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Cultivating Genuine Confidence and Exuding Excellence in The Little Things with Adeola Fabunmi
510 Plays1 year ago
Bringing back this episode because, why not?
+ Adeola has now been promoted to a Director at Bank of America and she will be our key note fire side spotlight in our International Youth Day Event coming up on the 12th of August, 2023.
Register to attend the event here. Spaces are limited!
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In this episode, Bukola sits down with her Mentor Adeola Fabunmi, Vice President at Bank of America Adeola shares her journey with so much wisdom that you cannot but be encouraged to believe in your capacity. + She has a YouTube Channel, AdeFab, where she shares lovely educational contents. This is an episode you really don't want to procrastinate on.
Remember to use #TheGrowthPodcast on Twitter (or Thread) to share what you resonated with on this episode.
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Transcript
Understanding Personal Space and Voice
00:00:02
Speaker
It's not enough for that dream or that desire to be in your head. You need to write it down.
00:00:09
Speaker
But remember, you have been invited to that place. And the fact that you've been invited, you have earned that spot. So you have to sit in that spot. And not only that, you actually have a voice as well.
Introduction to The Groat Podcast
00:00:24
Speaker
So you need to own it. Hello and welcome to The Groat Podcast. I am Bukhala, founder and CEO of Groatians. So in this podcast episode, I sit down with my amazing mentor, Adeola Fabongli,
00:00:37
Speaker
And she shares so much about our journey, the power of confidence, and just basically how you can use the small things that you have to really achieve more and bigger things for yourself.
Inspiration from Adeola's Journey
00:00:50
Speaker
She's been an all-around inspiration for me. The first time I heard her speak was in a session that was organized during my internship.
00:00:58
Speaker
And I was just like, this is a wise woman that I always want to have in my corner. And then I set up a catch up call and then she shared so much about the things that she's experienced and the things that she's learned. And to be honest, she's one of the inspiration to build
00:01:16
Speaker
Because hearing that story alone, I was like, I cannot hear this alone. Other young people need to be listening to you. And so I have invited her to speak, sit back and let's dive in.
Podcast's Purpose: Revealing True Success
00:01:29
Speaker
The Growth Podcast is a space where we share the real stories behind the stories. We take you behind the scenes of the success stories you read and see online. We lift the wheel.
00:01:41
Speaker
and ask the questions that no one else is asking. To expand your mind and break the limits that society, and quite frankly yourself, have placed in it. And all these is to get you to realize that your version of success is attainable for you too.
Adeola's Enthusiastic Participation
00:02:03
Speaker
Hi Adeola, it's so good to have you on the podcast today. I mean, it was just a short period of time that I gave you to join me on the podcast and you're like, oh yeah, let's do this. And I mean, I know the first time we had a catch up session, I was just amazed with your story and your journey. And I'm like, I cannot be the only one hearing
Defining Confidence: Comfort in Self
00:02:24
Speaker
this. A lot of other young people need to be listening to you as well. So thank you. Thank you so much for honoring my invite.
00:02:32
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. It's actually a pleasure. So I always like starting with the icebreaker and the icebreaker that I have for you is so serious. It is very serious. Okay. Well, perhaps that's a reflection of me. Very serious.
00:02:57
Speaker
So the icebreaker question I have for you is, what does confidence mean to you? And Adeola, I know that you're a really confident person. Every time I have had
00:03:08
Speaker
an opportunity to be in the same room with you or converse with you, I could just feel your confidence. The first time I heard you speak was when we had an event that was organized for us when we were interns. And then the second time was the event with your me. And I was like, who is this woman? I must have her in my corner. And I'm just like, you're a confident person. So what exactly does confidence mean to you and how would you define it?
Impact of Self-Comfort on Perception
00:03:38
Speaker
Okay, so that's an interesting one and it's a serious one actually. So for me, I would define confidence as being comfortable in yourself.
00:03:51
Speaker
Right? So I know the normal, the theoretical law is the Oxford dictionary definition of confidence would be to believe in something, right? To have a feeling about something. The way I would describe confidence for me, especially, because it's quite interesting that you say I sound confident when in actual fact, if you see me where I am,
00:04:18
Speaker
You perhaps know that I still have the bit of nerves. However, when it comes to leaving the house, going to work and having to communicate with people, confidence happens
00:04:33
Speaker
based on how you feel about yourself. So for me, confidence is, are you comfortable with
Preparation's Role in Communication
00:04:40
Speaker
yourself? Because if you're comfortable with yourself as a person, then that would actually exude out, right? People would feel it. People would sense it. So that's what I would call confidence. I would say being comfortable in yourself, in your skin, especially as a lady. For me, when I go out of the house, I'm preparing to leave the house.
00:05:02
Speaker
and I'm dressed up and my hobby could say, oh, that skirt is too short or the blouses to this. And my response would be, okay, that's fine. Why do you feel that way? And he tells me and I say, you know what, you know, I actually feel comfortable in it. And I tell him, okay, you prefer me to wear this, right? I wear that to him. You know, I wear it for him in the house and I'll say, well, this is for you.
00:05:28
Speaker
You're happy? I'm going out now. I have to be comfortable in myself. I have to feel happy with myself. And that's the way I see it. And it's very, very important that if you're not comfortable with yourself, then it's going to reflect in everything that you do. It doesn't matter how prepared you are, by the way. So you're going for a presentation and you've prepared. You actually have learned everything you need to know. You're an SME subject matter expert.
00:05:58
Speaker
but you're actually not comfortable the way your hair is looking. Or you feel like, oh my goodness, my outfit is not suitable. That would reflect in how you communicate to people or how you carry yourself. So for me, confidence really is being comfortable in your skin, comfortable with yourself.
