Black Rise

How to become a partner at EY - Oluchi Ikechi's Journey to Black Excellence

• Black Rise • Season 1 • Episode 19

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Embark on a transformative ride with us as we unveil the secret ingredients behind the success of Black business leaders, through the eyes of powerhouse Oluchi Ikechi. From the bustling streets of Wimbledon to her journey as a Partner and her own venture, Follow Boss, Oluchi's story is a testament to the sheer force of cultural heritage and the unwavering lessons in self-belief and diligence imparted by her father. Her ascent to leadership and dedication to empowering others through strategic thinking and soft skills is a vibrant illustration of triumph over adversity.

Delve into the essence of an empowering mindset and the magic of affirmations, as we dissect the delicate art of nurturing young minds to foster personal growth, without succumbing to the weight of overwhelming expectations. The unique obstacles faced by black females stand at the forefront of our discussion, as we navigate the four cornerstone soft skills—mindset, branding, storytelling, and orchestration—that are crucial for maintaining not only professional excellence but also the highest personal standards. These skills weave through the fabric of our lives, influencing everything from career trajectories to the foundations of our most personal relationships.

As our conversation with Oluchi draws to a close, we celebrate the collective strength of our community and the unyielding efforts to inspire and dismantle barriers. The shared strategies and stories from today's dialogue underscore the importance of sustaining connections and pushing forward conversations that spark real change. We invite you to continue this empowering expedition with us, and to connect with our mission at TheBlackRise.com, for we are on a steadfast quest to redefine the future through excellence and impact.

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Speaker 1:

So it started with content, which is why I always say to people start with content. If you have content that people want to see, that people find valuable, meaning, you have to do enough due diligence to understand what they find valuable. So that, for me, was the game. I realised the secret and it felt like a secret because no one else was, you know, running around hustling.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Black Rice podcast, your gateway to inspiring conversation with la crème de la crème of black talent, who are leaders of seven figure and above businesses across a spectrum of industries. I'm your host, flavilla Fong-Gang, an award-winning serial entrepreneur, who will guide you on his journey. Black Rise isn't just a podcast. It's an extension of our business platform, allowing the business world to connect with skilled, talented and experienced Black talent. Our mission is to serve as a bridge, connecting businesses with vast opportunities that lie in working with Black professionals, entrepreneurs and enterprise. We strive to showcase the value, creativity and innovation that Black talent brings to the table, fostering partnerships that drive economic growth, diversity and mutual success. Visit theblackrisecom to find out more. Hello everybody, welcome back to another episode on the Black Rise podcast.

Speaker 2:

It's been super exciting and I'm bringing to you another black leader in the space, but this time actually, most of my leaders have been in the uk, but I've won who grew up in the uk but is a international traveler, but probably when we hear the story, she's probably doesn't see herself as a as a british person, or you know, I mean, she has so much heritage.

Speaker 2:

So I'm super excited to bring to bring you the story of Oluche Ikechi. I'm pronouncing probably her name incorrectly, but I'm going to call it Oli, that's how people call her. And Oli Ikechi Daniko, and she's a partner at Ernst Young Parfait and I hope I'm pronouncing that right as well and a founder of Follow Boss, which is about empowering people to advance their careers using their soft skills about empowering people to advance their careers using their soft skills and has a partner at Ernst Young Parfaiton, helping organizations to create and execute their strategy and M&A needs within financial services using impact, innovation and inclusion. You know what? I can tell you as much and read as much as a bio, but I think we want to hear a voice. So, oli, how are you?

Speaker 1:

Very well, thank you towards the end of my day, so you know even better Even better.

Speaker 2:

I know it's six o'clock. We you're eight hours compared to london, so I appreciate the time and I know we probably had a busy day being being amazing at what you do and um such a great. I always love to have. This conversation has been so um enlightening even for me being in business for so long, but I love to learn from people made it to the top in some of the biggest organizations we know in this world. So the best way to start early is to start with your beginning, and I want to know, and people want to know as well, and I love to know. That is your journey. So how, where did you grow up and maybe as well, what, who influenced you from a young age and how did that shape you to the person that you are today?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, okay, so I grew up in London, in Wimbledon that I'm sure everyone knows with the tennis and yes, I was a Wimbledon ball girl, if you were wondering. But yeah, I grew up in Wimbledon and I think what really helped to influence and shape me is a lot of my parents story. I didn't actually know about my parents story until I was a bit older, you know, but I think when I look back, a lot of the decisions that they made even us being in Wimbledon, um, which I realized at some point, you know, growing up was a privilege, you know, I realized how we were living, was was more privileged than maybe some people in my community. And then also, just, you know, the lessons that my parents, particularly my father, would embark on us. Uh, you know, so I always tell people.

