Lola Masha Speaks On Career As The Country Manager Of OLX @OLX_Nigeria (@LolaMasha

 

Lola Masha is OLX Nigeria, Country Manager with experience at Google, Bank PHB, and McKinsey.In this interview with Bukola Aroloye of The Nation, Lola talks on leadership, and her advise to other women.
Read excerpts below:

On being the country manager

”I was born and raised here in Nigeria and I finished my primary and secondary school here in Lagos. After this, I travelled out of the state to complete my bachelor and graduate studies.I have also made several decisions like changes in my career and I am pleased about where I am today and in terms of how I balanced it all. It is really about keeping the priority straight and having a strong team in place. In the office and working to collaborate with that team to achieve a strong projection and I tried to make sure and I communicate this to my team as well as the family.
Family is first and having the right people at work, creating the right culture, right environment and not having the boss/subordinate relationship has helped.
One key difference between a boss and a leader is that of hierarchy. You can have a leader among peers and a boss as someone who is at the top. The way I prefer to manage is very much more flat structure with almost hierarchy. I sit with the team. This place we are is for conference meeting. Here, we relate as peers, no idea is a bad idea”

On surviving as a woman in her field

”At OLX, seventy percent of our staff are female. If you walk round the office you will see more female staff than male staffs. We have definitely chartered that completely. And I believe women are the strongest sex. We don’t discriminate, we don’t have bias towards women but what we have found is to fully create a fair playing field. At OLX, we support our women and make sure that it not a man’s world.”

Her management style

”It is definitely open conversation. It is important to be very supportive and make sure that whatever my team members like is attended to.
I don’t call them staff but team members. And that could be at OLX or either outside OLX. If their ambition is to further their studies, it is my job to get them there, if their ambition is to get outside the country, my work is to get them there. The type of my style is being strong and supporting them in making sure that my team members reach their full potential.”

Her Advise to other women

”Women should know that they are more powerful than they think. Even though it is difficult to maintain a healthy work-life balance, it is possible and women need to find a conducive work environment that effectively supports them.”

Read Full Interview HERE