Presentation's Influence on Perception
00:06:20
Speaker
That's what I'll call confidence.
00:06:22
Speaker
Yeah and I think that's a really beautiful explanation and I really like the fact that you mentioned that confidence means you being comfortable in yourself. I think a lot of us haven't really gotten to that point where we are genuinely comfortable with ourselves. You find that a lot of people like to look to external sources to validate them and affirm what they're doing. So say for instance we want to go to a party or we want to go somewhere and we dress up. The next question that comes from our mouth is
00:06:51
Speaker
asking the other person does this look good on me you think i'm looking okay when the actual question we're supposed to be asking ourselves is am i comfortable in this thing that i'm wearing and one of the things that is so important is the fact that perception is reality
00:07:06
Speaker
If you don't feel confident, if you don't have that mindset of someone who carries a self as a confident person, if you don't take yourself seriously, no one will take you seriously. And this message came through from my friend when I was having my Bank of America interview.
00:07:25
Speaker
at that time i was just like oh my god i've learned this i've read this i've practiced this but you know what i don't really feel up to it and she's like let me tell you something perception is reality again if you don't take yourself seriously no one will take you seriously and i went into that interview with the mindset of someone who
00:07:45
Speaker
really knows what she's yet to do and everyone within that premise actually felt my confidence they could see it because let me tell you when you carry yourself
Owning Your Space and Voice
00:07:55
Speaker
with confidence people will feel it they will know that this person knows that stuff and when I was done with the interview I got a call from HR that your interviewer has really liked you
00:08:05
Speaker
and they want you to interview for another role. That's the power of confidence. Yeah, it's very, very important because perception is very, very key. I know in some cases it might be difficult to change people's perception, but you're meeting people for the first time and you want to give the right or the correct perception about yourself.
00:08:29
Speaker
And even if you're nervous, that's what I say. There's a difference between when you're meeting people for the first time and you're nervous, which comes naturally, right? You want to sing in front of a big stage, nerves kick in.
00:08:47
Speaker
When you're comfortable in yourself and you've prepared and you're happy with yourself, that's another thing. You're happy with yourself. It actually just flows through. People see that. And even if they ask you a question and you don't know the answer, right, you can confidently, comfortably say,
00:09:11
Speaker
I don't have the answer for you at the moment, but I will try to get that for you. You can say that confidently. It's different from, um, so, um, okay, I'm not really sure, um,
00:09:28
Speaker
I would, can you say the difference between somebody asks you a question and you say, oh, that's a very good question. I don't have the answer for you, but I will try to get that for you. You're confident, comfortably, because you don't need to have all the answers, but then you don't have to start fluffing around. And that's very, very important, especially when you're
00:09:53
Speaker
meeting people when you're going to have an interview, you have prepared, you have done all your homework, you know your audience to the best of your ability, you come in front of them, you have to
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
00:10:10
Speaker
on that space, right? So they've invited you to the place, and where they've invited you to, they've said, Bukola, that's your seat. That's where you're meant to sit. Don't come into that room standing. No, you have a seat. It doesn't matter how you perceive those other people. They might be so senior. But remember, you have been invited to that place.
00:10:36
Speaker
And the fact that you've been invited, you have earned that spot. So you have to sit in that spot. And not only that,
00:10:46
Speaker
you actually have a voice as well. So you need to own it. So it's not a time to feel, oh my goodness, these people are also senior and you're also quiet and you're not trying to express yourself. You feel what they call, is it imposter syndrome? They call it now. When you, exactly, you know, when you start, it's not the time you've earned it.
00:11:12
Speaker
and you own it, so use it.
Adeola's Unexpected Career Path
00:11:15
Speaker
Wow, like that was really beautiful. Like I said at Diola, you're a very confident person and it really showed in the way you answered this question, you exceeded your confidence in answering this question. Thank you, thank you for that.
00:11:29
Speaker
So Ateola, I would like us to move to your journey. Now you're currently a vice president at a global investment bank and it's easy for people to see that attached to your name and say, oh yeah, Ateola just has it easy. Everything was just perfect. It was just a smooth road, but no one would really know your actual journey and story unless you share it. And I know the first time I heard you speak, I was just like,
00:11:57
Speaker
This is one of those people who went to UCLA or Oxford or Cambridge, made an application to the bank and got the offer. But that's not the case. And I know that you sharing your journey today, a lot of people listening now would learn from it and just take something home that would really spark fire in them to just be their best self. So yeah.
00:12:23
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. You hit the nail on the head. It's actually a journey. It's definitely a journey. And I like the phrase you've used, a journey. And that's what a number of us miss when we meet people that we
00:12:39
Speaker
want to learn from or we appreciate or we deem them being in a good place, we only sometimes we get lost in where they are and forget to ask about the journey because the journey for me is where there's a lot to be learnt as well.
00:12:56
Speaker
So, I'm actually a graduate from Obama for me, our law university. So I grew up in Nigeria,
Starting Small and Excelling
00:13:04
Speaker
most part of my life was in Nigeria. I grew up as a child in Nigeria. I went to Obama for me, our law investing, and I studied agriculture. So my university degree was in agriculture. My intention was to study to be a doctor, you know, what mommy wants you to do. I was like, Oh, I want to be a doctor.
00:13:24
Speaker
But at that point in time, my jam results wasn't at the level for me to be admitted for a medical degree in a buffer mineral oil investor. So I was taken into agriculture and I was like, you know what, let me do that first and perhaps I would move internally while I get into the school and so forth. So that's how I got into agriculture. Fast forward, I graduated in agriculture.