Speaker 1:

I remember vividly, you know, coming home from school and the four of us at the time I I've got four siblings, um, so the one, the, the youngest, wasn't born at that point, so it's four as four of us at the time, and we'd come home from school and um, dad would be, you know, finished at work and um would be, you know, with the whiteboard he'd, he bought this whiteboard and he would do extra lessons for us at home.

Speaker 1:

So there was always that kind of um. There was definitely a kind of a strong cultural influence in our, in our upbringing despite being in Wimbledon and heritage is Nigerian and you know, that definitely came through in terms of be proud of where you are and where you come from, but also, you know, work hard and don't wait don't wait for others to teach, you, don't wait for the teachers and I think that kind of mentality and mindset really was the, you know, the beginning of the mindset journey that I really entered. You know, I used to enter the workplace and I've definitely seen, given perspective, that that was something that's been a massive aid to me.

Speaker 2:

I love the fact that you say that your father will come and when you come back to school and it will give you take a whiteboard. But what are things he taught you? And on top of what you learn at school?

Speaker 1:

I think, when I look back, a lot of it was around, mindset was around, you know, believing in yourself, right. So that's huge. When I, when I look at people around me you know, I looked at people around me five years ago, nearly 10 years ago I still saw people in the workplace who didn't, and I still do. Even yesterday, I was literally like coaching someone on, you know, having limited beliefs. So I think for me, you know, there were lots of things, right, we were taught, taught about our culture, taught about um. You know, interesting topics that didn't have anything to do with, you know, work, school or anything anything other, but just interesting, random topics. But I think the ones that actually really set me up for the workplace were the ones around believing yourself, right, believing yourself it is possible. And that mindset that I've taken of it's possible the impossible just takes longer stems from the upbringing I had. It stems from, you know, I heard about how my dad came to the UK. You know I'm a kiddy grunt, as they say, right, so I heard about how my dad came to the UK. You know I'm a kiddy grunt, as they say, right, so I heard about how my dad came to the UK, which was, I think, in the late 70s, and he studied, you know, before he met my mom, before he had children, and you know, he came over on a scholarship from Nigeria, which is pretty much, you know, very, very rare for a black man to have done that. Um, and then my mum, um, you know, having done her undergraduate in nigeria, and then decided, nope, want it, want, want more, want a different one, want more, more of life, um, and I want to be in paris, and she set herself on going to paris and she, she went to paris, you know, and even just hearing the story of how they met, and it was very much, this is the person I want to be with. And then let's not raise our kids.

Speaker 1:

We were born, I was born in Brixton, I moved to Wimbledon when we were four, but that kind of, and the reason it was is they wanted to give us a better life, because they thought there was more privilege in Wimbledon, which there was, particularly at that time. So I think all of those events that happened were learning moments. Right, some of the learning moments are very vivid. I'm at the whiteboard, I'm learning from my dad who is acting as the teacher. Some of the learning moments are just based on following and understanding what is happening right and following and understanding actions that people take.

Speaker 1:

And I think I gained a lot as well from understanding the actions that my parents took right to not be in a very comfortable environment where many people look like them in Brixton, versus being in a area where no one looks like them in Brixton, versus being in an area where no one looks like them right, they were the complete outliers in Wimbledon. So I think that taught me to be comfortable in a scenario where, again, you'll be the only person because you know, I had to go to school and I was the only person. You know I was always the only person who got my knee and I'm not saying at all that I didn't have, you know, imposter syndrome. I think I did.

Speaker 1:

As I was growing up, you know an inferiority complex particularly, but I think you know that that passed and I think, as with any teenage girl, you're going to get some level of insecurity, but that really passed and I think by the time I was in the workplace, my mindset was so, you know. So I guess so mentally prepared, for I'm different, I'm the only female here, I'm the only young female here. I'm the only ethnic minority here, I'm the only black female here. You know, I was just mentally prepared for that. So, yeah, there were learnings and lessons, um, that were vocalized. And then there were other things which were just behavioral, but but equally very, very powerful.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's so true.

