Move At Your Own Pace. It’s Your Journey, Not Anyone Else’s...
The SPDH Project InspireMe; FTSE series #2, with Onyeka Okonkwo
SPDH- It’s been all shades of an informative, thrilling and inspiring ride thus far, getting to hear our guests on the Project InspireMe (TBSS and FTSE series) share their stories. Well, this week isn’t any different but, it just got better. Also, we’ve got our first-ever female guest (drum rolls). Yeah, we know a good number of you must have been anticipating this moment and, it’s finally here. We’ve got Onyeka, an amazing personality in our midst, she’s a bundle of vibe and awesomeness. For some reason, she adores doughnuts, and she actually got to link her love for it to an interesting phenomenon but we wouldn’t spill just yet, you’ll get to find out about that soon. We should kick-start the interview already, right?... Definitely, we’ll just get straight to it.
Can we meet you, ma’am? Who’s Onyeka Okonkwo, really?
Onyeka- First of all, I'm a Christian because that's the foundation of everything that I am. Then I'm a chartered accountant, a risk analyst, a youth advocate – well, a youth development advocate. I am a learner. Lifelong learner is a bit cliché, but that’s really what I am. I'm curious about the world and open to understanding it better – understanding the people, the events, how they're all connected. I'm an Economics graduate from Anambra State University. Graduated in 2010. I am an MBA holder with the Quantic School of Business and Technology. I worked as an auditor for about 6 - 7 years and currently in my 2nd year as a risk analyst. All in all, I believe I'm a well rounded individual, spiritually, physically, intellectually. On the physical part, I am not an exercise junkie, but I'm more like a fitness nerd. I believe that good health – good body, and a sound mind are vital to self-confidence. I preach that, and do what I preach.
SPDH- What was your undergraduate years like? Were there any experiences you feel, helped you become who you are today?
Onyeka- There’s no one single experience. I believe it’s a combination of a whole lot of things together. I had a clique of friends in school, we studied hard and played hard. I had a good relationship with my lecturers, so it was easy to meet somebody if I needed help with something or the other. I participated in group projects, basically tended to lead each group project team; I loved research. Back in school, economics was really about a lot of research and modelling and I enjoyed that part because I was already a passionately curious person. Doing researches wasn’t a big deal for me. I was also part of the Rotaract Club, in my school. Got to attend a lot of Rotary events, meet our senior Rotarians, take part in forming social bonds with the people in my club. The University is all about character and learning. I believe that I got the best of both.
SPDH- The switch though, from economics to data analytics… Any incidence in particular which made you decide to chase a career in DA or was it something you had in mind as an undergraduate?
Onyeka- I get this question a lot. But then, I didn’t have this in mind as an undergraduate. I don’t think anybody had this in mind back when I was in school because we didn’t quite know it was a thing. There was the internet, but it wasn’t as widespread and very available as it is today. We didn’t have a lot of personal computers at home back then. Internet was crazily expensive so some of the opportunities available to people today weren’t readily available. Economics was my first love. I did a lot of learning there. I believe that to understand the world, to see the interconnectivity and the relationship between different units, economics is the answer. When I graduated, it gave me access to a lot of industries, so it was also a strategic decision for me. While I was serving, I knew I was going to become a Chartered Accountant because I understood that the knowledge of finance was vital; that becoming chartered would be a good way for me to step into that particular field, understand finance at a high level and apply it. I served in a village without access to tutorial centres and I knew again, that I couldn’t study this without help (accounting wasn’t my favourite course in school). Eventually, I started my first job in an audit firm and began taking the exams. I qualified in 2016, kept working in audit until early 2019 and then switched to risk management. Why did I go to risk management? I’ll tell you. Part of the things we put in place and employed while in the audit was thinking of the business, thinking of business strategy, thinking of management from a risk-based approach. So, I had a better understanding of why risk management was important, why it was imperative for businesses to think from a risk perspective, anticipate risk and mitigate against them before they actually happen. I knew at that point that when I got out of the audit, which I was already preparing to do by 2018, that I was going to explore risk. Why data analytics? It wasn’t a career switch; it was more like developing a strategic skill that I was going to need because I see that a lot of jobs today talk about having analytical skills. What I found out was that we do a lot of these already in finance because we use Excel, look at financial results, analyse, and present them to management. That was actually analytics at a very basic level. We didn’t call it that at the time, we just called it to finance. Yeah. But, data analytics is a strategic skill for me, something that is useful in every field I’ve moved from, economics, audit, risk management; being able to gather your data, process, convert, get insights, and present it, is a very vital skill. And DA helps you get this.
