Bola Adesola is the Senior Vice Chair of Standard Chartered Bank, Africa. She is also on several boards including the United Nations Global Compact and the Women Corporate Directors (WCD), an organization that represents female business leaders around the world. Bola co-founded Women in Management, Business and Public Service (or WIMBIZ) in 2001, and it is now Nigeria’s most renowned gender-oriented network for women. Her high energy and positive outlook are infectious!

On This Episode Of When Women Win:

Bola talked about how determined she was to craft her own path through corporate, and how she was discerning about where to work and what to do. Although she started out to become a lawyer just like her father, after a few years she turned to banking instead. Throughout her 30-plus-year career, Bola learned leadership lessons that she shared on this podcast, such as introspection and reflection… She gave tips for making career choices based on value alignment and purposefulness, and defined what those terms really mean. Bola also examined the defining periods of her life and why those times were so influential to her current position in work and family life.

Notable Quotes:

• “Be discerning about where you work.”
• “Failure happens, but it’s not fatal.”

Book Recommendations:

The last book Bola gifted to a friend was Eight Laws of Leadership , a leadership book based on Christian principles.

Talking Points In This Episode:

• Having a plan
• Aligning your values with your work
• A successful career and “childlessness” in Nigeria
• Bola’s opinion of failure
• Being a sponsor
• Giving second chances
• Build your own table

If you’d like to know more about Bola and her work, you can connect with her on LinkedIn.

Please send me a message to let me know what you think of this episode or the show in general. You can reach me via Instagram, LinkedIn – or the web contact form. Thank you!