Speaker 2:

I love what you say is that growth doesn't happen from comfort, it happens from discomfort, but also the power of building your. Your self-confidence is so key because you know and I love the way of love, similarity in the aspect that I've always been the only one in the room and that didn't bother me whatsoever In the sense that I didn't feel less of actually much more powerful because I was the only one there. My mindset around this has changed, but it's super key that we don't see being at numbers as a weakness or let people take over and be comfortable as well in this environment to thrive. It's funny because when I know that you know, I think about my first time to Singapore and I remember that every parent the only thing that they gave to their kids was an iPad. So I'm curious to know you have daughters how you're applying your father's approach? He's typically just too young, but how would you approach and if you already are putting the same approach to how he taught you about self-confidence and making you very strong in who you are?

Speaker 1:

It's such a great question and it's something, actually, that my husband and I were actively discussed before we had kids, because we are both achievers as well, right? So I think there's also an element of me where I'm naturally inclined, I think, to be an overachiever. Right, I'm one of five siblings and every single one of us are different, despite growing up in the same household. So I think I'm naturally inclined to be an overachiever. I think there has to be something in your makeup, in your DNA, that makes you be intentional for something. And then I think environment and surroundings matter. So, and I think for me and also for my husband who was very similar, um, you know, intentional, and he had the right, the right environment growing up I think for us, we were conscious not to, um, embark too much on our kids, um, and put, you know, put pressure on them, based on all the things that mummy and daddy do. But I think that that being able to support them, being able to affirm them, being able to encourage them, you know is is incredibly, incredibly important, and that's where, you know, we absolutely align. So for daughters as well, for females, with black females particularly, you know, we've had so many statistics about how there is disprivilege, you know, and there is disadvantage, and that's why we need equity and I'm very conscious of that with my role at, you know, in in business, with my role, um, in across communities and also, particularly, my role as a mother.

Speaker 1:

So for me, um, I, I do this thing. I affirm the kids um, with our elders. Our eldest is three, she's three years old, and the youngest is 18 months. But even the three-year-old, and I think when she was even two, I started doing this when she was young. I am, you know, with the 18 months old, I do the same thing and I just say little things like her name is Kyra Noemi, ok, so I told you she was born in Paris, so her second name is Noemi, so Kyra Noemi. I say Kyra can do it, instead of her saying mummy, I can't do this. And in Singapore, you know, there's the kind of inverted comma Singlish language, right, singapore and English. So it's a little bit like broken English, right, that you would be familiar with.

Speaker 1:

So a lot of the time people say can instead of I can, or they say cannot, I cannot. So she comes home and she's like a toddler at preschool and now she's taught she has a Singaporean accent, it's the cutest thing. And she'll walk around and just say mummy, cannot, cannot, right, and or she'll say can, can, and she just sounds completely like a Singaporean. And I say to her all the time um, kyra can do it, you know. And it's that mindset of I can do it, that mindset of I'm going to try, it's that mindset of even if I fail, I've attempted, that's okay. I'm gonna try, first attempt. Maybe I won't get it on the first attempt, maybe I'll get it on the third. Maybe I won't get it today, it's okay. And then now I watch her affirm her sister Z Zira can do it. You know she says the same thing. Her sister Zira is a better. So you know, affirmation for me is huge because you know I coach hundreds of people, I coach executives.

Speaker 1:

Non-exec will fall into some of your questions, but when I boil down how I became successful in my definition and I think to other people's definitions in my career, a lot of it came down to soft skills, right? So I set up a company form on that, which is a second, which is another question, right, but all those soft skills. There were like 65 different soft skills that I started thinking of 65. Did you say 65, 65, there's probably more, but I came up with 65. So, influencing, negotiating, mindset, personal branding, storytelling, you know, project managers 65 soft skills, right? And then I'm like, okay, so let me try and categorize these. And I came up with four categories of which all of those soft skills go under, and I'm yet, to this day, to find a different soft skill that doesn't sit under one of those. And the number one category for me is mindset. So mindset is a category. Branding as a category. So mindset, how you, how you see yourself and how you think, uh, branding how other people see you and your services, storytelling, your ability to communicate and strengthen your communication, and then orchestration, your ability to get things done right, everything from ethics and and dei and leadership and just action planning and strategic planning and just putting words into action, right.

Speaker 1:

So when I looked at all of those four categories, I always said to myself the biggest thing I had was mindset. That's where it started for me mindset. Mindset was the first thing and you know, I think that that builds a level of ego as well, because you believe you can do it. You have to have, you have to pump yourself, you have to hype yourself, um, and I think you have to have a level of ego of I believe I can do it right, even when you might be quaker in your boots.

