Lessons in leadership: A tribute to Fola Adeola

My first encounter with Fola Adeola was as a new recruit to Guaranty Trust Bank when he was MD/CEO. A group of us who had passed the bank’s aptitude test and interviews were asked to meet with him, as was the bank’s practice in those days, one early evening.

We sat on chairs arranged in a semi circle, about a dozen of us. His smiling, easy-going manner made him approachable and set us at ease as much as was possible given the circumstance. As he spoke, he held a sheet of paper and began to tell each of us what the interviewing panel had rated us. He would call out a name and the rating, “Recommended”, “Recommended”, “Highly Recommended”, “Recommended”, “Highly Recommended”. When he got to my name, he said “Must Employ”. He said I was the only one that the interview panel had rated “Must Employ”. Then he asked me what made me special. I cannot remember what I mumbled. I got through the talk session with him feeling like I was where I belonged.

A year or so later, I was manning the customer service desk. We had been asked to collect CVs from potential new hires, but not from those who were over 25 years of age. I politely returned a CV to a young man whose document stated he was about 27. The following day, I noticed the same young man return and hand a document to my colleague who collected it. As he left, I went over and saw that he had submitted a CV with his age now showing as 24. It got me thinking, to the point that I wrote an email directly to Fola, questioning the practice. I remember that one of the lines in my email was, “Does that mean honesty is its own reward?”.

Some hours later, the phone on my desk rang and I was informed that I had a call from “head office”. Trepidation began when I was told, “Please hold, Kafilat wants to talk to you”. Kafilat Araoye was the Head of HR at the time. I felt certain she was going to chew me out for my effrontery writing to Fola and questioning bank practice/policy. But when she came on, her tone was friendly, informing me that Fola had received my email and had discussed it with her. She explained to me the reason for the practice. She then said that for the recruitment exercise, it will be relaxed and we could go ahead to collect and submit CVs from those who were over 25, they would be invited for the aptitude test. I started that call with the Head of HR with trepidation in my heart, the call ended with me feeling on top of the world and proud to work for such an organisation.

That was the institution that Fola Adeola had co-founded, one where an entry-level employee (like I was at the time) would be heard and could even criticize a practice/policy of the bank with no adverse consequences. I am glad that my early career journey was shaped by Guaranty Trust.

Fola made clear the value of continuous learning. In those days, he would order copies of books of value, which would be sent to each employee of the bank. I still have copies of ‘The Richest Man in Babylon’ and ‘Total Customer Service’ in my library, books that have stood the test of time.

He talked to us about the value of investing, how the right investments can grow wealth over time, “almost like magic”, he said.

He was a stickler for being on time. Arrive for a session 30 seconds after the start time and you would find the door locked. He is a role model that walks his talk.

A master orator if there ever was one. I liked listening to him speak because of the learning, wit and humour. I remember a speech/interview he gave in 2002 as he was leaving GTBank, which was published in full in one of the national dailies. I kept that paper for a long time because I knew it would be one that I would want to return to over again. I have searched the internet for that speech over the years, unsuccessfully.

Tonight, I will join other ‘GTB Alumni’ who will gather in Fola’s honour and pay homage to his legacy. I feel privileged to be counted among them.

#leadership #entrepreneurship #management