00:13:52
Speaker
While I was in Abafameola University, I was the vice president of the student union at the point in time. Not sure if I've told you that before, but I was the vice president of the student union at that point in time. So I graduated, and when I graduated, went for a normal youth service, like every graduate should go for a youth service. And after my youth service,
00:14:18
Speaker
you know, looking for a job and I got my first job at that point in time was to be on the switchboard.
00:14:27
Speaker
at a bank, an investment bank, First City Monument Bank. I'm sure you perhaps will remember that bank. It still exists now, thank goodness. So First City Monument Bank, that was where I got my first job. And the job was actually to be by the switchboard. Because at that point in time, I was between my NYC and all that, not totally finished. So anyways, I got this job, finished my NYC.
00:14:53
Speaker
got to First City Monument Bank was by the switchboard. And by the switchboard, what we do is someone calls in and you say, hello, FCMB, how may I help you? Right? So that was my day.
00:15:09
Speaker
And I graduated, obviously, from there, doing a great job. I moved on to the switchboard by the human resource department. So, you know, you have the general switchboard where people, no one sees you, and then you move on to the switchboard where people can actually see you. So that's like you're progressing.
00:15:27
Speaker
and it was quite an interesting period because remember I said I was on the human resource floor so you could see graduates coming in for interviews so I'll see my colleagues from school coming for interviews to do like the accounting job and trying to get into technology and you know do the proper job and I was by the switchboard so
00:15:53
Speaker
I'm not kidding you. There were those moments where I felt, you know, felt uncomfortable, right? Like this is what I'm doing. But to be very honest, I did it anyways, because that's what I was there to do. What am I trying to say? What I'm trying to say is while I was at the switchboard doing that with all my colleagues and my friends coming over,
00:16:17
Speaker
At that point in time, there was this rule in Nigeria then that banks had to increase their capital base. They had to raise funds and that's to ensure that they had enough capital and they were not seen at risk of going bust. So the bank had to open an investor relations department.
00:16:35
Speaker
And there was a meeting, there was a board meeting and that was, um, she put me ballo goon and everyone in the board. This is back hurry. I think the head of legal then. So you see a cold goon. They would do a number of them in the board meeting. They were having their board meeting and they were discussing, okay, we have to create an investor relations department because they didn't have one then at that time. And this team will be responsible for engaging with our international.
00:17:05
Speaker
client and trying to
00:17:07
Speaker
inform them about what we stand for and what we're trying to achieve, why they can invest in our company. So they decided, okay, do we're having conversations? We're going to hire people with experience. And someone in that board meeting said, wait a minute, wait a minute. There are these two ladies that anytime I call the switchboard or rather there's sometimes I just call the switchboard because I have the number
00:17:36
Speaker
of the individual I'm trying to speak to so I could call them directly. However, I just want to hear their voice. So I call the switchboard just to hear them speak and then obviously they direct me to the individual I'm trying to speak to. Why don't we hire these individuals for the investor relations department and we train them, we equip them on what they need to know, on what our company stands for,
Opportunities Through Excellence
00:18:05
Speaker
our books and everything. Why don't we do that? And you won't believe it. On that same day, we got a call. We're told to go upstairs to the MD's office. I was so scared. Myself and my colleague then, Jumoke, we went into the bathroom and we're praying. I'm not kidding because we're thinking,
00:18:28
Speaker
Are we in trouble? What have we done? Did we say the wrong word? Did we speak to someone? Even our managers at that point in time didn't know what was going on. They were not aware of it. So we got there and there we go.
00:18:44
Speaker
They said, you're going to be part of the investor relations department. We're creating a new office for you. You report directly to the legal representative and the MD CEO. They created an office for us. They put in everything there for us. And so that was where I now started having a very grounded understanding interest in finance. So that was how it started. So we kicked this off.
00:19:10
Speaker
It was just a surprise. We didn't expect it. We did what we had to do. Fast forward. I decided to study a finance course, the CFA, Chartered Financial Analysis course. I proceeded in doing that. I came to the United Kingdom
00:19:29
Speaker
So Adeola, you've really unpacked so much and I just want us to put certain things in context. Now, a lot of people that listen to these podcasts are young people, students, recent graduates especially. And I think your story will be so motivational to them because especially now that you're done with school, it's easy for them to start comparing themselves with other people who are getting jobs and seemingly doing amazing for themselves.
00:19:57
Speaker
and just from your story how when you were done with school you started at a switchboard role and you were seeing your own mates getting the actual banking job but even with the small that you had you were still able to exude excellence and it was the excellence that you exuded that got you noticed and got you to the investor relation role and i just want you to share from your experience what you've learned from that and how that can be helpful too
00:20:26
Speaker
a lot of young people that listening, like I said, especially recent graduates. We're not the only ones on the switchboard. There were loads of us, right? Where loads of us, however, the two of us were handpicked and
00:20:39
Speaker
He clearly stated that the reason why he's done that is because he hears our voice. Obviously, he's been calling, because when you pick the switchboard, anyone could pick it up. But he actually identified both our voices. And that's because, to be honest, we used to do the job as though that was the, you know, as though we loved it. Of course, I loved it because that was what I had to do. But you raise a good point. And I think that that's what has kept me even up on Tionan. That's my mantra is
00:21:09
Speaker
Think big. Start small. Start now. And whatever you find yourself doing, you don't know who is watching you, you need to act as though people are watching you. So if you're doing something and you would not be comfortable, if people were watching you, then don't do it.
00:21:30
Speaker
Don't do it. So if I'm doing something and I know that I can imagine people are watching me and I would not be comfortable doing it, knowing people are watching me, then I don't do it. So in whatever we find ourselves doing, it doesn't matter. And the interesting thing is throughout my career up until now, it's those very little things that you actually think is not important and everyone puts to the side,
00:21:57
Speaker
that actually becomes something big, right? So a very good example is
00:22:03
Speaker
During my work life, I was working with PwC. And when I worked with PwC, what happened was each and every one of us had a project to do. My project was the most basic of them all, pretty much just to log in things into the system. That was all I had to do. Every other person was doing the fluff, speaking to the legal people, to credit, to risk, putting together presentation. It was like the high profile kind of things, right?