Speaker 1:

So for me, and even even I'm very conscious of a female um in this world of just building relationships, right, I've seen, um, you know, the other thing that we were taught was to be very, um, reserved. We were taught to be very reserved, right, growing up. So you know, there was no boyfriends, there was no. You know, there was none of that right, and it just made me also hold men to a high standard because I saw how my mom and dad relationship was. So, you know, when I also put myself in situations with, you know, in different social scenarios where I observe, um, you know, women settling and not necessarily putting themselves first or believing in themselves and accepting bad behaviours in a relationship, it's the same thing, you know you don't switch off from your character, you don't switch off and go. I'm going to accept bad relationship personally, but I'm going to accept good things at work, right, you tend to do the same traits and behavioral things. That's how we are as human beings. We're wired that way.

Speaker 1:

So for me it's also really important to have that level of you know affirmation across all elements of our daughter's lives. Socially, you know, work, play right, believe in yourself, hold yourself to a high standard in your mind, right, and believe in yourself, believe it is possible. But also, I think the bit that really helped me, you know, as I got through my career was my ability to break down my facade, my ability to be comfortable with failure, right, because I grew up wanting to win all the time. I grew up, you know, with four other siblings. It was competitive. I grew up, um, you know, being told it's important to advance. And you know, and and do better. Because guess what? Your level?

Speaker 1:

of good might be rated as average right Just based on the colour of your skin. So you have to push forwards even harder, and I think that meant that I saw failure as a weakness. I saw any elements of certain emotions as a weakness and I think the bit that I want from and that's out of no um intention by my parents, I think it was more they understood you know what they understood at the time and it was much more about success and it was much more about you know winning and advancing and helping us be prepared for the workplace. And I think now what we know, um, you know you don't need to be a psychologist, although I feel like I am a psychologist half the time. I feel like I give therapy sessions half the time, which I really enjoy, but I think now what we know, we know so much more about mental health and, again, you don't need to be a psychologist to know and appreciate and look for signs of, you know, mental health well-being.

Speaker 1:

Um, we know much more. We know more about cognitive psychology, we know more about human behaviors and I think all of those things also mean that we can talk more about, we can talk more openly and I think, for me, I definitely got to a point in my career where I really I unlocked a different level. You know, I unlocked the level of openness and I think when I unlocked that, there was more authenticity, there was more, almost more confidence. Right, I'm confident to show weakness and I think that's actually even more confident. So that's the thing that I think I'm doing, maybe slightly differently. I'm really attacking and trying to address, you know, the elements of it's okay to fail, like early on as well as the information. So those are, you know, those are a couple of things that we do.

Speaker 2:

As we continue this engaging conversation, remember that Black Rise is more than just a podcast. We're a dynamic platform where businesses can connect, collaborate and prosper with Black professionals, entrepreneurs and Black-owned companies. Our commitment to diversity, inclusion and empowerment reshapes industries and builds a future where Black excellence thrives globally. So don't forget to subscribe and give us a five-star review on iTunes. Yeah, absolutely so. Yes, I think what I love about what you say is very aligned with what I'm building with the Black Forest platform, and I realized when talking to a lot of leaders on the podcast is that a lot of them have achieved success not because they were good and I think being good at what you do is expected, but what takes you to the next stage is your soft skills. So again, some good statistics that anybody can have access. Right now, 50% of the black community in business have had higher education, so MBAs and so on and so on, but only 1.5% of them make it to the top. So it means there's a disconnect. So it shows you that having great skills, having great technical skills, is great, but what great skills? Yeah, the great technical skills is great, but what gets you to the top? And this is probably where it's harder for us because we live in a world which is not ours in a sense. You know, if you're in africa, then that would not be an issue. Everybody understand the culture and so on and so on.

Speaker 2:

When you go into another world where you have a minority, people want to hire people who look like them and if you're not looking physically like them, they want to. They want to find some kind of connectivity lackability. And if you're not looking physically like them, they want to find some kind of connectivity lackability. And if you're not able to do that and I think it's funny yesterday I was in a. I'll tell you something. I was in a van yesterday and I didn't know people use the word code switch as a bad thing and I want to say code switch is adaptability and they say, oh, it's exhausting.

Speaker 2:

And I understand how people feel because if tomorrow I decided I changed career and I'm a high school, you know, you know young, you know my tenant, I don't know. You said but uh, young, school, I have to voice, speak to children will not be the same way where I speak to a managing director of a ceo and we continuously have to adapt and this is exhausting, especially if you have to do it for seven hours in business, but I think part of any successful individuals is the ability that you know it is what I have to do. The way I'm speaking to a 15-year-old, the way I'm speaking to somebody who's 50 years old, is very different than when I'm speaking at work or when I'm speaking to my friends. We're continuously adapting and I think that this belief that it is a bad thing I don't know how you feel about this, but I think that it's sometimes misunderstood. But it's important and that's why sometimes some, you know, we will isolate ourselves because we don't want to code switch, or we don't want, again, not the term code switch, but adapt. I don't know how you feel about this, but that was something that I was thinking in my head and I'm saying it out loud right now with you.

