Sibusiso “Siso” Ntuli is a true Trailblazer with several firsts to his name. He’s a Salesforce star not just because of his proven technical ability but because of his accomplishments as a leader committed to helping others advance. That’s why he was invited as a speaker at Dreamforce 2022 where he was also named the first winner of the Salesforce Military Leader of the Year Award.
A passion for Salesforce, the military, and serving the community
Siso tirelessly advocates for the members of the military and Black Salesforce professional because he believes in doing good for others and supporting the community.” An active drilling Army reservist with over 10 years of service, Siso is as passionate about opportunities for veterans as he is about Salesforce.
He combines those passions as a Principal Solutions Consultants for Salesforce Military, a Salesforce-sponsored organization that provides free training to veterans, transitioning service members, and service spouses. He’s happy to serve as an advocate and ambassador for an organization that expanded his own knowledge, helping him grow his skillset, and become a Salesforce subject matter expert.
Siso is also a leading advocate for Hiring our Heroes, which links American businesses in need of skilled people with military service members, veterans, and their spouses. Hiring our Heroes covers the costs of a Salesforce internship with its host organizations for the military community and has a 95% employment placement rating.
Taking the stage thrice at Dreamforce 2022
Siso was invited to attend Dreamforce 2022 as a speaker. He put together some of his best career advancement tips under the title “Discover How Your Circle Can Further Your Career” at Dreamforce 2022.
Siso was already used to taking the stage from his experience as a contestant on Legends of Low Code, Salesforce’s first-ever reality competition show. His team won the challenge to build an app in order to solve a real world problem a local non-profit organization was facing within two days. All three teams were awarded prize money to donate to the nonprofit cause of their choice. The castmates came together on stage at Dreamforce 2022.
Siso had anticipated being on stage twice and also expected to do some networking and pass his Data Architect exam, which he did. What he had not expected was being called on stage for a third time as the recipient of the very first Salesforce Military Leader of the Year Award. He was only alerted to it at the Salesforce Military dinner when he was already there.
Siso was the unanimous choice for the award. It recognizes his leadership in promoting multiple communities. They include: the Trailblazer community, the Atlanta Salesforce community, the Salesforce military community, and the army military community.
“I guess you could say I set the bar pretty high,” Siso observed about being the inaugural winner.
In accepting it, Siso spoke about why leadership and the Salesforce military is important and how to keep up that leadership in their lives and community.
Siso Ntuli shaking hands with Robert M. Gates, former Secretary of Defense, at Dreamforce 2022
The Road to Delegate
Before coming to Delegate, Siso used his Salesforce skills as the solo admin for the materials services division of Delta Airlines. That’s the department that handles not just airplane parts and equipment for Delta but for other airlines as well.
Of course, the airline industry took a massive hit from the pandemic in 2020. In an attempt to save costs, Delta offered voluntary leaves of absence, separation, and early retirement. Siso wanted to find something more stable and so accepted the separation option.
With his skills and experience, he could have had his pick of Salesforce jobs. In addition to looking for a position that would support his career goals, he needed to be able to balance other demands on his time like army reserve duty, his community work, and his three daughters.
Siso wanted to go the consulting route but was concerned about the headache of tracking hours that most consultants have to deal with. He decided to look more into the Delegate model of consulting, which eliminates the need to track hours or the restriction of SOW.
The Advantages of the Delegate Model
“Everything about the Delegate model is different. That is what piqued my interest,” Siso recalls.
He knew about the unique Delegate model as a result of having established a relationship with the startup’s founders after meeting them at Dreamforce 2019. When he got in touch with them about the possibility of working there, he found that it offered him exactly the combination of stability, autonomy, and flexibility he needed at this stage of his life.
He also appreciates Delegate’s benefits. They came in handy last November when he had an Achilles tendon rupture that required surgery. He was very satisfied with Delegate’s insurance plan, which even covered his physical therapy.
Siso’s army reserve duties typically last two weeks, though they can extend to as long as five weeks. During those extended absences, he doesn’t have to worry about letting his clients down because the team lead will arrange to have other admins fill in for him.
At Delegate, he can set up a schedule that allows him to get all the work he has to do for his clients done while still being able to take his daughters to school or attend parent-teacher conferences. Siso really appreciates having that ability to create his own schedule and work with clients directly without overbearing oversight.
The flexibility of the model extends to scaling the number of clients up or down, according to the admin’s preferences and needs. Siso says he has had as many as seven and briefly held on to just three, though he typically hovers in between those numbers.
“Delegate admins are trusted to handle their workload in the way that is best for the business and themselves,” Siso observes. “As everyone handles things somewhat differently, allowing them to decide how they want to do it gives optimal results all around.”
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