Who do you turn to when shift happens?
When life gets tough, it can seem easier to handle things by yourself. But often, the people around you make all the difference.
Most of us are taught to figure things out on our own. Push through. Be strong. Keep going.
But when life really shifts, that approach doesn’t always hold.
In the latest episode of When Shift Happens, a JacPod Original podcast in partnership with Jacaranda FM, South African mountaineer and explorer Saray Khumalo sits down with Dr Helena Dolny and Busisiwe (Totsie) Memela-Khambula to talk about something many people don’t think about until they have to. Who do you lean on when things get hard?
Saray frames the conversation through a simple but powerful idea. Even on the highest mountains, no one summits alone. You may take the steps yourself, but you rely on the people who guide, support, and steady you along the way.
And the same is true in everyday life.
ALSO LISTEN | READ: When Shift Happens: She stepped away from success and rebuilt her life
When things don’t go to plan
There are moments that catch all of us off guard. A change you didn’t expect. A setback you didn’t plan for. A period where everything feels uncertain. It’s in those moments that the idea of doing everything on your own starts to feel heavy.
The conversation reflects on how people move through those times, and what often makes the difference between staying stuck and finding a way forward.
The people who help you through
Support doesn’t always look the way we expect. Sometimes it’s guidance. Sometimes it’s someone asking the right question. Sometimes it’s simply knowing you’re not carrying everything by yourself.
Dolny and Memela-Khambula both bring years of experience working with people through change, both professionally and personally. They speak about the role of connection, trust and honest conversations, and why these are often the things that carry people through the hardest moments.
Why it matters more than we think
It’s easy to underestimate the role other people play in our lives. Until something shifts.
We like to think success is personal, but most of the time, it isn’t. It’s built with others, through others, and often because of others.
Listen to the full episode at the top of the page, or directly below.
Dr Helena Dolny
Dr Helena Dolny is a leadership coach, consultant and author with a career that spans community development, academia, government and senior roles in the banking sector. She was appointed Managing Director of the Land Bank of South Africa and later held executive roles at First National Bank and Standard Bank. Her work today focuses on helping individuals and organisations navigate change, build resilience and lead with greater self-awareness. She is the co-founder of the LoveLegacyDignity Institute, a public education initiative that encourages more open conversations about mortality, legacy and the realities many people avoid until it’s too late. Drawing on both professional experience and personal loss, her work brings a practical and human approach to difficult conversations, leadership transitions and life beyond the workplace.
Busisiwe (Totsie) Memela-Khambula
Busisiwe (Totsie) Memela-Khambula is a seasoned business leader, former CEO of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), and a global consciousness coach with more than 30 years of leadership experience. Her career spans financial services, development banking, education and public administration, where she has led large-scale transformation, strengthened governance, and driven programmes focused on inclusion and access. She has played a key role in initiatives that support economic participation, education funding and social development, including leading national efforts to deliver social grants at scale. Today, she works closely with leaders and organisations to build more human-centred, purpose-driven approaches to leadership, helping them navigate complexity while staying grounded in values and impact.
Meanwhile: What happens when success doesn’t go your way?
In a previous episode, business leader, psychologist and mountaineer Louis Carstens (pictured above with Saray) reflects on failure, accountability and the lessons that only come when things don’t go to plan.
About Saray Khumalo
Saray Khumalo is an award-winning mountaineer, business executive, speaker and author. She made history as the first Black African woman to summit Mount Everest and has also completed the Seven Summits challenge, climbing the highest mountain on each continent. Beyond mountaineering, Saray has built a successful corporate career and is the founder of Summits with a Purpose, an initiative that raises funds and builds physical and digital libraries in disadvantaged African communities. Through her partnership with Jacaranda FM, she now brings her leadership insights to audiences through When Shift Happens, a JacPod Original podcast dedicated to helping others navigate change and realise their potential.
Missed an episode? Catch the full When Shift Happens podcast channel here.