Speaker 2:

You know we talked about soft skills and I think part of the soft skills that you probably have on your list is adaptability. Adaptability is to be able to, you know, find yourself in a situation where you can relate to people, and sometimes people could switch, or people could switch so much at the wrong time, and they get into a position when they realize wait, a minute Ied with so much and I'm not myself anymore. And adaptability for me is that you're still yourself, but you adapt yourself to who you have in front of, and I think sometimes there's a disconnect where people are exhausted about that and I think, well, if I was a high school teacher, the way I'm speaking to children will be very different to the way I'm speaking to my partner, and so on and so on. So we're consciously doing it.

Speaker 1:

Um, the tiredness that we have of it and, uh, I don't know, it wasn't a question, more of a statement I'm putting out there. I completely concur with you. I mean adaptability, um falls under the mindset category for me, um, so your ability to, you know, reframe, for example, reframe a problem right, reframe a problem. It could be another problem, a problem. It could be another problem. It doesn't even have to be an opportunity, it could just be another problem. It could be a different way of looking at the problem that you have, which then makes it easier to deal with. It could also be an opportunity. It could be the ability for you to rethink about, you know, dealing with uncertainty.

Speaker 1:

A lot of the time we struggle to want to be in control of something, and that's a lot of where, you know, anxiety comes from, particularly workplace anxiety, where we don't know the outcome of something, but actually guess what? We can adapt, we can pivot right, even if we're faced with, you know, a not so desirable outcome. We can still pivot. But I think that aspect of pivoting, that aspect of changing, of removing myself from my comfort, is also daunting and scary. So it is absolutely a, you know, a very, very, very core skill. You know I sit in the in the. Apparently I sit in the top 1% of professionals in Singapore. I had no idea until a recent poll or something came out which I find great on one hand. I guess how they measure it.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I have to hold you a little bit because I need to ask you and I think we want to know your journey. We want to understand your journey to EY. It's actually at the personal level. So tell us that, because being in a 1% in Singapore it's a big deal and in Singapore, people who have never been to Singapore, you have to go, just at least to experience the city and the level of what are the expectations in this country.

Speaker 1:

So I have spent all of my career in consulting. So before EY, I've been with EY now for nearly three years. Before EY I was with Accenture. So I joined Accenture as a fresh graduate, always working in the capital market space, so within financial services, and focused on, you know, strategy, merger acquisition type engagements and also leadership topics. So that's really been my kind of niche area and I think at about two years into Accenture I started to realize you know the game, right, that's how it was to me. I was like, oh okay, now I get it, I get. You know, I spent two years working in the UK.

Speaker 2:

I did a lot of travels only, only, when you say the game, what do you mean by that?

Speaker 1:

let me get to that right. So so by that, by that I mean so I spent two years, you know, not knowing the game and working, and you know, doing doing my thing, and I was traveling, I was doing, I was having all these amazing experience. It was all good. And then I I worked on another project and my eyes were just way more open. The perspective was open, I was working with different people. It was good and I think there's an element of luck of the draw. But then it also made I'm very curious and I started thinking, okay, like what's the next move for me? And it was to get promoted at that two year mark, which I did. And then I got further promoted at the four year mark to manager, whereby at that point I knew people who were managers for, like you know, seven, eight years. And here I was getting promoted for years and then, you know, a few years later I got three years later I was promoted to senior manager and then another three years later I was promoted to partner.

Speaker 1:

So for me the formula did not change. What the game was for me was knowing what the firm values Like. That was it once you know what somebody values, whether you are a content producer on social media, you know a consultant working in the consultant industry with a whole bunch of clients, whether you produce products and you have a whole bunch of consumers, you know whatever it is. Once you know what your audience is looking for, then you can center yourself around delivering value, meaning delivering what they need. Now, of course, if you don't want to, you know, run the game, play the game. That's fine.

Speaker 1:

But I wanted to. I wanted to, you know, make partner at a good, at a good point. It was. It was something I was competitive with myself. I wanted to challenge myself. I wanted to, you know, be, I wanted I didn't see many people as well who were doing that at as females, um, as ethnic minority females. I wanted to be the first. I wanted to unlock a new way of thinking. I wanted to shake up the leaves. You know I wanted to do it for myself and me. That that was it.

