Oremeyi shares some strategies career women can utilize to achieve more in the workforce during an interview with the 9to5 chick.
Oremeyi Akah is a two-decade hands-on customer success leader with proven experience working with multi-disciplinary professionals in Fintech, Payment & Processing Operations, Payment Consulting, Payment Card Products & Customer Centricity across emerging markets and SSA for the purpose of scaling to meet growing business demands.
In this interview with 9to5Chick, Africa’s foremost career development and networking platform for Africa’s most ambitious women, Oremeyi shares 4 power strategies career women can utilize to achieve more prominent roles at their workplace.
What are some strategies that can help women achieve more prominent roles in their organizations?
First, I will borrow some thoughts from Sheryl Sandberg’s book, ‘Lean In’ where she said, ‘Lean in, volunteer, opt to be seen, and make yourself visible’.
So how can you do this?
Here are a few strategies:
– Build Competence
In your role, build up your competence but don’t be so overwhelmed. I find that women spend so much time building competence but still feel imcompetent and this leads to imposter syndrome which we must shake off. So first, build competence and your confidence while at it.
– Stand Out
Stop winking in the dark! Project the work you do and its impact in your organization to the relevant key stakeholders. One way you can do this is to do it from a stakeholder perspective where you’re showing them the value you are delivering and how it impacts the overall objective of the organization positively. This way, it won’t come off as pride but instead, confidence and competence in the work you do.
– Volunteer
I find out that a lot of us career women are too busy to volunteer. We feel overwhelmed and because of that, don’t volunteer for roles or activities outside our role. Sadly, this is not the way to go if you want more prominent roles in your organization. I speak on different panels, volunteer, mentor younger employees and also very active in the onboarding of new employees. These things don’t ‘count’ towards my KPIs at the end of the year or promotions but it does position me as a relevant and visible leader in my organization which makes me eligible for prominent roles in my organization.
– Join Industry Associations
It is very important to participate in industry associations. I’m a member of the Nigeria Fintech Association and participate in ‘Women in Technology’. This has made me visible and positioned as someone really valuable which helps me network with people in my field.
You currently sit on the board of SHECAN Nigeria, What specific skills helped you become boardready and how did you develop these skills?
Three major skills contributed to my board readiness and first among them was my level experience in my industry.
I’ve been in my industry for 20 years ranging from entry level roles in implementation and engineering, rising into middle management roles of business development and now into the c-suite.
I have occupied two roles as Head of Operations of a payment business across Africa and now the Chief Customer Officer for the same company across Africa.
The second skill is my ability to innovate and start new things. I was the first country manager for Verve as a card brand and even though I was working in a corporate firm, it was also some sort of start-up entrepreneurship.
This is because it requires a great deal of focus, tenacity and ability to adhere to details. My current role is also a pioneering role because I am the First Chief Customer Officer and I’m therefore developing and building competence from scratch.
The final skill is my ability to learn and network which I’ve and still do across my industry.
