Name: Sam Edem

Title: Creative Lead

Organisation: Copy House International

Click here to read Sam's first written interview: 7 Questions on Leadership

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

We’ve gone through the interviews and asked the best of the best to come back and answer 7 MORE Questions on Leadership.

I hope Sam's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. As a leader, how do you build trust with employees, customers and other stakeholders?

Through open and honest communication. Often, because we are scared of what the other party's reaction towards you or the brand may be, we tend to hold back the facts, as it I, but that from experience rather undermines the trust. Sometimes, you just have to own up to the hard realities and tell a team member to read more to improve his or her writing, or a customer that what he is asking for is against standard ethical practice.

2. What do 'VISION' and 'MISSION' mean to you? And what does it actually look like to use them in real-world business?

These are what keep me going. What value do we want the world to identify us with? Why are we in business? The application of that is that both the big picture and why we are building it guide everything we do; our structures, work, attention to detail, and how we feel about our deliveries.

3. How can a leader empower the people they're leading?

Commit things to their hands, give them the space to make the calls, and demand accountability. Not sure what forges a sense of ownership and consequent empowerment better!

4. Who are some of the coaches or mentors in your life who have had a positive influence on your leadership? Can you please tell a meaningful story about one of them?

Dr. Adjei, who had been my professor while studying at Bluecrest, has long remained a key figure in my evolving leadership development through his guidance, mentorship, and moral example in his personal life. My former boss at the YALI TV, YAMC, and the BIDEC organization, respectively - Selasie Asuo, and one of my earliest mentors - Mr. Unyime Udotai, have both served as critical coaches over the last near-decade and decade and a half for the latter respectively, pointing me to key lessons, resources, and with the first -providing opportunities that have exposed me to real-time business and organizational problems.

5. Leadership is often more about what you DON'T do. How do you maintain focus in your role?

I know many would say it's easier said than done, but the reality is that, constantly keeping the big picture in front of you - the vision and why you are doing what you're doing in the first place is perhaps the easiest way to stay on track regardless of the winds.

6. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Everyone plans differently. How do you plan for the week, month and years ahead in your role?

So for my teams, there is an established time of the year when we 'pause' on things in a way that allows us to keep up with engagements with our outside stakeholders while thoroughly reviewing the process on the inside. This enables us to clearly articulate where we are, where we need to be in a short, medium, or long-term period, with each year holding some key milestones, and what we need to do to get there.

These, in turn, provide a guide to my priorities as a leader as well as those of my teams on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis. So, for instance, if I turn on my computer, what I get first are a series of pop-up sticker notes that capture these priorities, both the routine and the changing ones, on a progressive basis.

7. What advice would you give to a young leader who is struggling to delegate effectively?

People are going to be what they are anyway. So you better get on with defining your boundaries and pushing things to those around you to enable them to share your brand's growth responsibility with you.