Do you need to have a super power to be an effective CEO? What happens if you don't? How can you build a pan-continental business with zero experience? And how can you empower your managers to lead effectively?
In this episode Richard speaks with Rebecca Harrison, who has spent the last decade building the African Management Institute (AMI), Africa’s leading provider of business and management learning, supporting 37,000 businesses in 39 African countries, impacting 1.5 million livelihoods and contributing more than $130M to the continent’s economies.
In this conversation, you’ll learn:
- What caused Rebecca to pursue a impact business in a sector and market she had almost no experience of, and what she had to learn the hard way.
- Why Rebecca doesn't think she has a particular super power - what she says is important instead -- and a helpful reframe of the topic by Richard
- Rebecca's three hard-won tips on building an effective middle management, even in a hierarchical culture sometimes where often the assumption is that "obedience" than "ownership" is required.
Resources/sources mentioned:
For full show notes, head to https://xquadrant.com/rebecca-harrison
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
05:36 How to make an impact in Africa
13:05 Align business vision with impactful purpose
16:33 How to enjoy the entrepreneurial journey
18:13 Founder CEO: Care drives progress, not brilliance
26:40 Define management expectations for cultural clarity
34:44 Monthly cash flow and team meetings checklist
38:03 Facing fear, accepting leadership to innovate forward.
