Authentic leadership critical for business growth

Mercy Dawn Akude, the General Manager of Commercial Operations at Telecel Ghana, has emphasised the importance of prioritising authenticity in leadership as an essential factor for business growth during the 10th Women in Human Resources (HR) Confer­ence held in Accra

Speaking on a panel at the conference organised by the Gha­na Employers’ Association on the theme ‘Leading with Authenticity: Building Confidence & Influence in Accra,’ MsAkude said the path to authentic leadership was long and often challenging but consis­tent adherence to the tenets of transparency, integrity and being exemplary were the values that promote business.

“Leading with authenticity is not just about being a good lead­er, it’s about being a leader who makes a difference. Authenticity is not gained in a day; it is developed

 over time. It will be tried and tested. It will have to go through the test of fire,” he said.

Reflecting on her journey, she recounted her return to Ghana from the UK and how she se­cured her first role at then Ghana Telecom, where she focused on cost control measures to drive efficiency.

She explained that despite the opposition to her new policies for continuous improvement, she remained on course and leaned on her authenticity to stay in the business.

“Authenticity is not an easy road. Once you decide to be authentic, it means you are being your true self. It also means a mindset shift. It’s not about you anymore. It’s about your purpose and impact. Once you have that shift, you change your ways and you allow that focus to be your guide,” she explained.

She indicated that her career trajectory from Ghana Telecom to Vodafone and eventually to Tele­cel, where she now leads close to 1,000 people as General Manager of Commercial Operations, exem­plified the process of becoming more authentic.

Ms Akude shared her experi­ences of going the extra mile in her work, including a significant project to roll out Telecel retail shops, to increase the number from 60 to over 300 outlets across Ghana.

For that project, she leveraged her previous retail shop work experience at Marks & Spencer in the UK.

“Understand that leadership is a journey. You must start from somewhere. We deliver on our commercial strategy because there is a team that believes in my au­thenticity. I reward and appreciate them based on performance. It’s a team that delivers on the job so I give them their due,” she said.

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