Hello ,
Things are not the same! Millions of Nigerians have ‘returned’ from a lockdown to businesses that are grappling with how to survive a drastic change. People have taken to wearing masks and gloves. Some have decided to wrap themselves in nylons for protection! Everyone is trying to survive. Businesses are in ultra-survival mode too!
So, how do you set yourself apart in these trying times? We listened to three Nigerians setting themselves apart in Corporate Social Responsibility, Marketing and advertising. Let’s just say they gave us scoops that would last a decade!
Steve Babaeko, CEO/Chief Creative Officer, X3M Ideas; Odunayo Sanya, Ag. Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, MTN Nigeria and Lampe Omoyele, Managing Director, Nitro121 were panellists at a webinar on Effective Leadership in Uncertain Circumstances facilitated by School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University, and we grabbed all the gems we could.
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Here are five things that gave us all we need:
1. Re-focus, re-plan and re-strategize:
Stop moping about and feeling sorry for all your great ideas that would have been the bomb! It has happened. Now, we know what it means for someone to cough and the place ‘scatters. You are alive and breathing, be thankful and find ways to make do with what you have.
Steve Babaeko explained that “we are in uncharted waters. There’s actually no reference book, no handbook. A calm sea does not make a good sailor. Where we are is to have a plan, projecting the good, the bad and the very worse.” So, put all your facts and realities on the table and get cracking!
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2. Be Ready To Adapt:
What worked two months ago, may be a disaster at this point. This might be the time to unlearn a boatload of things. Odunayo Sanya likened the pandemic to a major earthquake. “It’s going to reposition a lot of us, maybe not physically. Our positions will shift, whether in our beliefs, ideas, the systems that will hold so dear. A lot of things will shift.”, Odunayo Sanya explained. So, things are already changing, are you ready?
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3. Widen Your Thinking:
The world is still shocked that a disease that originated in Wuhan, China, has spread so swiftly. Lampe Omoyele shared that the spread of the virus “imposes a new mindset in terms of leadership. Therefore, it says you can’t just be thinking local, but [we need to be] thinking global. It has an impact. Today’s leadership has to be in touch with global practices. That’s a critical mind shift that is going to be required for leaders. We must take learnings from global for local solutions. You can’t just take lock stock and barrel the global solutions and apply them.”
4. Take the Reins of Your Life:
You have heard some motivational speakers say this that you want to roll your eyes. Abeg, put your eyes back down and finish this. This may be the best time to take yourself to places you have not imagined. Your career, your life, isn’t in your boss’ hands. How far you go and how quickly you go there is dependent on the momentum you create.
Odunayo, also the author of Alphabets of Leadership For Young Minds, spoke on ‘self-leadership’, “Call your bosses!”, she stressed. If your bosses are not calling you, you may be in trouble. Find ways to prove yourself, to yourself. Do not wait for calls or emails. Take a step and begin, already.
Take Fantastic Care Of Yourself: This is the time to take good care of your mind and body. Whether you are behind a screen or eating snacks on your couch or trying to get into a bus in Oshodi – while reducing body contact to the barest minimum – you need to be at your finest physical and mental shape. To conquer the business world, you need your wits and mind around you. Lampe Omoyele pointed out “you need to work out. Whether it’s just a walk to clear your head or vigorous exercise. Leaders need to do what is necessary to put their heads in a good place that would allow [them] make good decisions.”
There were a lot more pointers and we wanted even more!
Hopefully, these kick up the fighter-spirit within you.
Stay safe and have a gorgeous week!
BHM
Seunmanuel Faleye is a brand and communications strategist. He is a covert writer and an overt creative head. He publishes Apple’s Bite International Magazine.
