HABIBA BALOGUN

Recruited just two years post NYSC by an international bank (Credit Lyonnais Nigeria) to create and head their Corporate Affairs department, Habiba Balogun learned very quickly that she could distinguish herself by working hard. Her strategy paid off, and

Your focus through your career so far has been more of empowerment of woman. Why this chosen path?

My career in Organisation Effectiveness delves deep into the way groups of people who work together behave on boards, in committees, during meetings, in departments, and in teams. It also explores behavioural science; the reality of what motivates people to do good or do harm, or to succeed in life. This applies equally to men and women. What I discovered in my corporate career is that men are better prepared at home, at school, and by mentors at work to do well and progress to management & leadership positions. It is mostly the lack of preparation by society that hinders women; so as a female professional myself, I felt called to become a champion for the empowerment of women in all spheres of life. That is why I joined the board of KIND (Kudirat Initiative for Democracy), which empowers women and girls to become leaders and engage in politics. To tackle the lack of female mentoring, I am an advisory board member, mentor and trainer with WISCAR, a 12-month structured mentoring programme that prepares working women to move up the career ladder; and I am an associate member of WIMBIZ, an association advocating for an enabling environment for working women in all spheres of life.

With 27 years of working experience up your belt, what poignant landmarks in your career so far, do you feel most fulfilled about?

There have been so many that I am grateful for. The first poignant landmark was when, at the young age of 25, just two years post my NYSC. I was entrusted by an international bank (Credit Lyonnais Nigeria) to create and head the corporate affairs department. This led to the rest of my career being in the ranks of management. I was junior staff for only 2 years of my working life.

Another was successfully selling the business I was running, Waxtall Limited (Logomats), to a former customer and seeing the business still going strong today. After several years of coping with policy and regulatory changes that affected the importation and marketing of our goods, I decided that I was not an entrepreneur but did not want to shut the business down and disappoint our customers. I learned about entrepreneurship in Nigeria, importation, sales & marketing, and most importantly, about exit strategies. These personal experiences serve me well on the board of Fate Foundation where we act as catalyst for entrepreneurship training and development in Nigeria.

A major landmark was the privilege of working with my husband for 6 years. We became true partners both at work and at home. The experience, (while often painful), helped me grow in wisdom, taught me firsthand the way working men think and behave differently from working women, helped me set boundaries between work and home, and exposed me to industries such as real estate and hospitality.

Other landmarks have been becoming an international facilitator for Shell Learning intercultural training programmes; and when I attained the moniker of‘Walking Deadline’. Whenever anyone in the organisation saw me approaching, they would first welcome me, then panic briefly and quickly check with me to ensure that they were not late with any submission, report, or work. That was when I realised that I had truly become a professional Organisation Effectiveness Consultant in the eyes of my superiors and colleagues.

I was gratified when my professionalism was recognised with a board appointment as the first independent director of Accion Microfinance Bank where I serve as Chairperson of the Ethics and Governance Committee.

Last year I was part of a group of professional coaches who established the Nigeria Chapter of the International Coach Federation. I currently serve as the Vice-President.

how would you advice women whose highpowered jobs are sometimes a problem when it comes to their husband’s egos?

Each couple’s situation is different and what is acceptable according to their cultures differs too, so it is hard and unwise to generalise. Nevertheless, what I would advise is:

1.Make an appointment with your husband to discuss your relationship and choose somewhere neutral where you will not be interrupted, or perhaps go for lunch or dinner in a restaurant.

2) Very candidly share with each other, turn by turn, what kind of relationship you would like to attain, both sides should talk.

3) Discuss the reality of your individual circumstances and the implications of your high-powered job without blame or judgment. Especially talk about contentious issues such as money, publicity, and professional relationships with high-powered men, religion, politics, in-laws.

4) Agree on your strategy as a couple to cope, how you will share roles and resources in a way that will work for both of you. Arguing about it is OK, but reach an agreement.

5) Set a time limit for a review to see if it is working or if you want to make some changes. If, as a couple, you experience a lot of pressure from family, friends, or society to conform in certain ways, discuss and agree how both of you will deal with those pressures as a team.

6) Lastly, high-powered women (and men) need to realise that their spouse did not marry an Executive, an MD, a Chief, or a Chairman. They did not marry a boss to be giving them instructions and throwing out orders at home. They married a partner, a companion, a friend, and a helpmate to be respected, consulted, supported, loved, pampered, and shown affection. So, highpowered women must learn to shift your behaviour and the way you communicate away from work mode when you are at home. Women who are housewives demand respectful treatment from their husbands (or they should). Likewise, men who are not the main breadwinner in the home also deserve and should demand respectful treatment in the home. Remember the golden rule,“Treat your spouse the way you would like to be treated in his or her shoes”.

There is no substitute for communication. Even conflict is better than ignoring the issue and allowing your relationship or your mental health to be damaged. I run a Career Series for WISCAR that includes a course called “Getting Ahead in a Man’s World”. It deals with many of the issues a working woman will face as she climbs the ladder to success.

even with your robust profile, are there still certain goals you have on your bucket list? If so, what are they?

Certainly! I want to increase my service to my community and get an opportunity to serve my country. I believe that is the only way to make impact on a scale that will affect millions of lives. There is too much suffering in our country. I would like to gain enough resources to give more support to the many people and NGOs that are doing fantastic self-less work to make life better for the poor and vulnerable in our country. Right now, I am focusing my support on the Bring Back Our Girls campaign in Lagos; the Enough is Enough Project that promotes citizen engagement and activism in good governance; and the Small World International Fundraiser that gave N1m each to 35 verified charities around the country last year. My bucket list includes more learning, for me and others. For me, I would like to delve deeper into my field of behavioural science, and return to school to study law. We all need to know our rights so that we can defend them. For others, I created a simple Financial Literacy course called the Financial Health Clinic with the founding president of the Fund Manager’s Association of Nigeria that gets people to start managing our hard-earned funds effectively to provide stability during volatile times like the ones we are experiencing now. We have run it for professionals, factory workers, and my domestic staff and it works! We would like to spread that message far and wide that even with very little money, if it is well managed, you can be financially stable. Financial worry is the biggest cause of stress, unhappiness, and divorce.

What projects are you working on now?

I run a full-time Organisation Effectiveness and HR Consultancy, called Habiba Balogun Consulting which takes me all over the country and even abroad, training, facilitating, strategy consulting, executive coaching, diagnosing performance issues and helping

It is mostly the lack of preparation by society that hinders women; so as a female professional myself, I felt called to become a champion for the empowerment of women in all spheres of life.