1. What have you found most challenging as a leader of a small or medium enterprise?

Getting our message out there and having people flock to our company, that's a very big challenge for us.

2. How did you become a leader of an SME? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I grew up believing that leadership is all about service and as we launched Friendina College, there was a strong need for capable leaders. I started here as an Executive Training Officer and now I'm where I am.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I believe in working out before going to the toilet when I wake up, so that's how I start my day, then get ready, have my breakfast and leave the home. I rarely eat proper lunch, instead I get snacks and light meals. As I work from Monday to Friday and some special Saturdays, it all starts by making phone calls and seeing what's urgent to be done that day before working on other daily stuff.

4. What's the most recent significant leadership lesson you've learned?

Interviews, they are critical as we look on improving our services and work. I have a one-on-one monthly interview with all our students, and together we establish ways to see things move differently. We record their challenges and work on them afterwards, and we also ask for suggestions on what we should improve on as a team.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

A friend once asked me to read "First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently" by Marcus Buckingham and I did, this book changed me. I have learned that all leaders and managers don’t hesitate to break business rules and this is only part of our human nature, but we can learn from this. And since then I look at my colleagues as only people who are struggling to get there as well, we all are struggling to be that Leader or Manager we ought to be.

6. How do you build leadership capacity in an SME?

I work with a great team and our Executive Chairman is more talented person, he has conducted trainings that shaped the entire company and we continue on that path. As we all agreed, Friendina College will be more independent if we all become key and important leaders in a way that we will never be ignored. Optimization and improvement is what leads everyone who work with us and this is how we build leadership capacity at Friendina.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader of an SME so far?

It took me over a month to fully and finally figure out that I am CEO now and most decisions in this company rely on me! I felt so small to lead folks that I knew well and who were a lot more great and smart than me. This happens to all of us I guess but the way we overcome it differs. And i n my case I took upon me that coat of leadership and started doing what I needed to do first, and I believe others will easily follow us when they see in us that inspiring and motivating leader.