The Everyday Leader podcast features inspiring individuals building and leading teams across Africa. Listen to episodes on your preferred podcast platform here.
About our Guest
This episode’s conversation is with Evans Onyango from Nairobi, Kenya. Evans is a seasoned IT professional with over 10 years of experience in training, client support, and quality assurance in IT, Engineering and Telecommunication sectors. He holds a Diploma in Computer Science from Kampala International University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business & Information Technology from Africa Nazarene University. He has a passion for providing solutions to technical challenges and empowering people through inspirational leadership. He is part of the Client Success team at Ona, working consistently to provide solutions to clients as well as impart knowledge on Ona’s products and services.
Everyday Leadership in Action
Here are a few highlights from the conversation with Evans:
Don’t be afraid to dive into manager roles early on: Evans began his career managing a call center with around 40 to 60 agents reporting to him on 24-hour shifts. His role was to manage the team day-to-day, set goals, track their performance, and continuously coach them. Despite the challenge of being young and having people reporting to him who were older, this experience shaped his work ethic and helped him appreciate the responsibility and privilege of managing a team.
Be proactive and selective when seeking out a mentor: Evans learned the importance of choosing a mentor based on where he saw himself heading. He sought out mentors in his field who had been in positions of leadership and could provide insight into how to handle things.
Feel ownership and pride in the products your company provides: Throughout his career, Evans worked in different roles within technology companies, from managing client success teams to training and development. He is currently a Client Success Manager at a software engineering company called Ona. Ona develops tools for people doing essential work on the front lines of health and humanitarian relief efforts. One of Ona's latest innovations is a no-code product, which uses data storytelling approaches to address societal challenges, such as health access. It provides a platform for anyone to develop rich interactive maps, charts, and tables without needing much technical knowledge. What Evans loves about his role is the satisfaction of serving clients and contributing to society. He has also built his network and interacted with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds, which has helped him grow as a leader.
Overall, Evans' leadership journey has taught him the importance of prioritization, seeking mentorship, continuously learning, and being proactive about career development.
The Everyday Leader is a podcast featuring conversations with leaders from across Africa’s companies, organizations, and governments about their experience managing teams and projects throughout their careers.
Know of an “everyday leader” in your company or network? Nominate them here.
Evans Onyango: Client Success Manager, Ona