CIO Africa Magazine October 2022

felt it gave her credibility in the market, and she was more mature focusing on an MBA at her age. “This is knowledge that really elevates how you think, your status, helps you think outside the box, look at things differently. As a leader you are more exposed.” Up next, she is thinking of enrolling for coach leadership to ramp up her soft skills beyond academic exposure.

When you are working for an organisation that has more than 20 individuals, many things come up.

Politics, relevance, governance at every level – and then, soft skills. How do I manage my boss? How do I ensure my growth? How do I balance my life? Soft skills, she says, need to be continuously grown and understood because the dynamics always change and learning never stops. Soft skills include people management, negotiations, meeting customers, C-level management, how to dress. “There are countries I go to, and I know I can’t go with natural hair. They would rather see me in a wig. There are all sorts of soft skills. They become even more intense when you introduce culture. And I run 10 territories. With dynamic culture, the soft skills learning never stops. My context is broader.”

Describing her leadership style as “very intuitive, almost spontaneous, but also very inward-looking. I’m always reflect on who I am. It is sub conscious.”

Leadership, for her, starts with what you have such as children, parents, and siblings. “When it comes down to it, it’s almost expected of you to always ask yourself, ‘am I doing this right?’ Having children means they always check you.

It must be very intentional. As a leader, when in a certain leadership position, you want your attitude, your way of doing things and your presence felt. It is very important to check, what do I want that will have a ripple effect? That will resonate. Am I a good example? I know it sounds cliché, but it is the case. Am I demonstrating what I am demanding of my team? Do I respect myself as a leader for the team to respect me?”

This is critical because Everline manages 36 www.cioafrica.co | OCTOBER 2022 | CIO Africa Magazine | by dx⁵