00:22:32
Speaker
All I had to do was punching stuff. But you know what happened? That punching and stuff I was doing, because I focused on it. And the interesting thing was, they all gave us tasks to do. So that was the task they gave to me. They gave everyone their tasks. So we had about two projects that we had to do. I finished mine.
00:22:50
Speaker
I did it well, even though it seemed like the most basic of the task in terms of when I mean basic, it was hard to do, but it wasn't high-profile in the sense of it, right? But I did it well. So when they were looking to hire people, they looked at, okay, who's completed their task? Who's delivered what they were asked to do?
00:23:13
Speaker
And then that was how I got hired. So it's, whatever you ask to do, don't start looking at that other person and start distracting yourself and thinking, Oh my goodness, you know, that person has something. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's fine to hope to get there, to wish you had it, but don't forget the fact that you have something in your hands. That's what you have, right? You don't have what you're hoping to have what you have.
00:23:42
Speaker
make the best of it, because that's the tool that has been given to you. You excel at it, then you're telling people, yes, they can take a chance on you. They can take a risk, not on something you haven't done yet, and you're trying to tell them, you know what, I can do that.
Think Big, Start Small
00:23:57
Speaker
what they've given you to do, show us you can do it well. And I think it's very, very important, especially when we're coming out of university and you're looking for a place. And to be fair, most of us, when we come out of university, it's not all of us that know exactly what we want to do. So you might study economics. And the way the market is at the moment,
00:24:23
Speaker
A number of us were so skilled that we have different skills that we could apply in different sectors. And so trying to get the right place sometimes could be a bit tricky. Wherever you find yourself, do it well. And also, I think this also helped me as well, is I don't have this mentality of wanting to be given something. I always believe in we all have something to give.
00:24:54
Speaker
And so when I let school and doing the job search and trying to look for things, there was a particular time I set up like a, I don't call it an NGO, but we used to call it NGO then. We used to call it positive concepts. And you know what I used to do? I don't know if I told you, I had a friend.
00:25:10
Speaker
I told you, right? We would write different things on how people can improve themselves, confidence, writing a CV and that kind of things. We go to secondary schools then on trying to tell them how to just be the best they can be. And you know what used to happen? I'll put everything together.
00:25:27
Speaker
And at that point in time, because I wasn't driving, I didn't have a car. So I had to connect with a friend of mine and I told him, I said, I can't be going to these schools telling them how they can be the best they can be. And I'll be on a bus or on an Ocada. I said.
00:25:47
Speaker
I'm not kidding you. I said, it's not going to work. I said, it's just about perception, right? I said, I've got all these things that I can tell them about and encourage them to be confident, to believe in themselves and how to decide what their next career would be, you know, what course they have to do in the university. But if I get to that school and I'm on Onokada,
00:26:11
Speaker
or on a bus, I'm not sure they will get it, right? I said, but you've got a car, let's partner. You drive me there and then we do the talk and we're off, right? And that's what I have to do, you know? So I did a number of things, but what am I trying to say? What I'm trying to say is it's a journey, but throughout that period, it's also a mindset. And I'm so pleased
00:26:40
Speaker
with the way the icebreaker, when you ask what is confidence, because I do believe that when you are confident and you're comfortable in yourself, it's like an energy. It just energizes you to try things. You're going to fail, but that's fine. But at least you're trying and you're going and you're learning not how to do it. So.
00:27:05
Speaker
especially for a number of people coming out of school, there are those embarrassing moments that everyone has gone through where you feel my colleague is doing better than I am, they've graduated, and I feel like I don't have a place. Don't give up. Keep at it. Don't sit down beating yourself and blaming yourself. Just make sure that you're doing something.
00:27:33
Speaker
And that thing might not be big to people, but so long as you're doing something and you're adding value, you're taking one step forward. That's the way I say it. It's a step forward.
00:27:45
Speaker
So I think that's really powerful. And one of the things that I always say is the fact that we overestimate what we can achieve in a year, but we underestimate what we can actually achieve in three, five years. Now in a year, we set clear goals for ourselves. Oh, we want to do this. Oh, we want to do that. Financial gains on point and everything, we just load it in a year. But in three to five years, we clearly underestimate what we can achieve in under long term.
00:28:14
Speaker
And usually those things that we can achieve in three, five years are the things that will get us there, things that we need to start doing now. And you know, just taking imperfect actions now. And what I always say is that you only get better at things if you do them anyway. There are things that I clearly do now with gradients or even with
00:28:35
Speaker
um in the bank in the company and i didn't know them before until i started doing it and while i kept doing it over and over again i became better at it so many times it's not about you being perfect it's actually making progress in the thing that you're doing and this just brings me back to when i started gradients god i didn't know what i was doing i just knew that okay i've gotten an internship with
00:28:58
Speaker
an investment bank and a lot of Nigerians don't know the process or what it would take to actually get these things. Now I started organizing programs around this area and I realized that fundamentally it's not like people cannot make these applications but the mindset they have is really limiting. They don't believe that they can actually do this so it's like okay maybe we should also focus on the mindset
00:29:22
Speaker
now over time we're growing and there's still things that i know that we can possibly do but honestly i don't know what gradients will be in the next five years in the next 10 years i don't know what even we'll do next year but at least i'm taking action and i'm doing the things that i think will get me to a place that i'll be very comfortable in so yes i really liked when you mentioned that just do things anyway
00:29:46
Speaker
Just do it, you know, take one step at a time, one step at a time. It's just like, I think, look at it this way. If you're trying to put together a presentation, you're meant to present to an audience. If that dashboard, if that presentation, if it's got too much information all over the place, people are not going to buy into it, right? They will be lost. You're not carrying them along.
