The Law of Appreciation
Today, I got a letter via WhatsApp. The way I grinned, one would have taught it was more than a letter. To me, it’s actually more than a letter. Here’s why. I met this estate agent a while ago. Young, dynamic, and versatile, he made a good impression on me from the moment I saw him. I referred his...
The Power of Empathy in Leadership
Sometimes, just being human is the highest form of leadership. We were all gathered for a business review session that morning. We had the Executive Director who supervised us visiting from Lagos. Suddenly, as he looked around, he asked for one of my colleagues. The guy was absent. It turned out...
Leadership: The Greatest Investment is in People
Some years ago when I was a Branch Manager, I sat at one of our monthly performance review meetings and it suddenly dawned on me that seated right there in that room were four other Branch Managers who had passed through me. In other words, they were Relationship Officers whom I supervised but had...
The Four Competencies of Nigeria’s President
Yesterday, I co-anchored Impact 2021 with TVC’s Esther Omopariola. This is the third year in a row that both of us have anchored this event starting with Impact 2019 which featured Desmond Elliot, Dayo Israel, and Prof Kingsley Moghalu. In 2020, it was the turn of Prof Chukwuma Soludo. And...
#21Lessonsin21years: ‘People Might Not Like You But Never Allow Them To Say You Don’t Know Your Job’ (2)
This morning, I had a conversation with a colleague at work. He shared 3 things his former boss told him. He said they have been the foundation of his career. First: People might not like you but never give them the opportunity to say you don’t know your job. Second: You are too young for office...
#21Lessonsin21years: Find A Way To Connect To A Source Greater Than You (1)
We had a deadline. An impossible one. Turn around the branch in 30 days or get fired. The countdown had started. I was a Team Lead and I saw the pains in the eyes of my Branch Manager. We had to do all we could to meet the deadline. We ran all over town, trying to pull the chest out of the fire....
21 Years of Fulfilment
Exactly 21 years ago, I started my career in banking. That’s was May 30, 2000. I was 25 years and a graduate of mechanical engineering. I was scared because I didn’t know what the future held. I have worked for 7 financial institutions and across various units and locations. I have been a teller...
Interview: A Two-Way Street
As I stepped into the building, I took note of every single detail. How did the lady at the reception receive me? How did the staff relate? I looked out for those I assumed to be senior; how did they relate to their subordinates? What's the culture like? When it was my turn to be interviewed, I...
The Player Who Beat His Own Record
The telephone rang. It was a most unusual caller with a more unusual plea. The President of his nation was on the line. 'Please come out of retirement and join the national team again', Paul Biya, the President of Cameroun said. It was 1990 and the man was Roger Milla. Roger made his first...
Leadership: When Brilliance Is Not Enough
Who do you allow to lead a country- a man who is an economic wizard and has been trained at the most prestigious universities but with very insignificant interpersonal skills and other soft skills or a man who is average in intellect but has outstanding interpersonal skills and is recognized as a...