‘Women striving for excellence professionally must constantly raise the bar’

Bola Matel-Okoh is an accomplished attorney with over 30 years of experience in diverse areas of jurisprudence. She possesses solid legal research skills and expertise in investigating cases, adjudication of clients’ claims and transactions of clients’ businesses. She is a New York State Bar and Nigerian Bar admitted attorney. Her legal experience spans areas such as Admiralty and Immigration Laws.

A certified executive coach, she is the founder of BMO Advisory Services and The Women’s Lifestyle Hub (WLH), which seek to provide support, advocacy and a safe space for executive women to achieve balance and holistic wellness. In 2015, she was appointed Non-Executive Director of Wema Bank Plc. She has attended training seminars at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France and Harvard Business School, where she developed expertise in risk management, advanced strategy for directors and the effectiveness of corporate boards. In this interview with TOBI AWODIPE, she speaks on the significance of women’s month, skills needed for professional women to excel and how she guides women in overcoming challenges and obstacles, personally and professionally.

March is the month dedicated to celebrating the achievements and contributions of women throughout history. In your view, how can recognising and honouring women’s history influence the present and future of executive women?
History serves a dual role of not only honouring past achievements but also as a guide for those trying to blaze a trail for themselves in the present and future. Recognising and honouring women who have gone before instills courage and confidence in those coming after so that they can accomplish the same or more remarkable feats. As an executive woman, I draw a lot of inspiration and motivation from the achievements of historical women I look up to as role models and mentors.

The International Women’s Day (IWD) was marked recently. As an executive coach dedicated to empowering c-suite women and women in general, what message would you like to share with women striving for excellence in their professional and personal lives and how do you reflect on the significance of the day?
I advise women striving for excellence in their professional and personal lives to continue to challenge themselves by constantly looking to raise the bar. We cannot rest on our laurels and fall into the trap of thinking we have arrived. Today’s excellence is tomorrow’s mediocrity; so we must keep reinventing ourselves and make continuous self-development a way of life. The International Women’s Day is important because it creates an opportunity to spotlight women doing extraordinary things by giving them the recognition they deserve.

In establishing BMO Advisory Services and the Women’s Lifestyle Hub, which have become popular in the last one year, you have created a space dedicated to empowering executive women. What inspired you to start this venture and how has it evolved to meet the changing needs of women in leadership?
When I first got into executive management, there were not many women at that level and I felt like I did not get the support I needed. When I became an executive coach, I saw it as an opportunity to create a safe community where executive women could get the help they needed from their peers, other coaches and seasoned mentors. Over the last year, it has been heartwarming to see the strong bonds we have developed as a community and the different collaborations that have taken place.

How do you define transformational leadership and what specific skills or qualities do you believe are crucial for executive women aiming for professional and personal excellence?
As the name implies, transformational leadership is leadership that can transform lives. One of the modules we teach in my six-week leadership programme is, “Discovering The Leader Within You”. We take an in-depth look into different types of leadership and what it takes to be an inspirational leader – someone who can lead in a way that makes an impact and brings about transformational change in the lives of the people they lead. Authenticity and resilience are two of the most essential characteristics of transformational or inspirational leaders. Any woman aiming for professional and personal excellence must develop them as a matter of great importance.

You are a respected lawyer called to both the Nigerian Bar and New York Bar. Having attended training seminars at prestigious institutions like IMD Switzerland, INSEAD and Harvard Business School, how would you say these experiences shaped your approach to risk management, advanced strategy and corporate board effectiveness?
I like to call myself a lifelong learner and I am passionate about self-development. The opportunity to attend these trainings has helped broaden my knowledge in the different subject matters and as a result, allowed me to operate at a higher level of effectiveness in carrying out my oversight responsibilities. The various trainings have also allowed me to network with other executives from several countries and share mutually beneficial ideas.

Executive positions often come with unique challenges. How do you guide women in navigating these challenges and what advice do you have for overcoming obstacles and setbacks?
Every challenge or problem has within it the potential to learn and grow, and this is something I emphasise to executive women in my community. This is where resilience comes into play. There is a saying that, “tough times never last, but tough people do.” You must not allow setbacks to keep you from achieving your dreams. It’s all a matter of perspective; you can see a setback as an end or choose to see it as just another challenge on the path to greatness. Challenges and setbacks have the potential to build character in us when we embrace them and walk through them with grit and determination.

The importance of mentorship cannot be overemphasised, especially for women. How do you view mentorship for executive women and what role does it play in your coaching philosophy?
Mentorship is vital and plays a significant role in leadership development. Most of the time, a mentor has walked the path you are on and is in a position to provide valuable and much-needed counsel and guidance at any time. That is why mentors are a key feature in the Women’s Lifestyle Hub framework. We have monthly “Power Women Sessions” where we have seasoned and accomplished hub mentors share with us and these sessions have proven to be a great resource to the executive women in the community.

Still on mentorship, March often prompts reflections on inspirational women. Can you share a woman or women who have inspired you personally and professionally and how their influence has shaped your approach as an executive coach?
On a personal level, that would be my late mum for sure. She was the epitome of love, commitment and empathy, which are all qualities she instilled in me and these qualities have helped me be more attuned to the needs of people I coach.

On a professional level, that would be Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, who I describe as “my fountain of unlimited resource”. Her authenticity and how she can balance her roles and responsibilities have been a real source of guidance and inspiration. This has provided a valuable blueprint for me because my passion as a coach of executive women is work-life balance or work-life integration, as some people call it.

Executive women may face unique challenges in their careers. What specific challenges have you observed and how do you tailor your coaching to address these challenges effectively?
There are quite a few. From my personal experience, the one that jumps out is the need to stand your ground even if you are in the minority. Someone once told me that “men tend to band together” and I have found this to be true. This can be quite intimidating, which is why we teach “power play” in our leadership programme, which equips executive women on the best way to manage the unique challenges they face in their career or business landscape.

Women and everyone in general often find strength in supportive networks. How do you encourage executive women to build and leverage networks that foster collaboration, mentorship and mutual growth? Is this something that happens at the Women’s Lifestyle Hub, for example?
The whole essence of Women’s Lifestyle Hub is building a supportive network of women committed to building strategic long-term relationships, whether with their peers, coaches or our hub mentors. The truth is that, as humans, we cannot achieve anything alone. Just the other day, we had a session where opportunities for collaboration within the hub were explored and we have already seen some collaboration among members of the community.

As an executive coach focused on helping c-suite women maximise their potential, could you share a transformative moment where you witnessed a client achieving significant personal and professional growth, reflecting the impact of your coaching approach?
Oh, there are quite a few. In every cohort of our six-week leadership programme, we have what we call “The Dean’s Discretionary Award” which is given to the person who shows significant growth during the course of the programme. In cohort one, I ended up giving the award to two ladies because the transformation that occurred with them during the programme was nothing short of amazing. This has been the trend in subsequent cohorts and the many testimonials we get are a testament to this.

In the spirit of this month, how can executive women actively contribute to building a positive legacy for future generations, both within and outside their professional spheres?
Legacy is all about impact and building a positive legacy starts with defining what kind of positive impact you want to make in the lives of people you interact with, whether on a personal or professional level. When you can do this, you can then channel your energy into what it takes to accomplish those goals.

What is the final word you want to share with women reading this?
I don’t know if I have just one word, but I would say to every woman reading this, “You have within you all it takes to excel, go for it!”