Mukhethwa Mahlabe, Strategic Communications and Enablement Lead, shares her career journey, approach to strategic communications, employee engagement and leadership alignment, including how she delivers impactful campaigns with limited budgets.
What inspired you to pursue a career in communications?
My journey began with a deep passion for people and storytelling. Starting out as a TV producer, my drive was simple: to help tell compelling stories. When I later joined an agency group, a growing need for a dedicated communications specialist emerged. Stepping into that role felt completely natural. I quickly realised that communications is simply storytelling through a broader, more strategic lens. Across every organisation I’ve served since, my success has been rooted in one principle: placing people at the very centre of everything I do.
What does your day-to-day role as Strategic Communications and Enablement Lead involve?
No two days are ever the same. My role spans crafting communication strategies, aligning with business leaders and positioning key initiatives across diverse platforms, translating complex executive visions into engaging, actionable narratives for all colleagues. On any given day, I’m writing campaign content, connecting cross-functional teams, planning town halls or directing video shoots. I often joke that I’m responsible for “the blurbs and spotting talent”, but what I truly love is creating space for others to shine, especially putting team members forward to lead important conversations.
What part of your role do you love the most?
While I thrive on the high level of collaboration my work demands, my absolute favourite moments are when an initiative truly resonates with colleagues. Recently, I brought in a psychologist to speak on the neuroscience of change for changemakers, which sparked incredible engagement across the team. I also find immense pleasure in the iterative newsletter writing process with my leadership. While the back-and-forth can be rigorous, it pushes me to view messaging through different strategic lenses. When all is said and done, and sign-off is complete, seeing team members’ work spotlighted and celebrated across the business makes it all worthwhile.
What’s one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career, and how did you navigate it?
One of my greatest challenges has been learning how to execute high-impact “bright ideas” on minimal budgets. Early on, I realised that a lack of financial capital simply required a higher investment in creative capital and resourcefulness. I navigated this by leveraging internal talent, building strategic cross-departmental partnerships and utilising low-cost digital tools. By focusing on compelling messaging and authentic human connection rather than flashy production, we consistently delivered high-engagement campaigns without overspending.
What does strategic enablement actually involve, and how would you explain it to an early-career communications professional?
Strategic enablement is about acting as a two-way bridge between leadership and the workforce. It means deeply understanding day-to-day operational realities while remaining clear on executive priorities. As an enablement lead, you serve as the voice of leadership to the organisation, while simultaneously synthesising and playing back ground-level sentiment to executives. You ensure that strategy isn’t just communicated from the top down, but actively understood, embraced and actionable for everyone.
What advice would you give to younger professionals looking to build a career in communications?
First, lead with empathy and genuinely care about people. Second, master the business you operate in; understanding your industry’s commercial drivers will make your communications far more impactful. Third, actively seek out feedback and embrace the subjective nature of our field.
Finally, never stop learning. In the age of AI, learn how to leverage emerging technologies responsibly, embrace data and analytics, and look beyond traditional communications tools. When you position yourself as a business partner who understands strategy and drives measurable outcomes, you move from being a “nice-to-have” to an indispensable asset.