Speaker 1:

You know that for me, knowing what the firm valued, you know, and quite frankly, they valued, you know, growing the business and they valued having more clients. They valued people with opinion and who could showcase and share that opinion with clients, and clients, you know, say, okay, great, I need to have Ollie on my project. I need to have Ollie delivering all of my work, which then is is great line in for the pockets, right for the business growth as well. So, and then, on top of that, being commercially aware and knowing how to, you know, manage your programs so that there's no health issue you know, there's no kind of like, as I say, health warming and everything is kind of good. So that was key for me. I also was somebody who was very interested in extracurricular activities and working with people and people engagement things. I've always done that, but I realized the priority ranking in terms of the value that the firm had placed on it at that point in time. So for me it came down to okay, go and make the market.

Speaker 1:

Why am I waiting for people? I go back to the voice of my dad. Why am I waiting for my manager to tell me of the next product I'm going to work on? Why don't I just go out and find it myself? Why don't I go out and sell it? Why don't I just go out and create content, share it with different clients who might be interested, form opinion? You know, why don't I just do stuff right, I'm working on a project Instead of going straight onto the next project.

Speaker 1:

I can go straight onto the next project, but how about I summarize all the stuff I've done on this project and I say, ok, anyone else, anyone else's bank is focused on these problems that I've just solved for this other bank. Maybe I can go and have a conversation with them and tell them all the things that they should be doing, right? So I knew I then was like OK, so how can I add the value? How can I find the client? I could find the client and people can bring me in if I, if I have something to say.

Speaker 1:

So in order to you know again, in order to connect the dots and kind of build the value and go and find clients to, to go and work with and basically sell projects and, um, sell services, I had to have something credible. So it started with content, which is why I always say to people start with content. If you have content, always say to people start with content. If you have content that people want to see, that people find valuable, meaning you have to do enough due diligence to understand what they find valuable. So that for me, was was the game. I realized the secret, and it felt like a secret because no one else was, you know, running around hustling as I, as I call it you know, and that's totally fine.

Speaker 1:

They were happy with where they were and you're just working on projects. But I think for me, I wanted more and I realized, ah, okay, so if I do all these things, I'm pretty sure it's going to work out well. And, um, yeah, it's always. It would always be something memorable. That, um, when I was about three, three plus years in which was very unheard of I think at that level that I sold my first project and it was nearly not going to happen. But my boss at the time and my counsellor at the time were very impressed that I even got to that point and then we thought it wasn't going to happen. And then it came back and it happened and I was able to sell my first project with a team. And then I remember that kind of catapulted me in terms of, okay, let's consider her for promotion. And then I think the slam dunk was on the day of the promotion reviews. I remember pinging my boss on you know the equivalent of teams that we had at the time and I said, oh, by the way, we've just got an extension. So I had managed to extend my team and grow the team, and it was another kind of I knew that that was. You know that was banked revenue for the firm. I knew that that was good, you know. So the story was building and I just repeated that formula throughout my career.

Speaker 1:

I focused on content, focused on being out there talking to clients so that I can see the similarity, see the differences, have opinion. I focused on content, focused on being out there talking to clients so that I can see the similarity, see the differences, have opinion. I focused on research. You know, I wasn't waiting for anyone to tell me to go and do things. I just went and did it. You know, and it was very, very much similar when I got to. So I made partner in just over 10 years. Big part of my story. It opened up a number of doors. Big part of my story. It opened up a number of doors.

Speaker 1:

And then, of course, when ey, you know, um approached me, uh, I moved to singapore and part of my thing was okay, I'm net new here, I don't know the singaporean market, I don't know clients here. You know I knew I obviously did a lot of ground work. You know, leveraged my linkedin. I leveraged my husband's contacts, I leveraged anyone I could right, hustled in the market and but I knew that I had to. I wasn't waiting for EY to come and say hey, here's a list of things that you can do. I came in with a list of clear things I wanted to do. I wrote a paper, published the paper um, you know, I was being interviewed by the, the national paper. You know all, within like six months of joining nine months of joining published a big paper interviewed by and was quoted by media articles. I've done a podcast on behalf of the firm I was. I was hosting and you know doing being a keynote speaker on so many different other events. So that's the game right.

Speaker 1:

It's all driven by content and branding.

