by LEEROY WUONE
contact info: leeroywuone02@gmail.com
{image by GettyImages}
In an event organized by AIESEC executives for year 2023 at the amphitheater in Athi-River campus, (AISESEC- the International Association of Students in Economics and Commercial Sciences), Mr. Diallo Gatabaki opened the career development talk panel discussion
Mr. Diallo Gatabaki, a Daystar Alumnus, former LCP (Local Chapter President) of AIESEC in Daystar and the current CCO (Chief Commercial Officer) of “SHOPZETU”, challenged the audience, of whom 90% were under 30 years. “What should you do as an aspiring entrepreneur,” he asked?
You must have a digital mindset.
You must be data literate, whereby you can interpret, understand and compute data.
You must be AI intelligent with the fast-changing technological world,
You must understand the digital marketing world whereby you try to acquire and learn digital marketing skills.
I, Leeroy, went ahead and asked, “Does it mean posting digital content for example, electronic media content as a communication student?”
In any leadership organization structure, a leader should have the following skills:
Emotional intelligence, i.e. This is what I am feeling, what can I do with that feeling? Process that information, when you get into a scuffle with someone this is what you should do. Leadership starts in class, church and also in friend groups.
A good leader must be a good decision maker, i.e. How should the work be done?
Delegating duties is all about relationships, i.e. How do we relate with our colleagues, our juniors and our seniors? How do you form relationships? Your relationships will help you maybe ten years later.
Furthermore, other skills he recommended were Active listening, i.e. taking time to understand what is being said, be an active listener. Public speaking. As nerve wrecking as it can be, he assured us that it gets better with time. No one was born with public speaking ability. People practice the art of public speaking in various ways, for instance, talking to a mirror daily. Feedback. Whether it is positive or negative, it is important to give and receive feedback. “…it has little to do with you as a person and don’t take it personal,’’ said Mr. Gatabaki.
Finally, some key questions he asked us to consider were, who is your target audience? Where are they? The world is digital now. Develop your niche. Hire someone in your company. Someone who is inquisitive, has a positive attitude and has transferable skills. Temptations say more about you, it’s not what the temptation is. What are the choices that make you, you? What are your values?
Mr. Diallo Gatabaki ended by his reflections to the audience.