Stellenbosch University
Welcome to Stellenbosch University
Turn the pursuit of happiness into your career
Author: Development & Alumni / Ontwikkeling & Alumni
Published: 03/09/2018

Matie alumna and businesswoman, Adéle Smith, advised students attending a recent Alumni Relation's Careers Café that if they wanted to make a success of their careers (and subsequently their life too) that they would need to make the pursuit of happiness their main goal.

​Referring to Simon Sinek's quote – “working hard for something we don't care about is called stress; working hard for something we love is called passion" – Smith encouraged the 320 students at the event to “wholeheartedly embrace [their] God-given passions, gifts and talents that make [their] contribution on this earth unique and invaluable".

“Trust your intuition or gut when you feel your passion ignite something inside of you, the stuff that quite literally give you a visceral reaction. Like the hair on your neck standing up (in a good way), or the lump in your throat or getting goose bumps all over, or your heart racing. The stuff that send endorphins, dopamine and serotonin surging through your veins, making you feel invincible when you're in the zone," said Smith, who completed a BA degree majoring in Psychology and German at Stellenbosch University (SU) in 1997.

​“My working experience in the last 20 years tells me that we pay our intuition or gut little to no attention when it comes to our happiness or passions. Too many of us ignore or downplay it when it comes to happiness because ironically, I think we're afraid of what it may mean. We focus on STUFF. The bills, the rent, fitting in, not fitting in, not belonging, not toeing the line, not letting others down, whatever the reason may be, we rather choose to take a dump on our own happiness by continuing the vicious cycle.   

“It took me almost 20 years to realise that it's okay and necessary to rediscover, feed and fuel my passions, talents and gifts without the guilt, doubt or anxiety. And, guess what, I can still pay the bills and shop at Woollies, what's not to love about those Eat In for Under R150 deals!," joked Smith.

Smith has spent more than 20 years in diverse industries. Some of the positions she held included Operations Manager and Director, HR Director, Human Capital Director, Head of HR and Head of Corporate Social Investment (CSI) for large multinationals and corporates like Lufthansa German Airlines, Dialogue Group, Ackermans Group, and most recently, The Foschini Group. She has also completed various executive programmes through University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) and Duke University's Corporate Education.

After graduating from SU, she worked at a wine tasting centre at Neethlingshof Wine Estate just outside of Stellenbosch.

 


“Fresh out of varsity, or maybe because I was born in Stellenbosch, wine was my passion then (and still is by the way).  Speaking fluent German probably helped secure that first job too. What could be better than tasting exquisite, award-winning wines every single day, and getting paid for it!?"

In 1999, she joined Lufthansa German Airlines as a call centre reservations agent, utilising her skills in German to travel the world and within no time found herself heading up Operations in Cape Town – then one of seven global reservations centres taking calls from all over the world. She subsequently also supported the launch of three new Lufthansa reservation centres in Berlin, Istanbul and Toronto.

Five years later her natural ability to hold a conversation with just about anyone would lead her to an Operations Director role at The Dialogue Group, running multiple call centre teams across Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town. The Group employed more than 2 000 employees in the then booming contact centre and business process outsourcing industry.

Since then, she has managed to turn her passion for language, communication, business, people and their development into a brand that has helped her to confidently walk the different roads she has had to travel over the years and wear the many hats she sports.

A mom of two girls, Zoë , aged 9 and Mia, aged 13, Smith also owns The Daily Coffee Café in Kuils River with her husband (going on 17 years) and business partner, Nate. A second Daily café and brand new restaurant concept are on the horizon too. The Smith couple are also directors of Accelerating the Business Case for Change, or in short, ABC² Consulting, their business strategy and human resources consultancy established in 2017 after both made the decision to exit corporate and start a fresh entrepreneurial chapter in their lives.

She is also an Associate at Legitimate Leadership, a Johannesburg-based business and leadership consultancy that collaborates with business leaders the world over by facilitating workshops and a wide range of interventions that transform teams and organisational culture. This is done in order to improve the way organisations lead people and do business in today's disruptive and often unpredictable world of work.