SPDH- Getting to go through your Linkedin profile, (and just to add) which is quite intimidating… Seeing tons of published articles, what fuels your consistency, ‘cos it’s something to be admired?
Onyeka- My LinkedIn profile is very intriguing, wow, thank you. Again, thank you very much as regards my consistency. My profile, first of all has changed many times, and it's going to change a bit more over the years. Because we grow, we become different people, but maybe not so much a different person, more like a better version of who we were before. We grow into ourselves. We grow into our mission, our purpose, our interest. And so for every time I discover something new about myself, every time I come into a better understanding of what I'm trying to do, what direction I need to go to do it, that profile changes. Don't be surprised you come back in a month or two and you're reading a few different things over there. Anyway, my articles and posts are fueled by a desire to share what I know. Part of the problem I had when I was in school was that I didn't have the kind of mentorship I needed.
There was a lot of stumbling, trying to figure things out as I progressed. My older relatives who had gone to the university couldn’t relate with some of the challenges I was having at the time because my aunt would talk a lot about how she was in school and was well catered for, finance-wise, but I had this kind of trouble. I also don’t believe corruption within institutions were as widespread as they are today. A lecturer might not show up in class for the whole semester, and then come a week before the exam, sell you a textbook and say: “read all of this, summarize chapter 1 to chapter 20, and that’s your project which is going to be about 30% of your score, and then go write your exam”.
When I think about that, I know how much of a difference it would have made for me if I had access to mentorship, even if it wasn’t someone directly holding my hand, but someone who was willing to talk about their experiences, and then me picking my lessons from them.
That’s what I am aiming to do today; what drives me to create the content I create about youth development, learning, navigating the workplace as entry-level career personnel. And I share all those things with the hope that the people who are reading it will, take a cue from my experience. I always write from my personal experience. I don’t like to talk about things I don’t know about. I can give pointers as to where information may be gotten or someone who might have the information, but when I write about things, I write from my understanding and perspective over time. Some of the things I talk about happened years ago, and I might not have understood it the way I do today, but as time has passed through, I’m looking at those experiences from the past and seeing how they have been instrumental in developing who I am today. It’s my belief that mentorship, even at an informal level, is important for young career professionals and students, and that’s why I share. For the articles, I write about business accounting from my experience in audit and finance. I see that so many small businesses struggle with financial stewardship. I know that financing an accountant may be difficult at an early stage, but I also know that maintaining accurate records is necessary for any business. As soon as you start, it’s important that you keep those records. There’ll be more in the coming months, hopefully, once I can clear some of my schedules.
SPDH- Let’s lighten the mood a bit. Imagine being in a room to rapport with 5 legendaries of your choice, in any field, for half a day, who and who will they be?