Speaker 2:

I think it's interesting. What you say is that, even if you work for a company, you are pretty much an entrepreneurial mindset. That's what you were able to bring in and, I think, what people quite often who are, and I think that there's not much difference between being an entrepreneur and being a very high achiever in the business, because it's exactly the same. Trait of what you described is that you don't wait for things to happen. You're not afraid to be the first at what you do. You understand the value you bring to the business and you communicate it very clearly. You're able to also position yourself as an expert in your field. So expert in your field doesn't wait for things to happen and come to you with suggestions, something for me. When I'm sitting in the meeting with the clients, like well, I can tell you a, b, c already about this point. So we feel like, okay, I feel safe working with you because you've done your groundwork. You're not waiting for me and coming with a blank piece of paper, you're prepared and that's something that a lot of people misunderstand, especially in professional roles like okay, I've been given this job, somebody's gonna come to me and give me a promotion. Yay, no, it doesn't happen like that. Are you understanding what your boss is after? Are you understanding why they see you as a 18 player?

Speaker 2:

And I think that sometimes people say, oh, I'm just going to do a nine-to-five. You I don't know if you come across a lot of memes right now on social media on tiktok, about these kids say I'm working nine-to-five, no more than that. I say great, do that. Trust me, you're not going to go very far in your career and I'm not saying people that you have to only work longer hours. That's not. What I'm saying is that you can still work if you're not 95.

Speaker 2:

But how are you able to demonstrate that you're taking things further? You're not waiting to be served and that's super important between time and your efficiency. And that's what you demonstrated because easily, early, you could. You know you are the typical entrepreneur and exactly that. But you've done it with the power of having this great brand around you and you work and you're making the money go further, which is beautiful and um, I can't say anything else, but I love that you say. Something that I say all the time is that do not be afraid, especially as a black person, to be the first in your space, because we need a lot of people of us to be the first. Unfortunately, that's the situation we're in and again and again, safi, when talent is there, people forget the colour of your skin, people forget that you are a woman, isn't?

Speaker 1:

it Absolutely. That's exactly what I say to people. If you're coming at a place of insecurity or imposter syndrome or limiting beliefs, focus on content, content, content, content will always set you free. By content, I mean opinion, I mean research, I mean turning anything into some level of opinionated information that people can consume and find valuable. It could be an article, it could be a blog. It could be an article. It could be a blog. It could be an interview. It could be a research paper. It could be a short paper, it could be a podcast. It could be anything. It could be a product, it could be a tool. It could be absolutely anything. It could be an initiative, it could be a training program, like absolutely anything. But it has to be driven by. Hey, this is what I think we should be doing because of X, y, z these are some of the implications that I'm seeing. You know it has to be driven by some level of information that you have believed yourselves and you have constructed into a set of conclusions that then become your opinion on a topic. Take it further, and that's where you can then, based on all of the opinion you have, that's when you can then say, okay, let's now create this tool, or let's now roll out this training program, or let's now do this or do that, or do this or do that, right, everything stems from that content and you can also do the things that we were talking about earlier in terms of reaching out to more clients.

Speaker 1:

Right, as a consultant, particularly if you are not out there consulting, what is your role? If I go to a doctor's, I'm not. I'm, you know, the first thing I did when I I had two babies in two different countries. Right, I wanted to have the best gynecologist. Um, you know two different countries that were not my favorite countries, so I didn't know the right people and I've never done this before, and so I wanted to have, you know, access to the best gynecologist, the best doctors that I could.

Speaker 1:

Right, and guess what they do? They advise, you know their consultants. You want to go to somebody who has done it many times, who has got lots of opinion, who you definitive responses, and that's what our roles are as consultants. You know, in my industry and I think also regardless of where I go, if I go to my bank manager, I want to get advice, maybe on banking services and products. If I go to, you know a retail store and I'm looking for a new camera or a new bag. You know I want to get information, input from somebody. So we are exchanging information on a daily basis and if you're responsive I don't know then you know it's just not going to get you that far.

Speaker 2:

I love that, love that I want to take because you are a fantastic carrier. But you decided to take things a bit further. We found the follow-ups before we closed down.

Speaker 1:

But can you tell us more about follow, boost? And then we're going to wrap up this beautiful interview, yeah, sure. So it basically stemmed from um being asked the question how did you get to where you got to in your career? And I think the opposite word was how, how did you do it? And each time I thought about how I, you know, became a partner quickly or went through certain milestones in my career.

