THIS CONVERSATION WITH THREE POWERFUL WOMEN WILL JUMPSTART YOUR 2020

The lights and fireworks to ring in the decade have been beautiful, phenomenal and heavenly. We love how excited most people are to start afresh. We are left wondering what the new trends will be.  

Our social media accounts pop-up with ‘new me- new year’ taglines, nicely wrapped with the 10-year picture challenge.
How can we keep this momentum, to nurture a daily motivation that goes beyond January to outlast a new decade?

One word came to mind – NETWORK. The power of one’s network reigned right through 2009- 2019, this decade starting 2020 we could firmly predict as the decade of collaborations and synergies.

To achieve this, we will need to stay positive in difficult/ challenging situations. We will need a positive support group and our social circle will be worth more than ever before.

For most women starting out in business in Africa we lack the space needed to check in and ask other women what they are experiencing as entrepreneurs and leaders. We lack power sources where one could plug in for information, support or just a listening ear. Very often we have to look outside of our home country’s social networks and delve into reading for development and self-care. This might never stop, but we can do better in terms of cultivating those spaces for ourselves, right where we are.

We caught up with some powerful women in business and talked on how they define a Power Woman and how they nurture their relationships.

This read recommends that you have an open mind, a glass in hand and a notebook to document treasures for the future.

When I started my work and later businesses I struggled with, finding support and information. Eventually I started looking at other groups outside of Sierra Leone and  I saw how they supported one another. I tapped into that, I built relationships, I met with these groups externally and they have supported me. So even though they are out of this country and away, these women that I tap in from time to time and who have helped me uplift myself as a woman and as a business person.- Sybil Bailor

Who is a Power Woman ?

Bukky: A power woman is a woman that is empowered enough to support other people, empowered enough to be a source of hope, a woman who is not afraid to fail and not afraid to share her mistakes.

Emerica: A power woman is a woman who demonstrates confidence and determination, a woman who knows how to ask for what she wants and needs to be successful. She is a woman who helps lift other women up and share her stories so that others could benefit from them. She is a positive role model.

Sybil: A power woman is a woman who is constantly evolving herself, striving towards excellence, not perfection but excellence in everything that they set out to do. A power woman is constantly examining herself, redefining her qualities and strengthening her characteristics.
Confidence plays a great part in becoming a power woman, regardless of where you are in your journey: striving to build your self-confidence, or whether you have arrived there and you can say you are a confident woman.

One of the things that women own that they don’t really think about is the power behind been a leader. It’s a choice that you have to make, a choice that you are not only going to be successful but caring for yourself, raising your family and being supportive to other people but also being the best in your field. Bukky Karibi- Whyte

Synonymously all three agreed on these qualities been necessary to achieve great leadership roles in this decade:
• Being empathetic
• Being able to multi-task
• Being able to pay attention to details

We are not saying that these qualities are going to make people perceive women leaders any different but it will empower us to take the lead and craft our own stories.

How then can we overcome challenges, multi- tasking and chasing goals?

Bukky, Emerica & Sybil: As women it’s nearly impossible for us to do different things at a time, already we have so much expectations from Society. It maybe has to do with different faces in our life, being at a point that we have to tend to young children or at another later stage when they are old enough so you have a lot more time in your life.
Sybil: Went on to highlight a book called  The One Thing and being able to strategise using that, it talks about stress and how managing ourselves better will get us to yield the fruits of our labour. 

How do we break boundaries and make things happen?

My Mantra is work hard and play hard. Emerica Karefa – Kargbo

Emerica: I can only achieve this by prioritizing my time. I work very long hours so I try and make time for myself. I love to meditate, exercise and pray a lot. Reading and travelling also gives me an escape. My relationships with family and friends are very important so I make sure I get uninterrupted vacation time with my family and friends every few months. It’s important to Nurture your relationships so I make sure I schedule those times on my calendar and they take priority just like work meetings. Having fun and spending time with loved ones is just as important as work for me. In fact, I believe that’s the reason I work so hard to be able to afford those breaks. I believe Life is short so we should make the best of each day and live life to the fullest. Every day is a gift. I find a reason to always celebrate.

Why we need to lift other women up?

Sybil: So we can achieve 3 great things: socialize together, work together and help each other out because in a nutshell if we can do these three things together, we uplift each other. It is a fact that we have strength in being together and identifying what our qualities are. Acknowledging the good bits of us and the not too good bits of us, helps in terms of improving our good qualities . We can then support each other in those things that we need to improve on.


Bukky Karibi- Whyte: is the CEO and Founder of Robert Taylor Media Ltd., a boutique communications and special events company located in Lagos, Nigeria

Emerica  Karefa- Kargbo: is an entrepreneur and the chairperson of The Board of Directors of STACO Insurance (SL) Ltd. She is an International  Marketing Expert and The CEO of Shangri La Sierra Leone and Rickell Interior– Nigeria.

Sybil Bailor: An experienced international development expert with a demonstrated history of leadership in the non-profit organization management industry. She is the owner/proprietor of The Kings View, this is the beautiful location of the conversation and pictures.

 

Written by: arianadiaries

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