Onyeka- Okay, let’s see... I would love to speak to Satya Nadella. He’s the CEO of Microsoft. And from the years when I have used Microsoft from the Windows Phone era, I’ve had a huge admiration for this man. I was angry with him when the Windows Phone was discontinued, but over time, I have watched his style of leadership and, I see that he’s a visionary leader. He has taken Microsoft from somewhere low. and has grown the company – switching into Cloud services (Azure) and wanting to purchase Tik Tok now. He has done a lot and I want to get into his head and understand what drives him. When I read something he said about books, buying a lot of them even when he doesn’t have the time to read, I could relate to that because I am a reader. I have books I haven’t even cracked open, yet it’s impossible that I don’t have a budget set aside every month to purchase new books or to download them. I have a physical and digital library. Knowledge is important to me and it’s important to him, so, I feel we have things in common. Second, on my list would be Tim Urban. I’ve been reading his articles on his website, and I want to get into his head. I want to understand his thought process; I want to discuss some very abstract things with him. I love the way he thinks, and I feel if I get to sit down with him over a cup of… I wouldn’t even say a cup of coffee. Over a drink, soda, popcorn, we have a lot of things to talk about and would not exhaust topics. Three, Jesus. (chuckles) Quite literally, I want to see face to face with Jesus, there’s so much to talk about spiritually. And maybe, if I can’t get to Jesus it will be Paul. He is legendary. Next on my list would be…who would I say? Okay, maybe the last two spots are really up for grabs for anybody. Perhaps my favourite artist? Oh, yeah, Robert Downey Jr. Yes. Iron Man. I love the way he’s turned his life around from being an addict to one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, he’s everything TV and a good actor should be and honestly, I partially worship Him. (chuckles). And then last but not least, I would say Eva Alordiah, a female rapper in Nigeria. That’s funny, I know. But I’ve watched her for a while on Instagram, and she’s moved from rapping to creating this business in Instagram marketing. Why this appeals to me is that she has been able to move from one career to the other. From singing and rapping to creating… she’s taken her creativity to a new level and she is quite relatable. If you post on her page, she responds. And a lot of what she talks about on Instagram and what she teaches are things I translate and apply to LinkedIn. I know that the audience on both platforms is different, but in the end, Eva preaches community. It is something I also learned in my years of blogging on WordPress, and have picked and been able to translate to LinkedIn. There’s still so much I want to do from what she teaches, but she is someone who has owned her space. She has transformed that space and she’s taking it to new levels and I really admire that.
SPDH- Your life’s a Newspaper, what would the headline be?
Onyeka- (soft laugh) What will the headline of my life be…Well, Obianuju Onyekachukwu Okonkwo; first female President of Nigeria, learner extraordinaire, (honestly, I can see the spotlight right now) advocate, diplomat. Set the pace for how she lived and died the same way.
SPDH- If you were to recommend just one book, which will it be?
Onyeka- I have two books in mind. Maybe I should mention both. One of them is a fictional story (a novel): Blindness by José Saramago. I think he won a Nobel Prize a long time ago. Why do I recommend this book? It delves into the human mind, human behaviour, the people we truly are when the spotlight isn’t on us. I feel like this book is a deep dive into the human psyche and our motivations for the things we do and who we are. Some people have really bad habits, you know, and when you see them in person, they are different people, and I like to believe that who they are when no one is watching is who they really are. If you cannot be respectful when no one knows who you are, when no one sees your face, no one can attach your identity back to you, that’s very likely who you are. And, that’s why I’d recommend this particular book. The next book (pardon me for picking 2) would be No excuses: the power of self-discipline by Brian Tracy because this book transformed my life. It taught me to be disciplined about the things I’m doing and put in the effort even when I don’t feel like doing it. It covers so many aspects of life, relationship, finances; it’s a self-help book, the only self-help book I think I can comfortably recommend to anybody.
SPDH- A fun fact about you people hardly know about, that’s if you don’t mind sharing?
Onyeka- Uhh… Well, I can’t think of anything. Okay, I love doughnuts. Why do I like doughnuts? Why do I love and absolutely adore doughnuts? They're uncomplicated. You don't have all those feelings where you bite one way and it tastes something like meat pies and chicken pies or sharwama and then you take another bite and it tastes completely different. Doughnuts are simple. It’s dough, flavoured dough, so you know what to expect when you bite into it. Even when it's glitzed, when you add all the sprinkles, honey glaze and strawberry on it, at the core is simple and straightforward. And that's how I like people to be, yes, I know we have depth but I like to know that you've come to the level of relationship with someone that you know this is who they really are where it matters, and whatever else changes about them, however experiences may shape them, this person is honest or dependable. You’ll notice that a lot of things I do is related to stuff in human behaviour. That's something I'm very interested in. If I hadn't studied all those things I’ve studied, I would have been a psychologist; that is why I wrote on my profile, “My interest is in behavioural economics…” because I like to know the “why” behind our actions.
SPDH- Aaaaaand, back to business… Being someone who’s passionately curious and a firm believer in a well- rounded knowledge base. On a lighter note, we could actually nickname you a “knowledge machine.” Like, to be honest…with a lot of online learning experience and certifications? That’s really amazing and yet another admirable trait. What has really helped you on this path, because finishing online courses seem like a herculean task these days?