“I'm passionate about learning, coffee, good food, music and the arts, and these are the things that we incorporate and weave into our lives and business, whether at The Daily Café or any of our social responsibility projects, including For The Love of It and EWE (Everyday Women Empowered) events. We love creating happy spaces and various platforms that give established, novice or upcoming artists and our communities a voice and opportunity to learn or do something for the first time, often."

During her talk she also shared some of the ups and downs she had to contend with in both her career and personal life.

While Smith comes from what would be considered a middleclass family by the standards of her own community, she has had to learn from an early age to find and believe in the value of her own voice, especially in a society in transition after apartheid. She attended 5 different primary and high schools at a time when most schools were 'whites only', “really tough when your own people and community look at you as if you've just sold out by going to previously whites only and private schools". Later she chose to study at SU in her home town, shortly after the institution first opened its doors to all races.

“I'll always have a soft spot for Stellenbosch as my home town. The university in the early 90's was not a transformed space by any stretch of the imagination. However, a lot of good also came from being there at that time because we were making history, we were at the beginning of a new era pre-1994, interacting with other races as peers and sometimes even dating across the colour lines. All very entertaining at times!".

“The colour divide was very obvious at Stellenbosch University when I was studying there, often times, 'coloureds' huddling together in one row and white students in another with multiple seats or even rows separating us in a giant lecture hall or in the Neelsie. I don't recall seeing many black South African students then, visiting UWC and UCT campuses opened my eyes to these disparities at the time".

Years later in a changed society, she finds that many companies still struggle and spend hour and millions of Rands to get individuals and diverse teams of professionals, across disciplines more engaged, working more closely together, more effectively, collaborating and sharing ideas in the best interest of business".

“I encourage you to put yourself in others' shoes often and walk a mile in their shoes. You, like them, get the opportunity every day to make a difference, add value, contribute and learn from it.

“You will encounter people from all walks of life and generations, don't get stuck and bask in your own ignorance by only having one limited perspective when you could see the world through so many different lenses."

In 2014, a week before her 40th birthday, Smith found out that Nate had Hodgkin's Lymphoma. However, thanks to treatment, Nate is now 3 years in remission. However, a few years later, on 19 November at 8am she got the devastating news that her brother, Dugald Cloete (also a Matie and past MFM DJ), had suffered a massive aortic aneurism that morning and died at the age of 38.

“He was and is my twinsoul and I learnt so much from him, he had lived an abundant life and he had made the choice to be happy every day.

It is however the range of incredible mentors within the corporate world, as well as her own very progressive, dynamic and outspoken family, her parents and her late brother, who has inspired her even in those soul crushing moments.

“My advice to you 21 years later, looking back to when I once sat where you are now in 1997, would be…to not ignore or downplay what makes you genuinely happy. Explore it. Run with it. You only have one life. Make it your best one!

The Careers Café series was launched in 2016 by the Alumni Relations Office to provide a platform for alumni to engage with the university in a different manner by offering their time and skills to help current students prepare for the careers they want. This year, the BA Student Committee (BASC) has partnered with Alumni Relations as part of their own mission to expose current students to established Matie professionals, allowing them to better prepare for their future career.

“This has been the third Careers Café since the Alumni Relations office first conceptualised and launched the Careers Café in 2016. Since then, we have not only seen a growth in number in the attendance of students, but a growing interest from those students to learn more about the kind of soft skills, such as conflict management, public speaking and effective communication skills, they will need to enter the workplace one day. Some of the students that attend our cafés have worked before and have returned to university to continue their studies, but even those students speak of how daunting it was to enter the corporate world for the first time and find themselves with too little information and soft skills to navigate their way in their careers," says Shaun Stuart, Alumni Relations Manager.

“Most importantly, we have opened up another avenue for our alumni to get involved in activities at their alma mater. Now, in addition to making monetary donations, they can also give of their time and talent and prepare the next generation of the South African workforce for a diverse environment where they will be required to possess soft skills to thrive." 


  • For more information about the Careers Café, follow the Alumni Relations Facebook page at www.facebook.com/stellenboschalumni and the SU Facebook page at www.facebook.com/stellenboschuniversity.
  • Photos: Adéle Smith (left) was the guest speaker at the recent Careers Café. With her at the event is Shaun Stuart, Manager: Alumni Relations at Stellenbosch University.