Importance of Adaptability
00:30:08
Speaker
And so that's the same thing with our lives.
00:30:11
Speaker
It's pretty much we have the so big ideas that we want to achieve.
00:30:17
Speaker
And we're telling ourselves 110 things or 110 reasons why it cannot succeed. Just start now. Make sure you're doing something. And believe you me, the fact of the matter is even those so-called successful individuals, people that we look up to, they are still trying and doing new things. They are still learning new things because you don't know when it's going to be relevant, especially in the world that we live now.
00:30:46
Speaker
It's a tech age. Things change every second. Every second things change. And so we need to have the mentality of ensuring that we're equipping ourselves and making ourselves relevant. You don't want to make your skill redundant.
00:31:05
Speaker
Don't sit down there thinking, oh, you know what? This is all I've got. And at the moment, I'm not able to use it for anything. Just keep at it. Keep going. Keep going. It's gradual, but it's going to build up, and it's going to keep building up, and it's going to keep building up. And I think that's what we all have to learn. You know what? To be honest, because it's quite challenging in this age, though. We have to understand that. There's a lot of distraction around us.
00:31:35
Speaker
So it might be easier for yourself or myself to say this sometimes because that's what some people would say, oh, it's easy for you to say that, right? You've got a job, you know, an investment bank, you're this, you're that, or you've got an internship. Do you understand? It's people could think, oh, you know what? You're saying this, you definitely had it easy. No, we didn't have it easy. And there were those moments
00:32:01
Speaker
where you actually question yourself and you wonder if you're doing it right. So there is nothing wrong if you have those moments. Don't let those moments stop you, right? Don't let those moments be like a hindrance.
00:32:18
Speaker
keep at it and don't always think it has to be big. Start small. Just make sure you're doing something now. You're adding value. The world is such a global village that everyone has an opportunity to help someone out there to add
00:32:39
Speaker
to someone to contribute, right? So that you see that at least you can share your ideas in different platforms. But to your point, I think it starts first and foremost and even believing that you've got something to offer. And we all have something to offer. There's someone out there that just needs you to do something that would then motivate them to be the next billionaire. I was sharing with you how
00:33:05
Speaker
You take a step and that step you take, someone hears it or sees it and then he motivates them.
Seizing Opportunities and Persistence
00:33:13
Speaker
You can imagine if you decided to do nothing. So, and that's the way we should see it is whatever we do, we don't know who is watching. And we also don't know where it's going to become available.
00:33:27
Speaker
how, you know, who is going to reach. So we should just make sure that we're doing something. It's very, very important. It's very, very, very important. And to do it passionately as well, and to do it the way you would manage your own business. And when you do things in that manner, it's contagious. People just feel it. They feel you and they want to work with you. It's very, very important.
00:33:53
Speaker
Wow, like that was so beautiful. I could just allow you to keep talking. Let me stop and then go to another page. And I mean, like beyond the podcast, as you were speaking, I was just jutting down things for myself. And like I always say, every time I have a conversation with you, there's always just something to learn. So thank you for really sharing. Now I want to go back to your journey. You are now at the investor relations team.
00:34:22
Speaker
But yeah, there's still the question, how did you move from there to being a vice president at the global investment bank that you're currently working in? Interesting. So I decided to do the CFA, the Chartered Financial Analyst course. And at that particular point in time, my fiance was in the United Kingdom, right? So I moved to United Kingdom.
00:34:52
Speaker
And I continued doing my course. Now, remember, when you come here and you study, you know, it does take time. You can't just get a job immediately. So I did a number of jobs while I was studying, walked in Max and Spencer, photo shoot and all that kind of jobs. But how I got into Bank of America was I actually got hired by an agency and the agency that I got hired by
00:35:21
Speaker
wanted me to work with PwC as a consultant, right? So, and that was because PwC had a contract with Bank of America in that part, that time it was Merrill Lynch. So it was Merrill Lynch then before Bank of America merged with Merrill Lynch. So I got this agency, got my CV there. And that's what makes my story very interesting is the fact that
00:35:50
Speaker
Remember, I didn't have any UK experience. So when I came in and I was trying to get jobs, what I was being told was, you don't have UK experience. You don't have UK banking experience. You don't have UK banking experience. So I had that challenge. Most agencies were telling me that. And this agency that I registered with, this particular agency,
00:36:12
Speaker
actually they only hire admin staff. So they hire like secretaries, right? So when I approached them and I told them what I was interested in, they said, oh, well, we don't really hire banking professional, finance professionals. We only hire secretaries. So we're like an admin kind of an agency, but either way I was there already. So I said, you know, let me do your tests, right? So I decided to do their tests and, and everything. And I registered with them. I said, well, I'm here already. So I'll register with you.
00:36:42
Speaker
I know what happened, Prokola. It then happened that when PwC had this contract with Merrill Lynch, Merrill Lynch contacted their agencies who were like all these other big agencies that turned me down because I didn't have UK banking experience, right? But they were slow in getting people through the door to do the job, to manage the project.
00:37:05
Speaker
So what then happened was the main person, i.e. the stakeholder in Merrillange, contacted PwC, spoke to his PwC contact and said, you know what, we want to start this project, we're really keen for you to kick off this project and work with people to resolve this issue we have, but our agencies are really slow in getting people through the door. Perhaps you could get in people from your side and we could kick things off and the project wouldn't be slow.
