Leading Without Limits

The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve
Osagie and and Justice Adesuwa Oke-
Lawal and a number of other women
(I better stop naming names before
I get into big trouble) have given me
time, attention, advice, money, and
extremely wise counsel over the years.
I have learnt from their examples how
to be a complete woman in every area
of my life. There was even a particular
mentor of mine whose children were
just so well brought up - four boys, and
they are all polite, well-behaved morally
upright and doing very well in school.
I just knew someone had to be doing
something right, and when I asked her,
she told me to ‘just get it right with the
first born’. I have both female and male
mentors for business and investments,
and one of my mentors nominated me
for a board seat in a leading bank a few
years back. I have mentors across all
areas of life that are important to me.
To whom much is given, much is
expected. I have a large number of
mentees, including several of my
former students and former church
youth fellowship members. It is
humbling and unbelievably rewarding
to see the impact one can have on a
life under your care – I will not make
the mistake of listing any of my
“star mentees” here because I will
DEFINITELY get into trouble with that!
They know themselves. But all I will say
is that my mentees are perhaps some
of the greatest joys of my life. When my
time here is spent and the Lord calls me
home, I do not need to wonder about
those who would attend my funeral. I
already know.
The mentor-mentee relationship is one
that has to be nurtured. If you have a
mentee who breaches trust, who isn’t
listening, who sets appointments and
does not show up, then that person is
disrespecting the time of the mentor.
In all, I cannot overemphasise the
importance of mentors, role models,
and mentees in one’s life journey.
Entrepreneurs in the Nigerian Terrain
Many Nigerians are naturally entrepreneurial.
As a people, it’s one of the biggest
advantages of our economy at all
levels from micro to multinational. We
have ENERGY for the hustle! A lot of
Nigerians have imbibed traits without
even realising, perhaps because one of
their parents ran a business or traded. I
think, more than ever, the government
needs to provide an enabling environment
for businesses to thrive. Nigerians
don’t ask for too much - just provide
power, infrastructure, broadband, and
remove legislative and bureaucratic
reforms and they are good to go! Especially
our young people I remember
how many students had one side gig or
another while at university.
I think what many Nigerian SMEs
need to learn is the value of time and
patience. That 5-year mark at which a
lot of businesses go under has to do
with delayed gratification, planning
and preparation. The academic in
me would say we need to do a lot of
thinking - think through the when, the
how and the why. What makes your
product different? What would make
it pass the 5-year mark? If you are
rushing, working with another’s idea,
or a half-baked idea (even if it is a good
idea), it may fizzle out. That patience
to undertake proper preparation is
essential to success.
We are naturally impatient, and it
sometimes hampers the longevity,
sustainability and scalability of our
ideas. I find, sometimes, that non-
Nigerians running businesses here are
more prepared to work with where
we are at because they can see the
potential, while we that are home
underestimate the opportunity that is
around. We are very good at venting
and complaining as a people (and I
wouldn’t say without cause!) but what
do you choose to focus on? The glass
half-full or half-empty?
That spirit of waiting it out and thinking
deeply is very important. I think that
people who delay gratification and
invest their capital back into the
business, do better in the long term.
If you watch 2 or 3 businesses over a
period of time, you can almost tell the
one that will be there in 5 or 10 years’
time just by meeting the visionary. If
the visionary is already living large
because revenue is flowing, that is a
problem. But if the visionary is acting
like there is no profit at all, then you
know the person is thinking further.
We don’t lack creativity or energy, but
deep thinking and continuous learning
is an area we can definitely improve on.
Living Life Fully
I don’t compartmentalise a lot. My life
is my life and I love all parts of it, but
I have learnt to understand there are
times when one part may take some
priority over the others. For instance,
when I was in academia, I could do
school runs with my kids every day;
all I had to do was plan my lecture
periods around it and write my papers
at 4am instead of 4pm. I have a good
support network - a supportive spouse,
my parents, one of my sisters and my
sister-in-law, who all live close by, my
amazing nanny that has been with us
for 7 years now, and a driver that has
been with us for 9 years, my friends
and mentees close by. I really am truly
blessed.
I still run my home from wherever I am
in the world. I shop virtually and have
used Easy Shop, Easy Cook for almost
a decade now. I just email my shopping
list, send a picture of the list, call or go
on their website, whatever works for
me, and the food is delivered to my
kitchen. So, I could be in The Hague, my
daughter can tell me we have run out
of gari, and I can still fix it just like that.
www.thesparkng.com
“The person you marry is
very important because that
decision can either hinder
you or liberate you to die
empty together.”
My kids do not know what its like for
me to go to the market on a Saturday
because I prefer to spend that time
doing other quality things that I enjoy.
I also plan my work schedules. For
example, if it’s my son’s birthday or he
has a school play, I don’t need to hide it
from my immediate boss or my team, I
let everyone know that I will be working
from Lagos on that day because it is
my son’s birthday. Of course, if I have
an important meeting in Abuja or
Kano that day, or if I am called at 11pm
to do an assignment before 8am the
next day, my colleagues know that I
will deliver. It’s a matter of trust and
credibility that you build over time
with your commitment. Having that
flexibility with work helps women in
particular.
So I try to live by example, and I tell
even my male colleagues to go home
if one of their kids is celebrating
something and there’s nothing urgent
on ground. But when I need them
to deliver for our team and for the
country, I expect 200% commitment
from everyone around me. I know I
am pretty intense about pretty much
everything, which can sometimes be
tough for those around me.
All in all, it is really about learning,
maturity, commitment and making the
right judgment calls. Having structure,
being detailed, planning ahead, and
being a disciplined spender all help
make life easier because you will be
under less pressure. Balanced. I love
God and my family. I try to make time
for my friends and mentees, I try to
stay healthy and joyful, I try to have
compassion on others and to spend
my time wisely.
I want to impact the world for good. Its
not really about fame or fortune, those
are sometimes by-products in life but
should never be the focus. Getting to
know yourself and what inspires or
agitates you most on this earth is likely
the key to the solution that you were
born to deliver. Take the leap!
#WhatSheSaid
• Have a burden to make a difference,
and the passion and
courage to live the life that you
want to live without apologies to
anyone.
22 @the
sp
ark
ng