☕ CoffeeChat Weekly

Opportunities & Insights from Across Our Community

Hi everyone, here’s what we have for you this week:

• Good managers intentionally seek out and present opportunities for their rising team members. Seun Olafusi from Nigeria shares how she was given timely opportunities by her managers at Uber and Branch.

• How do you recognize untapped potential in others? Corporate Wellness Coach Kirasha from South Africa shares how goal setting can stretch oneself and help set direction.

Read on for more details…

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Collaborating globally across remote teams, building a strong culture at tech companies, and reporting to two managers

Here are a few highlights from the conversation with Seun:

• What you study in school shapes your mindset towards the professional world: Seun studied Economics, which gave her a strong theoretical foundation and framework for how businesses, labour and the wider economy work. Studying social sciences provided a range of exposure to a lot of different aspects of business and influences how she approaches her HR roles.

• Working on a global team changes the way you think about the workplace: Seun’s experience with recruiting and supporting team members spread across San Francisco, Lagos, Nairobi and Mumbai at Branch has broadened her worldview. Often policies have shifted to accommodate challenges specific to staff location. At the same time, other policies and initiatives more easily translate team-wide and can even bring an international team closer, such as how their monthly mandatory day off inspires team members to share pictures of how they are unplugging.

• Good managers provide opportunities: Seun has had the opportunity to report to several strong female managers during her time at Uber and Branch. She noticed that she found that they let her be herself and presented her with the right opportunities at the right time. Now when she manages her own team members, she intentionally delegates tasks and crafts new projects catered to rising staff to empower them to grow.

• Documentation and communication are crucial when working in a matrix organizational structure: At Branch, Seun reports to both the Global Chief People Officer and the Nigeria Managing Director. She has separate 1:1 check-ins, but makes sure to maintain clear notes that she shares with both of her managers to ensure visibility.

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Connecting with individuals from diverse backgrounds, realizing untapped potential, and the growth of corporate wellness

Kirasha is a Wellness Coach based in South Africa. She works with both individual and corporate clients to support them on their journey to be happier and healthier. Here’s a preview of our Q&A with Kirasha:

CoffeeChat: What do you think prevents more professionals from seeking out their own coaching?

Kirasha: There could be a variety of factors:

• I think we feel that it is possible to do it ‘on our own’ and don’t seek the help and guidance we need.

• The fear of being seen as weak if you seek professional help especially from family and friends.

• You don’t have the motivation and courage to chase your goals at this moment.

• The financial aspect of investing in a coach.