00:37:33
Speaker
and the PwC guys then contacted this agency that I registered with because they normally get like admin people for them and said okay maybe we can just contact all their agencies their finance and then the admin contacted them and this agency said oh wait a minute this lady that came over to us she was interested in finance right oh we've got someone in finance in our books right so they put forward my name to PwC and that was how
00:38:02
Speaker
I got hired and I started the job. So when I started with Merrill Lynch, when the Merrill Lynch agency started getting people through, of course, these people start coming to this world like five years experience and what we credit you, some of them with JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and here I was, all I had was FCMB, investor relations, Nigeria, right? Working with PwC.
00:38:29
Speaker
Obviously I found myself now with all these individuals that I didn't get the opportunity to because all these other agencies said, no, but now, you know, I'm in the door. And like I said, you're there, you earned it, you own it. And it was while working with these individuals
00:38:48
Speaker
Like I mentioned earlier, this was a project I was talking about, that when they decided to hire, so Mary Lynch then decided and said, okay, we'd like one or two of these people to work with us. We would like them to work with us. And so they contacted PwC and said, are you okay for us to hire Addy? They said, well, you speak to her. And so that was how I got hired directly.
00:39:13
Speaker
by Merrill Lynch while the other contractors, you know, the contract ended and that was it. So that was how I got to the door to Merrill Lynch. And one thing I also should mention was before I even got the Merrill Lynch role, I also then had an offer with Nomura, Nomura asset manager. And what happened at that point in time was the CV
Authenticity Over Exaggeration
00:39:38
Speaker
that I gave to the agency for Nomura, you know how some agencies, they would sugarcoat what you've done. So they've made it so sweet. It was much more than I've actually done. But then these other agency, they just put my CV as I gave it to them. So at that point in time, because Nomura was willing to pay me twice what Merrill Lynch was going to pay me.
00:40:08
Speaker
I'm not kidding. My husband, even at that point in time said, are you okay? Like really?
00:40:15
Speaker
Like, it's not rocket science. This is times two. Do you understand? Like, there's nothing to think about it. This is times two. You should just go for this, right? And the Nomura job was also attempt to a permanent role. The Maryland role, fine. They said we're going to, I was going to be working with them directly instead of PwC, but it was still a contract role. Like they haven't confirmed that it was going to be permanent, right? I had to work with them, prove myself.
00:40:44
Speaker
but Nomura so it actually ticked all the boxes so but the reason why I didn't go for the Nomura role was when I look at that role and when I look at the CV that was presented it wasn't actually me now don't get me wrong I can do that job that they're asking me to draw Nomura but the impression they were going to have
00:41:08
Speaker
when I walked through that door wasn't the kind of impression that I want them to have. They would see me as someone who's got like all the experience in this world. Meanwhile, I don't have all the experience, but you get me into that job, I'm a quick learner, I'll get it done. I've got no question about performing in that role.
00:41:27
Speaker
But this other CV here, it's just what I am. There's no sugar coating. So I go through that door and you think, well, basic, but then I will exceed your expectation. And that's exactly what happened. So it wasn't just about the money. The money obviously was good. And I'm telling you, even till today, my husband still thinks I'm crazy, but
00:41:51
Speaker
And in hindsight, I'm happy. See where I am today. So putting things into perspective, there are a number of things that drive me. And that's why for me, it's not just about the role. And it takes me back to what is confidence is being comfortable in yourself, your value system. What are your value system? It doesn't matter what that job is. Hello.
00:42:18
Speaker
Your values is what will keep you going in the midst of everything, because challenges will come. All those other things will come that would compete with how you think, how you work, how you behave, but your values will keep you going if you stick to them, if you don't allow all those other influences to impact it. So that's how I got into Bank of America. I got into Bank of America in a very interesting way, in a by chance kind of way.
00:42:46
Speaker
But, you know, I found myself there. I put my CV. And you know what's interesting is the fact that when I got to that agency, I had an option of saying, oh, you know what? It's just admin. Let me go. There's no point. But no, I was like, you know what? I'm there.
00:43:04
Speaker
Let me do what you have to do. And it takes us back to, it might seem small, it might seem immaterial, but you know what? Do it well. And you know the interesting thing? When I did their test, I passed because I had to do some maths tests and some tests here and there.
Building a Personal Portfolio
00:43:22
Speaker
I did it well. I didn't, I didn't, um,
00:43:25
Speaker
consider it below what I was looking for. And so because of that, you know, I wouldn't consider it. No, I took it seriously and I did it well. And it really did help me when the time came to get the job that I actually desired and I wanted to do. So yeah, that that's how I got into, you know, Maryland's Bank of America. Yeah. I mean, I love that. And specifically when you mentioned that if you hadn't made that decision to just drop your CV,
00:43:52
Speaker
because again, they were not the kind of agency that were offering the kind of job that you were looking for. And this just reminded me of something that just happened recently to my friend. Now he made an application to a consulting firm in the UK and he made that application in September of last year. Now, when he was making the application, there was the, oh, you know, they might not speak me. I don't really have a UK background. I'm just coming straight from,
00:44:19
Speaker
Nigeria. I only have Nigerian experience. No one might really check what I have to offer besides this kind of roles.
00:44:27
Speaker
very competitive there are people here in the UK that are also going in for those roles but you know just encouraging that apply anyway at the end of the day don't self reject if there's anything that you think you're interested in just do it the worst you will get is a rejection and you're not going to die from that um so he made the application and he didn't get anything it was just totally crickets
00:44:51
Speaker
for the longest of times until last week when they just reached out to him from nowhere and said, oh, they really like this application and it's CVN, if you would like to interview for a role, there's a role open for him. And he did the interview and then they just got back to him yesterday saying that he had gotten the offer. And he just brought to my mind, what if he hadn't made the application anyway? So many times when we're making decisions,
00:45:19
Speaker
necessarily don't know what the result would be. And just like you said at the OLA, you didn't know what the outcome of you submitting your CV to that agency would be, but at least you just did it anyway. And that's what is so powerful. We actually taking action, like just doing things without having to think about what the outcome would be and doing it to the best of our capacity. So thank you for sharing that with us.
