanding what they’re struggling with.”

Portia has a depth of character possibly forged enduring some of the hardship she’s experienced. An only child, Portia describes her childhood environment as “tough” but she also believes that’s where she learnt to be resilient and self-sufficient.

She says, “I’m proud of myself and how I’ve taken the knocks, gotten up and moved forward, learning as I go. I’ve had many reasons to give up. When I was doing my MBA 14 years ago in 2010, my husband passed away in the middle of my exams in a car accident. I had my girls relying on me and goals I’d set for myself, so I had to get back in the saddle and keep going.”

She adds, “People see I’m self-sufficient and assume I have a big family structure behind me. I don’t! I use all the healing modalities available to me.”

It’s this open-mindedness and ability to forge through the dark times that feeds into her role as HR Director. She says, “I get a kick out of solving complex problems, like re-organising the company and repositioning it to perform. I love the challenge of meeting targets and being entrusted with sharing input to solve complex problems, especially when I can see solutions coming to life.

She reflects, “I don’t think one can thrive in an environment where there are no problems – they help one evaluate and grow in the process.”

Her resilience, love of problem-solving and ability to connect with people are all encompassed in advice she received from a second-generation CEO in his 60s running a family-founded company when she asked him what he’d say to his 20-year-old self: “In all interactions with people, listen with your heart and listen to connect, not to get answers. The connection is much more important than what you’re discussing.”