5 valuable leadership lessons from the female directors of award-winning digital agency TDMC

The agency holds a rare set of accreditations in Southern Africa, standing as a Shopify Plus Partner, Google Premier Partner, Meta Business Partner, Klaviyo Gold Partner, and TikTok Business Partner. In July 2026, JSE-listed FMCG route-to-market group CA&S Group announced a strategic 30% investment in TDMC, with a pathway to majority ownership. The deal connects TDMC’s specialist digital execution with CA&S’s physical distribution, while keeping TDMC’s leadership, culture, and specialist focus fully intact. Here, TDMC’s four female directors reflect on their growth and success and share five practical leadership lessons for women in business.

Cheryl Ingram

1. Back yourself and take the leap

Waiting for the perfect moment or a flawless business plan often mean never getting started at all. When Ingram started TDMC, e-commerce and digital marketing was still in its infancy in South Africa, but having worked in London for a decade – including a formative stint at Microsoft MSN UK – she trusted her experience. “Start before you feel ready, because you never will,” says Ingram. “I built TDMC around my dining table in 2013 with a laptop and a stubborn belief that I had the experience that the SA market lacked. I didn’t have a grand plan. I had a problem I knew how to solve and the nerve to back myself. If you’re waiting for permission or the perfect moment, you’ll wait forever.” However, don’t underestimate the challenges, says Ingram, “It is way harder than anyone tells you.” That is why it is important to surround yourself with people you trust. “Protect your energy, protect your cash, and be ruthless about who you let into your circle.”

Nicola Ashe

2. Treat mentorship as practical intelligence, not encouragement

At TDMC, mentorship is not treated as a soft HR initiative or a sentimental exercise, but rather as a practical transfer of information that saves years of trial and error. Strategic creative business director Nicola Ashe, who joined TDMC after running her own consultancy, says honest guidance is an essential business tool, particularly female mentorship. “It matters hugely precisely because everyone is winging it. A strong woman mentor will tell you the truth and not sugarcoat anything – the biggest arsenal in a woman’s back pocket in business is leaning on other women,” says Ashe. “Women mentoring women shortcuts a process that otherwise repeats itself every generation, with everyone relearning the same lessons the hard way. Gatekeeping info needs to stop – mentorship isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s how you stop wasting good talent.” Ingram reiterates this, crediting mentorship for her career growth and the success of her business. “Through my career, I have always had the privilege of working with incredible women – either in the capacity of bosses, colleagues or clients – women who have raised up those around them. That’s something I always loved, and it became something I always wanted to emulate myself, so it’s only natural that this became the foundation for how we’ve built TDMC. It’s how we’ve built a team that lasts.”

Melissa Humphry

3. Looking after your people makes smart commercial sense

A common misconception in competitive industries is that looking after employees comes at the expense of profit. TDMC takes the opposite view, proving that putting people first is precisely what drives sustainable financial results. The agency operates a permanent 4.5-day week, closing early on Fridays, with flexi work-from-home hours on two days of the week, and links monthly business results directly to instant earn-outs for staff. Business development director Melissa Humphry, who worked her way up through account management and media buying, notes that a strong people-focused culture directly supports commercial success and client retention. “People over profit doesn’t mean putting commercial success second. In fact, I think it’s the reason commercial success follows,” says Humphry. “The right people create better work, stronger client relationships and a healthier business. We’ve always believed that looking after our people is one of the smartest business decisions you can make. When your team feels valued, respected and invested in, they’re motivated to deliver exceptional work, and that’s ultimately what drives sustainable growth.”

Zandile Dlamini

4. Leading with empathy creates sharper delivery

Women often bring empathy, curiosity, and an ability to manage competing demands into the workplace – qualities that suit a highly distracted world. At TDMC, the leadership team has helped build a “How can I help you?” ethos that filters down through every department. Content partnerships director Zandile Dlamini, who joined the business in 2023 and quickly progressed from campaign management to director after building strategy into every account, highlights that women excel at turning ideas into sharp execution. “Women are natural leaders. We’re used to managing multiple things at once, staying alert to what everyone in the room needs and keeping things moving without being asked,” explains Dlamini. “Women are great at ensuring process holds together and women are executors, we don’t just have ideas, we get them done. I definitely see women contribute to sharper delivery.” Humphry agrees, adding that becoming a mother changed her approach to leadership: “It taught me how important flexibility, trust and understanding are, because everyone is balancing something outside of work. That perspective has helped shape a culture where people feel seen as individuals, while still being challenged to perform at a high level.”

5. Keep learning and drop the fixed mindset

Digital marketing changes constantly, meaning leaders cannot afford to stay rigid in their thinking or assume they have all the answers. Staying current requires ongoing curiosity, regularly updating certifications, and listening to new information without becoming defensive. This adaptability helps TDMC maintain long-term client trust while running accounts transparently, ensuring clients own their own ad accounts as business assets. Dlamini points out that adaptability is a leader’s strongest asset. “I don’t have a fixed mindset, and I’d urge as many people as possible to work on theirs,” she says. “When I’m given new information, I always learn from it rather than defending what I already believed. Leadership isn’t easy and I don’t think good leaders can afford to be rigid. You have to always be listening and always be learning, because the moment you think you’ve got it all figured out is the moment you stop growing.”

Reflecting on TDMCs growth journey and the CA&S partnership, Ingram credits grit and tenacity. “The buyout we announced in July didn't happen because I got lucky. It happened because I stayed in the room on the days I wanted to walk out of it. Build something real and the recognition follows. Chase the recognition and you'll build nothing.”