Onyeka- Knowledge machine, wow. (chuckles) Thank you, that’s cute. First of all, I’d say if you’re going to pursue a learning path, especially online, you should sit down and decide what you want to do and why you want to do it because if you do not know why you’re doing it if you’re not able to define and articulate why it’s important to you, there is a huge chance that you will make a mess of things. You’ll start and never complete it. So personally, I write down my motivation. I write why it’s important to me, what I hope to achieve when I learn this particular thing, and then I put that somewhere, on a sticky note where I can always see it, so when I’m tired, I go back to it and I read this motivation again, and it fuels me, it helps me to keep going and I keep at it till I’m done. So, know why you’re doing it, articulate that clearly, in simple words, write it down somewhere. Keep it clean, keep it visible for you. Set out a time you want to do this, put up a timeline for yourself. I’m not very good at setting daily targets, but I set weekly targets as well as monthly targets. And say by the end of this period, I want to have completed this. Then try not to exert so much pressure on yourself, listen to your body, relax. If you’re feeling burned out, take time off and rest. Don’t feel like you have to prove anything to anybody. Just take your time and do what you need to do at your own pace, at your own time. It is your journey. It is not anyone else’s journey. It is your fight, not anyone else’s fight. It’s your experience, so really immerse yourself in the experience and be sure that you are getting the most out of it.
SPDH- What would be your advice to someone who is yet to decide a career path… your profile tells us you help people make sense of their career journey, and we’re quite curious as to how you do that?
Onyeka- I ask questions. There are times we know we want something but don’t know how to get there. We don’t know how to deconstruct the problem we’re facing or the path that we are trying to get on. So, what I do is that I help people by asking them the questions they haven’t thought of before. I ask them the questions they haven’t been able to articulate for themselves. And I help them get to a path where they can answer those questions and make a decision. And what I found over time, just like it was for me a long time ago, is that we don’t know the right questions to ask. So I ask the right questions. I give nudges, let me call it that. I nudge them in the right way to think about things, to explore their own identity, their interests, themselves so that they’re in a state of mind that is prepared to make decisions that matter. For anyone who is yet to decide on a career path, you can speak to me, I’ll help but, the most important thing I say to people is, know yourself; get in touch with yourself, understand who you are as a person. At the centre, who are you? What are you about? What matters to you? It is not a job that would matter to you. It’s discovering yourself; your identity. That is what is going to, to a large extent, define where you go to. I have worked in different firms and when someone says, “where do you want to go to next?” I don’t actually say I want to be in this company or operate in a particular role. What I do is describe the kind of work that matters to me and ask if the available role lets me shine in that capacity, because if you’re in any company at all, even if you’re the manager, and you’re out of tune with yourself, you will feel disgruntled and at some point, you want to get away from all of it. So, take time, be on your own, get to meet yourself. Start there, and then every other thing will begin to gradually fall in place.
SPDH- Finally, to wrap things up, we at SPDH are all about building competence and adding value. What has stirred your continued stride for personal and professional development?
Onyeka- It’s simply growth. I don’t believe I’m exactly at the pinnacle of my being, or let me use the word, “purpose” even though it’s very cliché. It’s until I get to the point when absorbing information becomes completely impossible, I would never stop. What drives my continuous strive for personal and professional development is:
1 Getting to the peak of who I can be
and,
2 Being able to impact that knowledge I have gotten so far, at every point of my career, of my life to other people, because I want them to be better too. I want them to grow. I advocate for personal development, not just for myself but for other people. I am not the person who gives you a fish to eat every day. I’m the person who teaches you how to fish so that you don’t have to come to me tomorrow to get fish. I’m for empowering people with knowledge, with the right skills they need to succeed. So, the more I get, the more I can push myself, the more I’m also able to pour what I know and all of myself into other people.
SPDH- Amazing ma’am… and thanks a whole lot for pouring out yourself (no holds barred) in this interview, it’s an honour having you share your journey so far with us. We really appreciate.
Onyeka- Thank you for having me SPDH.
