Blog

DEI can be a very polarizing issue in any organization. 

It is not usually a topic on the mind of African leaders - but it should be.

That is why I invited DEIB practitioner and champion Angela Gachui to talk through the different dimensions of diversity on the MOST diverse continent.

(Listen to our entire conversation here)

Here are three dimensions of diversity leaders should consider:

1) Personality

Our personality affects how we show up in the world, in the workplace, our interaction…

Personal finance guru, Oluwatosin "Tosin" Olaseinde talks about growing into her role as CEO, her growth as a leader and founder, and how it's okay not to have everything figured out. 

Founder of financial literacy and investment platforms Money Africa and Ladda, Tosin aims to democratize access and means of wealth-building for the long term. Tosin is famous in the world of personal finance in Africa as she helps others build their knowledge about finances and build their wealth through smart i…

Last week I hosted an audio event focused on rethinking our perspective on well-being, work-life balance, the future of work, and 'job-crafting.'

 We were joined by leadership trainer, facilitator, and learning designer Shiva Roofeh.

 Shiva's definition of quiet quitting:

"…it's looking at your job description and saying, that's what I'm going to do. And I'm not going to go above and beyond. Simple as that. And also, it's, I think, possibly founded in this radical concept, that your job does …

It's a new year and a new season of the Open Door Conversations podcast. In this short episode, Leadership and Executive Coach (and your host) Akua Nyame-Mensah, talks about her accomplishments over the past year and shares what you can expect from the upcoming season! 

Akua will start the season by welcoming top leaders in their respective industries to talk about the first pillar of leadership, cultivating self-awareness. She'll also incorporate space for guests to celebrate their accomplishm…

"…An assessment cannot create community or psychological safety. It's important to create opportunities for colleagues to connect and learn about each other."

Last week I co-hosted an audio event with Ama Nyame-Mensah, Ph.D., focused on personality tests and how assessments can be used in hiring, coaching, and development.

Thank you, Indra A. Books, Jaki Wasike-Sihanya, Nadia Saleh, Pushkraj Deshpande, Arnold Buoro, and Magriet Mouton, for your contributions.

(Click here to listen to the conv…

Most of us are in the middle of conducting appraisals, setting goals, and updating our strategy for the year.

All of these involve setting expectations. 

Last week I hosted an audio event focused on goal setting and how goals can help us focus and filter.

(Click here to listen to the conversation)

These are three mistakes we tend to make when setting expectations for ourselves AND others:

1. We are terrible at planning and cannot predict the future. As a result, we tend to underestimate ho…

The pandemic completely changed leadership and employee-employer relations.

Last week I hosted an audio event focused on the trends leaders should keep in mind this year to improve retention and increase profits.

(Click here to listen to the conversation)

Here are the top 10 trends shared:

1. Hybrid Leadership: Leaders must know how to be visible AND create psychological safety in remote and in-person environments.
2. Values-Based Leadership: Leaders must create opportunities and spaces for e…

Every year since 2017, I have followed the same process to review my year and select the actions I want to focus on the following year.  This process has helped me grow, prioritize my mental, physical, and emotional health, and, most importantly, help me to exceed my income goals each year.  I also share this practice and my worksheets with my clients.

Each yearly vision (and accompanying habits/ routines) adds up and builds on each other.

You can read about my past Vision Day exercises here.

It's the last episode of 2022, and Akua is going over having a New Year, New Team. There is always the opportunity to reintroduce yourself to your team. People aren't robots, they evolve and change, and in order to keep your leadership relevant and influential, it's always a great idea to periodically reintroduce yourself. Akua calls it the "power of introductions."Akua works primarily alone when doing facilitation and coaching. But recently, she has been joining many new teams for short engagem…

"I'm bootstrapping, which means that the talent I can afford right now is not as experienced as I would like."

Sound familiar?

In this #AskAkua episode of the Open Door Conversations podcast, Akua Nyame-Mensah gives insight on how to start a team on a limited budget and how to give your team more confidence to make decisions independently. 

Bootstrapping looks different to every business, but this episode will give you a framework with which you can learn how to bring together or re-engage a …