Let’s Talk About Inclusive Leadership

On Remembrance Day, I attended the second day of the Council of Nigerian Professionals' 2022 Power of Inclusion virtual event, which focused on inclusive leadership. The panel consisted of a diverse group of corporate and community leaders who shared their professional insights and personal experiences.

Founder and CEO of Black Professionals in Tech Network, Lekan Olawoye, was an incredible keynote speaker. Lekan has a reputation as a passionate advocate for organizational change and lasting progress, and he most certainly exhibited that passion at the event. He observed that inclusive leadership is actually about sponsorship, and went on to illustrate how sponsorship has transformed and transitioned him from being a leader because of what he has been through, to being a leader because of what he can give. His message was clear and simple: “Good leaders only become good leaders because they have other leaders sponsor them.”