00:45:45
Speaker
It's very, very important that we see life as a journey and that's how I see life and also see it as your beauty and asset. My husband was speaking to me because, you know, I mentioned that I've got a YouTube channel. Yeah, I want you to talk about it, to be honest.
00:46:01
Speaker
And my husband was saying, you know, this is like you just building up your portfolio. You might not get a million views, you might not have the kind of subscribers that you're hoping to have, but what you're building, it's like a portfolio. You're creating something, see it as an asset, see it as you're building your portfolio, you're creating an asset for yourself.
Embracing Failure and Preparation
00:46:25
Speaker
And that's really how it is, is the fact that
00:46:28
Speaker
You go into YouTube. YouTube is a good example and that's why I said it's quite challenging for the younger generations, me included, because I'm very young. It's quite challenging because there's so much information out there and when you have so much information, sometimes it could lead to confusion. You know, you just get distracted. Yeah, just like Netflix. Exactly and then things happen now, quick.
00:46:54
Speaker
in those days you switching on your computer is going to take some time before it boots and then you have to wait again before you know you press that start button is going to start rolling and rolling and rolling before it is but now you click it chip chip chip so when it's slow you get uncomfortable you're restless you're like what's going on feel like it's slow
00:47:15
Speaker
No, it's not slow. It's not slow. It's not slow. It's a journey. It's a journey. I know the world around us makes everything appear as though it has to happen now, now, now. And if it doesn't happen, you see yourself as a failure. If it doesn't happen now, you feel like you're insufficient. If it doesn't happen now, you feel like you're not good enough. If it doesn't happen now, you feel like you've got a disadvantage. No, everything has its time. You go to a bus station,
00:47:44
Speaker
the bus is due to arrive 10 30 you get there 10 o'clock and you're like oh my goodness this bus is late no it's not late it's not time yet right when it's 10 30 it would come and that's the difference it's not late it's going to be on time but then we're so restless we want it just as we get to the bus stop you want a bus and so that is how the world around us make everything seem like it has to happen now now now
00:48:14
Speaker
And if you look at it in that way, just keep sowing that seed because the right time would come, it would yield a harvest. There's no seed that just grows overnight, right? You have to water it. You have to nurture it. People would step on it and, you know, pick up the weeds and all that. And then it grows. It does take time.
00:48:36
Speaker
Good things take time. Just make sure that you're doing something. I think I think that's the message you have to be doing Something adding value and understand that is gonna take time and it's very very important not to think Low of yourself and it does happen especially It's a result of the way some of us are brought up as well upbringing sometimes
00:49:04
Speaker
could result in us thinking that we're not good enough and that somebody else is better than us out there and thinking, well, if I fail, what are people going to think? What's going to be the reaction? We shouldn't look at it that way. You know, we should also always believe that what's the worst that can happen? The worst that they can tell me is a no. You know what? Let me give you a very good example.
00:49:29
Speaker
My little one, he's nine years old now, when he was eight, a year ago, he, he loves coding, like most kids, they love playing games and everything. So he loves coding. And the game that he loves is scratch building block coding application. So he does a lot of coding in scratch. And so they also have computers in, in, in their school. And during the lockdown, obviously what's happened is.
00:50:00
Speaker
It's a bit of a challenge, isn't it, for them now because they can mix up and they don't have all the different activities that they do. And so he then thought of having a coding club. So he was thinking, well, it'd be nice doing their Fridays, you know, times when they're downtime that they should have the laptops, the school should give them the laptop so they could do coding.
00:50:22
Speaker
And so he thought through it and he said, okay, mom, I would like to set up a coding club in my school. But then he was like, oh, but mommy, I don't know if they'll be interested. Um, what if they say no? Oh, you know, what if no one decides to join in? Oh, that means it's going to be a failure. He was telling me 110 things why it couldn't happen. And you know what I told him? I said, Nathan, what's the worst that your head teacher will tell you or your teacher will tell you? Said, you know, she's going to say no.
00:50:54
Speaker
But what if she says yes? What are the things that can happen if she says yes? He said, oh, if she says yes, that means we'll have the laptop, we'll do coding, we can build this, we can do that. He had so many benefits too. I said, so you can see, just ask her. The worst that can happen, it's no. But do you know what I encouraged him to do though? I said, everything you've told me, can you write it down? So he wrote down, he wants to have a coding club,
00:51:22
Speaker
He's thinking he's going to be on a Friday, but he doesn't know how many people can be in a class because of the restriction, because of COVID. And then he said, oh, the laptop would need one per person. And then he then asked, oh, can we go online? So he wrote everything down. I told him, I said, Nathan, please write it down. And so when he got to school, he was speaking to his teachers and believe you me,
00:51:49
Speaker
eight-year-old, he was a bit nervous. You know what he did? He just handed him over the paper. Everything he had written down, he showed it to them. And you know what the head teacher told me? She said, I wanted to say no when he was telling me about it. I wanted to say no, but when I saw all the work that he had done, all the preparation he had done, I possibly couldn't say no.
00:52:10
Speaker
And so they then asked the class who were just interested a number, the whole class was interested. So he had to do like 12 sessions. And do you know the interesting thing again? They changed their computing syllabus.
