As a child, I used to get asked, “What do want to be when you grow up?” My answer used to be, “A pilot,” simply because the profession seemed fancy to me.

Growing up, I gravitated more towards the sciences, and what captivated me the most was the concept of energy, more specifically electricity, and its ability to cause social change. Looking around me at society led me to sympathize with others who did not have access to clean energy; and from then on I kept it my mission to be at the center of social change in energy.

I personally never thought of myself as a leader because, throughout school, I could hardly express myself in front of my own classmates. However, I always had this strong feeling that made me question how some leaders led that made me feel I could do better if I ever fill their positions.

For a long time, I carried a negative perception of leadership thanks to the leaders I saw on television, who used it as a vehicle to make lots of money and hurt people in the process. But then, I started seeing leadership as a way of actually helping people realize their dreams, be it through governance or on a personal level.

My perception of leaders being loud people with bad traits started fading. I realized that leaders are actually people who are supposed to take their followers to a common agreed-upon destination. While doing this, the leader is to challenge what is being done and bring change where things are done in the wrong way. When I was old enough to vote, my thoughts on leadership were strongly questioned and I was not able to actually choose the best leader since at that big stage there was a lot on stake. I also learned that there are times we have to choose leaders who can actually deal with what is thrown at them and not just the fact that they are the best fit for a certain role.

Post-university life reached so fast and I was looking for jobs right, left and center. I got an internship and started learning that I could command respect and a high level of trust. Even as an intern, I noticed that was trusted more than my colleagues and that the people around me allowed me to lead them without me asking for a lead role. I later practiced transformational leadership as I lead a whole team as the chosen lead by the company head.

Upon joining ALX in October 2018, I learnt more about leadership. I learned that there is a difference between leadership and management. Leadership is about motivating and taking people to achieve a certain vision whereas management is more about man-marking. I now believe that in every person there is a leader ready to bring change. This is because we are the change we want to see. Moreover, leaders grow from experiences and become stronger. Effective leaders have passion, hold values, are visionary, are creative, and have an intellectual drive.

With this knowledge about leadership, I shifted to focus more on people hence my current role as a change manager in healthcare where I can see the impact of what am doing.

As a child, I used to get asked, “What do want to be when you grow up?” My answer used to be, “A pilot,” simply because the profession seemed fancy to me.

Growing up, I gravitated more towards the sciences, and what captivated me the most was the concept of energy, more specifically electricity, and its ability to cause social change. Looking around me at society led me to sympathize with others who did not have access to clean energy; and from then on I kept it my mission to be at the center of social change in energy.

I personally never thought of myself as a leader because, throughout school, I could hardly express myself in front of my own classmates. However, I always had this strong feeling that made me question how some leaders led that made me feel I could do better if I ever fill their positions.

For a long time, I carried a negative perception of leadership thanks to the leaders I saw on television, who used it as a vehicle to make lots of money and hurt people in the process. But then, I started seeing leadership as a way of actually helping people realize their dreams, be it through governance or on a personal level.

My perception of leaders being loud people with bad traits started fading. I realized that leaders are actually people who are supposed to take their followers to a common agreed-upon destination. While doing this, the leader is to challenge what is being done and bring change where things are done in the wrong way. When I was old enough to vote, my thoughts on leadership were strongly questioned and I was not able to actually choose the best leader since at that big stage there was a lot on stake. I also learned that there are times we have to choose leaders who can actually deal with what is thrown at them and not just the fact that they are the best fit for a certain role.

Post-university life reached so fast and I was looking for jobs right, left and center. I got an internship and started learning that I could command respect and a high level of trust. Even as an intern, I noticed that was trusted more than my colleagues and that the people around me allowed me to lead them without me asking for a lead role. I later practiced transformational leadership as I lead a whole team as the chosen lead by the company head.

Upon joining ALX in October 2018, I learnt more about leadership. I learned that there is a difference between leadership and management. Leadership is about motivating and taking people to achieve a certain vision whereas management is more about man-marking. I now believe that in every person there is a leader ready to bring change. This is because we are the change we want to see. Moreover, leaders grow from experiences and become stronger. Effective leaders have passion, hold values, are visionary, are creative, and have an intellectual drive.

With this knowledge about leadership, I shifted to focus more on people hence my current role as a change manager in healthcare where I can see the impact of what am doing.