Needed a blurb for a project I was working on recently and one of the contributors — a former colleague — wrote something around me always “willing to open doors and share opportunities…”
Away from the fact that this made me blush, it also struck a chord with me. It made me think of the people who have supported me through my journey and whose goodwill and reputation I have benefited from. Those who mention my name in rooms that I hitherto had no access to.
Fast forward to this morning. A friend of mine — who I have known for just a few months short of 2 years — messaged me to inform me that an opportunity she was pushing for me had gone to someone else.
Her message sounded almost apologetic.
This was a potential consulting gig that she put my name forward for, and literally pushed for me to get. She truly believed I could deliver.
I replied that it’s no issue, and there will be more opportunities in the future. I also let her how much her belief and effort meant to me.
I know what it means to recommend someone and stand behind that recommendation. It takes a lot. It’s like staking your reputation for an endeavour that you don’t know how it will end but you just go ahead to do it anyway. That’s truly something.
To all the people who have done this for me over the years, please take this as my note of appreciation. These group of people are too numerous to mention but — at the risk of losing goodwill from the names I don’t mention — I’ll list just a handful of them in no particular order. People like Tosin Adebisi, Tolu Omoyeni, Adebola Williams, Chude Jideonwo, Ayeni Adekunle, Edward Israel Ayide, Gbenga Olorunpomi, Adedoyin Jaiyesimi and many others.
Thank you.
Now to the featured image on my post. That’s Florence. She’s part of the Loughborough University global team, and without a doubt, one of my biggest cheerleaders. She never stops speaking to people about how much value my team and I deliver.
We’re thriving, thanks to her and people like her who not only believe in us, but are also willing to speak positively in the rooms that matter.
To more growth.