Building a Career with Purpose:
Lessons From AfMA ' s First Women in Fleet Management Award Winner
WORDS BY ANBY ALCOMENDAS
Career success is often measured by titles, promotions, and salaries, but these traditional markers are only a small part of the big picture.
In a webinar hosted by AfMA’ s Women in Fleet Management( WIFM) Committee sponsored by BOQ Finance and Smartfleet, Theresa Labuschagne, the inaugural Women in Fleet Management Award recipient reflected on a career spanning more than two decades across rail, mining, manufacturing and other high-risk industries.
As the Safety, Health, and Wellbeing Risk Systems Manager at KiwiRail, she has spent much of her professional life focused on risk, change management and creating safer workplaces. Yet her journey has been shaped just as much by personal experiences as by professional achievements.
Careers are seasonal, not linear
Early in her career, Theresa tied success closely to ambition, professional recognition, and the desire to prove herself in the workplace. But a series of personal challenges, family experiences, migration, and unexpected life events changed her perspective.
She went from seeing her career as a straight path from one milestone to the next to a series of changing seasons, all of which require differing approaches, priorities, and forms of preparation. Some seasons are more difficult than others; some bring growth and opportunity, but all of them have valuable lessons to teach you.
Career development isn’ t always about moving onward and upward as quickly as possible. Sometimes, it’ s about adapting, learning, and recognising that different stages of life demand different things from a person.
Stop chasing perfection
Regardless of the industry a person is in, there’ s always the perceived notion that they need to be perfect. Theresa is no stranger to this situation.
She spoke openly about her self-doubt, overthinking, and the tendency to replay conversations, meetings, and decisions long after they ' ve happened. However, this perfectionism can quickly become a barrier to personal growth. It can create unrealistic expectations of oneself and even bring forward feelings of inadequacy.
Many professionals become so focused on doing more that they neglect their own wellbeing. But the constant pursuit of doing more only creates
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