00:52:24
Speaker
they were using another application, they now started using Scratch, that he taught them. And that's the power in just going for it, because you don't know, because you know what, worst case, remember, she said she was going to say no, but because he had done his homework,
Writing Down Dreams and Achievements
00:52:43
Speaker
he had thought about it, he had done some planning, he had written it down, and that's also another thing that we need to encourage ourselves about.
00:52:51
Speaker
It's not enough for that dream or that desire to be in your head. You need to write it down.
00:52:59
Speaker
You need to write it down because when you write it down and it's also, it's not just important for when you're trying to get someone to buy into your idea. It's also required for our career, right? When we're doing our personal development plan, you need to be able to say, this is what I've achieved. This is what I've achieved. This is what I've achieved. If you don't write it down, you're likely to forget, but things that you write down, it stays. So that's also very, very important.
00:53:23
Speaker
Wow Adeola, this was a really powerful podcast episode and I am so appreciative of you just sharing your journey. Now before we end this session, I just want you to talk about the YouTube. Now I know before we started the podcast episode, you mentioned the YouTube.
00:53:41
Speaker
And I was telling you how I searched everywhere online for you. LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram. And I mean most times on Instagram because that's the place where I am building and connecting with my community. And I've really never seen you on any of those social media streets. And when you mentioned to me that you're on YouTube, I was just like, OK, OK. So I want you to share with us your YouTube channel, what you do.
00:54:12
Speaker
Okay, okay, okay, okay. You raise a very good point. I still have a challenge. I would try to increase my footprint, my social media footprint. I need a lot of work there. That's like my development point. I need to work on that, my area of improvements, if I put it that way.
Adefab: Engaging Family Learning
00:54:31
Speaker
So I've got a YouTube channel, it's called Adefab, just my name. And the key objective is engaging and sharing with people ways in which I keep my kids engaged or I keep the family engaged. Because for me as a working parent, it's quite challenging to find that time to spend quality time with the kids and with the family.
00:55:00
Speaker
And so when I get that, it's so exciting to me, right? So I decided that, you know what, let me share, let me share this videos and ideas and thoughts on how I try to keep my kids engaged, how I get them to learn in a fun way. And that's how I started, like my three year old trying to read to her, but then getting her to be
00:55:27
Speaker
a part of it and staying true while I read the book for the five minutes, getting her to be a part of it in different ways that I try us to learn things through riddles, brain teasers and songs and so forth, right? Obviously there are games and all that, but that's the idea of the channel. The channel is primarily, you know, anyone that visits the channel, I'm very sure they will learn one or two things there in terms of it might be
00:55:56
Speaker
something on geography, it could be something on science, it could be something as good as a way to have a nice time with your family. There's always something there for someone to learn. And that's why I tagged it, knowledge is wealth. For me, every day is a school day.
00:56:13
Speaker
and everywhere I go around like so sometimes my little one when he goes to school I ask him how was school today who did you play with that's always the first thing I ask him and he says mom what do you mean by who do I play with you're not asking me you know what subject I said because Nathan when you play you're learning you're learning to interact you're learning to engage you're learning to collaborate you're learning
00:56:36
Speaker
how to you know deal with people i said so for me you're learning as well so that's why i'm asking you who did you play with and what did you what did you guys do what game did you play so that's what you get from the channel is just learning in the serious way in the relaxing way engaging with the family and so forth and still it's a new channel i think what keeps me going as well is you know i'm getting feedback from individuals telling me how it's inspired them to
00:57:04
Speaker
to kick off their own channel, to kick off their own business, because for some people it's like, oh, so Adi can start this, Adi can do this, including her day-to-day stuff and family. Oh yeah, I can do this as well. I've always been thinking about it for years. So they kick it off and they do it. So I've got a number of testimonies, people asking for the books that I read.
00:57:25
Speaker
So they've bought it for their family, a friend of mine, a neighbor of mine has started off her business and her business has really kicked off. She's got an Instagram account, actually Savitha. She does all these drearies and she just started it because she got motivated that, look, if Addie can start this, then I don't want my dream to die. I can do it as well. So it takes us back to what we're discussing is the importance of
00:57:49
Speaker
just adding value, doing something. You don't know who that's going to help, who that's going to influence. And she actually sends me an earring, and that's what I'm wearing at the moment. As a thank you to say, because she sent it to me, she said, you know, Adé, this is for motivating me to kick this off. This is for you. So I always, I treasured and I'm wearing it.
Concluding with Shared Experiences
00:58:11
Speaker
Yes, so this has been very beautiful. I would link your YouTube channel to the show notes. So thank you for really sharing your journey. And one of the things that I always say is the fact that many times we don't believe that things are possible until we actually see people doing it.
00:58:27
Speaker
until we've actually seen that someone has achieved it. And you just hearing about someone's story, knowing that they've been able to do something for themselves will really just encourage you to do more for yourself as well. You know, it's an inspiration point, a motivation point for you to do more for yourself. So thank you. Thank you so much.
00:58:47
Speaker
Don't worry. Thanks for having me. Yeah. Thanks for having me. And thanks for the stories you shared as well. I'm, I'm really inspired by friend who just walked up to a company, you know, applied for it and congratulations to him. Um, and I think, yeah, it's just, it's just to say that this guy is just the beginning, you know, let's aim for it. Um, yeah, let's aim for it. He's just the beginning. Thanks so much for having me. Really appreciate it.
00:59:12
Speaker
All right. Enjoy the rest of your evening. Take care. Bye. Take care. Bye. So we've now come to the end of this episode. If you liked what you listened to, don't just end by liking it. Tell your friends about the amazing thing we're doing on this podcast. And again, screenshots, the exact podcast episode that you're listening to. Tag me at bakala amok and at gradients. And be sure to leave us a review because it means the world to us. I'll see you in the next episode.