Hidden Gems: Meet Zitty Nxumalo of Deftable LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zitty Nxumalo.

Hi Zitty, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. Before we get into specifics, please briefly describe how you got to where you are today.
In 2019, I was certified as an executive leadership coach through the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). In addition to being a coach, I’m also a workshop facilitator passionate about helping leaders and organizations address dysfunctional habits and team dynamics. My business utilizes customized group facilitation and coaching strategies that support leaders worldwide who are ready to level up their communication effectiveness, authentic leadership competencies, and overall impact in this life. I love working with ambitious individuals and teams with the potential to be high performers.

I was born in Swaziland, southern Africa. Both of my parents worked in healthcare. They received student visas to attend Greensboro College, so we moved to North Carolina when I was 4. As a southern African girl raised in the American South, I studied human behavior and communication for survival. I didn’t know it then, but my experiences as an immigrant significantly shaped my desire to pursue communication and leadership as areas of expertise. Growing up, I paid keen attention to how different people communicated, why they made certain choices, and whether or not those choices yielded what they wanted. I learned to see communication as art – concrete, abstract, and everything in between.

It took me 9 years to finish my 4-year degree. I started undergrad at Spelman College in Atlanta on a full tuition scholarship. When I lost my scholarship during the 2nd semester of my first year, my mom could not afford to take on that expense… so I moved off campus and started paying my way through community college while working as a server at Macaroni Grill in Atlanta. After nearly 6 years in A-Town, I moved back into my mother’s house in Greensboro and finished my bachelor’s degree at Guilford College. After changing schools twice and changing majors 3 times, I graduated with a degree in business management and minors in human resources management, money & finance, and African-American history.

By then, I’d experienced enough to know that communication could make or break someone. I got a master’s in communication studies and started teaching interpersonal communication and public speaking at Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC). The following 13 years would take me into several different industries including the nonprofit world, wealth management, and the entrepreneurial side of healthcare. Every chapter showed me the same thing—the immense importance of communication and the unquestionable impact of quality leadership.

I finished my Ph.D. in leadership studies in 2018 and got my CCL certification in 2019. My days consist of confidential conversations with leaders of all flavors, yet similar everyday challenges emerge. How do we get our team members to tell us the truth? How do we grow an exemplary team? How do we address ineffective communication patterns and difficult personalities? Healthy organizational cultures take consistency and collective intentionality. Most of us weren’t raised in households that modeled such things. So it’s up to us to learn them in adulthood. This is what I’m called to do.

It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Smooth? Absolutely not. I’ve gotten plenty of bumps and bruises that have become some of my richest lessons. I’d decided to skip out on one paper in one class during undergrad, losing the highly coveted scholarship I’d received from arguably the most prestigious historically Black college in the nation (Spelman College). It was heartbreaking. Then, after pledging never to do such a thing, I left Atlanta and returned to my mother’s home after several years of being in and out of community college. I somehow ended up in the teaching field, a move that I’d actively sworn against for years. I’ve learned never to say never because life offers detours that show you parts of yourself that you’d otherwise never have met.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My business is called Deftable. To be “deft” is to be skilled, agile, and clever. We work with clients who desire to become more deft communicators and leaders. We have coached leaders working for the National Football League®, DoorDash, the University of Notre Dame, the United Nations, the U.S. Army, the Salisbury Police Department, Pacific Premier Bank, Marshfield Health Systems, and others. We specialize in one-on-one coaching and group facilitation. Our programs are customized for each client following a complimentary discovery call that allows us to learn about client needs and determine whether or not we can add value.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Professionally, I am a leadership coach and workshop facilitator. I am also a dancer who was trained by the E. Gwynn Dance Company of NC A&T State University. In 2020, I co-founded my own Afro-fusion dance company for women of color as a way of caring for our minds and bodies during the maddening uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic – Zodwa Dance Co. Since our founding, we have hosted several classes for the public, accepted performance invitations, and held auditions to attract more women into our community. Dance has taught me so much about leadership – being comfortable with having all eyes on me, learning the importance of breath management and self-awareness, managing emotions, and actualizing creative visions with the support of a team.

Pricing:

• 1:1 coaching = $350/hour
• Workshop Facilitation = $400/hour (Up to 25 participants)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.deftable.com
• Instagram: @deftable
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Deftable
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zittynxumalo/