Speaker 1:

It came down to um soft skills, as I said, and I I was being asked to present and talk a lot about um, you know my journey and doing a lot of these things, and this was all pre-covid before. You know, panels were really popular, um, and I just actually thought to myself look, I'm gonna put a lot of my responses into the blog. People can access the blog afterwards. It will help them, but it will also help me, because I didn't have to always, you know, prep for the different question. Um, you know.

Speaker 1:

And then, as I was doing that, I said hold on, there's something way bigger here that I should be doing, and it just felt like a calling and I was like I should be coaching people, I should be training people and teaching them all the things that I've learned and I started then going okay, I need a framework, you know, like any good consultant, and I realized that the how came down, you know, I started writing down single words, and every time I wrote down a single word, I started looking. I was like hold on, okay, ok, another soft skill, another soft skill, another. You know, it was never I'm the best. I got here because I'm the amazing murder and acquisitions expert you know, for which I am.

Speaker 1:

But it wasn't that right. It was all the soft skills. So then I wanted to test that. I tested that with other senior people who I work with you know, clients, ceos and all sorts and every time somebody said something it was a soft skill. You know, harvard Business Review also wrote a number of articles on how certain CEOs get to the top and they cited, in the headline, soft skills. So I knew that this was something that felt untapped. And also, depending on your background, depending on who you are, you probably have access to less training around soft skills, right? Because maybe people don't grow up in an environment where people are supporting them on, you know, being good communicators or being good storytellers, and maybe based on family dynamics, you actually grow up not having a strong mindset and not believing in yourself, right? So there was definitely a disadvantage that some people I think had based on their backgrounds.

Speaker 1:

And that was another fueling driver for me. I felt that this was also something that people from underrepresented backgrounds could really do with. But the company doesn't just focus on people from underrepresented backgrounds that really do this. But the company doesn't just focus on people from underrepresented backgrounds. That you know. It addresses everyone. But there definitely was a driver when I set it up to really want to help everyone, and particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds.

Speaker 1:

So the mission is to help people advance in their careers using soft skills, of which we have four different groups, as I mentioned earlier mindset, strengthening how you, how you think and see yourself. Branding, strengthening how other people see you and your services and your products. And then storytelling, strengthening how you communicate and influence and have gravitas. And then orchestration strengthen your ability to get stuff done, because that's another thing that can be a killer. You know you have the best vision, you have the best plan, you have a brand strategy, but if you cannot execute anything, if you can't collaborate with people, if you can't build teams, if you can't delegate, if you don't do business in the right way, you know if you're not ethically um, you know driven in business, you won't really last.

Speaker 1:

So there's a whole heap of other things around, that orchestration which I find, to, you know, super, super, super important, even like you know, managing your time, um, you know, and coming up with, you know, actual plans to get things done, being accountable, um. So that that's kind of how it started. Yeah, and we offer um coaching and training services. I don't do that myself I'm not on the front line anymore but we have the businesses going and have a number of coaches and trainers who offer those services.

Speaker 2:

That's amazing. I was going to share the links if we can find out more about that. I'm like you. I'm a big advocate of soft skills. Oli, it's been such a pleasure to have you and I know that we could have spoken much longer, but time is against us and, um, yeah, what's the best way to connect with you? Is it linkedin? Is it instagram?

Speaker 1:

are you a tiktoker? All of the above, um, but linkedin and instagram, um. So if people want to follow me, um, I'm sure you can give my handle, but you can find me on linkedin. I I talk a lot on linkedin. You can also find me on instagram, um a4 underscore extraordinary impacts on instagram. And then, um, ollie is actually the handle, is ollie akechi um on linkedin.

Speaker 2:

But yeah, you can share the links. We'll share the links, ollie, it's been such a pleasure to have you. Thank you so much for spending some of the time sharing us some golden knowledge. Know the game, people know the game. Understand how to create value. It's so important. Don't stay in the dark. You have no excuse nowadays If you have to listen to this episode twice, three times.

Speaker 2:

Listen to it again, because it was a very good one, and for our amazing listeners, as you are here yes, Oli, it was a pleasure to have you and again for our listeners, make sure that you subscribe, obviously, like and share this podcast so we can change the game together. Let's rise Bye everyone. Thank you for joining us on this episode of Black Rise. We hope that you found this conversation as inspiring as we did. Share your takeaways on social media and tag us as we wrap up. Remember that you can always stay connected with us. Join us on this journey of elevation, motivation and empowerment. Let's rise together, break barriers and create lasting change. Subscribe now to stay updated with our latest episodes and visit theblackrisecom to find out more. This is Black Rise, where excellence and impact converge to redefine the future. Until next time, keep rising.