June 2018 – African Women in Leadership Organisation

AWLO 10TH ANNIVERSARY COUNTDOWN kick-starts with NGFL Roundtable Abuja

It’s been a yearning for African Women In Leadership Organisation (AWLO), to raise young female leaders and involve more experienced leaders in raising them. The Youth Council of African Women in leadership Organisation has been the anchor for raising young leaders however there is a need to harness the experience of Women Leaders in raising them.

The gap between the younger and older women leaders has created a disconnect. It is our responsibility to ensure that values are handed down and It is important for the young leaders to glean from the wealth of experience of older leaders.

Our hope is for their efforts to be consolidated as many young leaders are already contributing to their community. We hope for the experienced leaders to create tangible opportunities for them in addition to sharing experiences.

The Next Generation Female Leaders Roundtable; NGFL Abuja held yesterday was finally a fruition of our desires. The Young Leaders were excited to finally have an experienced leader who can walk in their shoes. The Director General of NAPTIP; Barr. Julie Okah-Donli who hosted the Roundtable hit the nail on the head as she delved into real life issues that stop the women from owning the leadership narrative. She shared overwhelming statistics, and buttressed that the female folk have been marginalized for too long.

Barr. Julie shared her milestones as an example of a woman who has conquered the leadership benchmark for women. Her experience ranged from being a student and breaking out of the ‘women are not as smart’ mold and bagging so many accolades, to serving in the capacity of the Executive Assistant to the Governor of Bayelsa State; where she created opportunities for more women to get involved in Leadership. She advised the ladies to be their sisters’ keepers and raise each other up, rising above competitiveness.

To crown it up, she opened opportunities for the young leaders to partner with NAPTIP. The ladies shared about their impressive projects, and Barr. Julie was moved to get involved. She committed to speaking engagements, NAPTIP’s full involvement in their projects, and teaming up with them for NAPTIP’s Community Development efforts.

The Ladies were given ‘a free pass’ to the AWLO 10th Anniversary Conference, as this was a first in a series of events in a build up to the Conference. The Founder of AWLO who not only explained the importance of creating such exemplary leadership opportunities for young women to emulate, but to open doors for them for global relevance for young women

The Founder of AWLO; Dr. Elisha Attai

The 10^th Anniversary Conference a.k.a The 10^th Annual African Women in Leadership Conference is a solution to the gap in women’s leadership in Africa. AWLO has initiated a movement that changes the narrative in women’s leadership in Africa through capacity building, and engaging stakeholders in the initiation of solutions to involve more women in leadership.

This year’s African Women in Leadership Conference opens with a reception on the 19th of July in honor of the Vice President of Liberia; Chief Dr. Jewel Howard-Taylor, a member of African Women in Leadership Organisation. This is a major milestone for AWLO; producing a female leader in that capacity.

This will be followed by the 2 days Conference that converges women of African Descent for leadership development. Not only does it provide women a platform to network but to brainstorm for personal development. It’s a case of ‘birds of a feather flock together’. Whereas it is important to talk about women forming think-tanks and support systems, it is more important to have them actually do it.

Women getting involved in creating opportunities for themselves. This is not a group of wailers, but women bringing their own seat to the table.

Asides from bonding moments, our speakers are policy makers, outstanding professionals, innovators, from all over Africa and the diaspora. We are going to engage in enlightening conversations and create opportunities for women to excel through Learning sessions and networking.

One of the high points of this event is the unveiling and decoration of ‘100 Amazons’ a compendium of women who have risen above the setbacks that beset women in Africa to become shining examples in their field.

African Women in Leadership Conference also inspires ‘the African Movement’ and will feature Exhibitions by indigenous brands and an African fashion Show headlined by the Nigerian Brand Kiks Place.

Yes, this is going to be a mix of learning and fun!

Are you still wondering what to do next? Start by Registering for African Women in Leadership Conference via www.awlo.org/anniversary and create your #AWLOAT10 DP via http://adp.awlo.org/

See more photos from AWLO Next Generation Female Leaders Roundtable in Abuja:

Women in Leadership Q & A

Women in Leadership Q and A: Maureen Omokhomion Shares Life Lessons From Her Leadership Journey

Anything is possible and doable if you put your heart to it- Mrs. Maureen Omokhomion

Mrs. Maureen Omokhomion is a dynamic African woman, highly disciplined mother with an innate capacity and passion to care for and mentor others. She has a B.sc in Economics, an MBA (Finance) and trained as a self driven seasoned banker, imbibed very strong values of self appraisal to ensure continuous productivity and value creation.
She is driven by a strong belief that you can impact lives by consistently sowing seeds of confidence in them to become better persons. Maureen is very strategic in approach to life as she believes that anything is possible and doable if you put your heart to it.
She is currently a member of the Governing Council of FUTO and CEO, Preen Group (an outfit with interest in Corporate & Industrial Cleaning, Business re-engineering, Training and Consulting). Maureen is the founder of Ibhariegua Global Initiative, which lends a voice to the abandoned child and President of Achieving Ladies, a Christian women organization with over 500 members.

How Her Father Influenced Her Journey

I would say I was very fortunate to have a father who was a very well respected leader and seasoned administrator. I was taught at an early age to be open to learning, take responsibility for my actions, share knowledge with humility and there were clear sanction grid.

There are usually hurdles in the leadership process especially when you lack the requisite skills and knowledge to execute a task. You must be humble enough and willing to learn new skills as you cannot give what you don’t have. As a leader, never live in denial. Also, when you are in privileged position to lead, never hoard knowledge and don’t be cynical.

For me, leadership is about empowering lives as a role model. It creates influence through impact. I believe strongly in leadership by example and ‘walking the talk’

She Inspires Her Team By Being A Role Model

As a team leader, every team member is important to the success of your team. Because you take responsibility for the success and failure of the team, you must first position yourself as the role model for every member to learn from. You must be willing to make sacrifices, source the right information and be a good team player so that you are able to impact knowledge and push team members to be better versions of themselves. When you develop a strong team, there is consistency, continuity and sustainability of good results.

I recall once as a team lead, I noticed that the performance of one of my key team member was dropping consistently. I had to have a one-on-one with her and I discovered she had a domestic issue. Immediately, I had to go out of my way to address the issue. With continuous encouragement, she was able to pull herself out of it and we met our targets.

Sometimes, you have to deal with personal issues of team members to get maximum productivity.

She Grows By Learning From Every Experience She Encounters

As a leader, you evolve and grow through followership. You must learn from someone, processes, structures and environment. Every experience is a learning opportunity for you. As an evolving leader, who is willing to grow, you must thirst for knowledge, open your heart to learning, and be disciplined, humble and ambitious. Don’t be afraid to fail. If you fail, take responsibility, make corrections and move on. Don’t cut corners and never compromise your integrity and dignity. Never have an attitude of self entitlement and always be respectful.

She Believes Integrity Is a Must-Have For Every Leader

Every leader should have unquestionable integrity because as a leader, you are a mentor and you are impacting knowledge, transferring information and skills to your mentee. You are expected to pass the right values to your mentee for successes to be sustainable over time.

Her Favorite Quote

‘A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way’ by John C. Maxwell.