Companies must do more to ensure capable women progress into leadership positions, Bola Okoh, convener of The Executive Woman Summit (TEWS), has said, urging organisations to examine how they identify talent, allocate responsibilities, and prepare women for leadership.
‘Today, we also have an opportunity to examine the systems in which women lead,’ Okoh said at the second edition of the summit on October 28, themed ‘Playing to Win: Elevate Your Vision, Value, and Visibility.’
‘How are high-potential women identified and developed? Who receives sponsorship? Who is trusted with significant business responsibility?’ she asked, arguing that women’s representation in organisations must be accompanied by real authority and influence.
Okoh said women must also look beyond their current positions, develop their expertise, and communicate how their contributions meet organisational needs.
‘Elevating your value means understanding, developing, and communicating what you bring,’ she said. ‘We must be able to connect those strengths to the needs of the organisations and communities we serve.’
She also urged women to pursue opportunities, share their perspectives, and build relationships that expand their influence.
‘Elevating your visibility means allowing your contribution to be seen, heard, and recognised,’ Okoh said.
Her remarks highlighted the importance of both individual career development and organisational practices in determining who advances into positions of responsibility.
Folake Sanu, in a presentation on mastering corporate politics and power, said employees who assume their work would speak for itself risk being overlooked for promotions and strategic responsibilities.
‘You are supposed to give your work a voice,’ Sanu said.
She illustrated this with two equally competent employees who received the same performance appraisal score but differed in their access to strategic meetings. She said professionals must understand the unwritten rules within organisations, build relationships beyond their immediate departments and demonstrate how their work contributes to business objectives.
‘What is not written is that you must strive in the corporate politics of that organization,’ she said.
Sanu urged professionals to seek responsibilities that expose them to the wider organisation and focus on strategic execution, rather than remaining occupied with tasks whose contribution to business performance is difficult to quantify.
For employers, the challenge is to identify and reward talent based on meaningful contributions while ensuring capable employees have opportunities to demonstrate their readiness for leadership.
Ibukun Awosika, founder of the Chair Centre Group and former chairperson of First Bank of Nigeria, emphasised the importance of using leadership to develop people and build institutions that outlast their founders.
‘My biggest ambition in life is to die empty. I want to die without any gift, ability, or resource that I have that I want to use for the betterment of my family, my nation, and the world,’ Awosika said.
Mosun Belo-Olusoga, chairman of MTN Foundation, also joined Awosika in a discussion on leadership and lasting impact, with emphasis on preparing successors and developing people for greater responsibilities.
The summit highlighted the shared responsibility of professionals and employers in leadership development: women must communicate their value and pursue opportunities to influence decisions, while organisations must create pathways for capable employees to progress into positions of authority.