Ifedayo Oke Lawal, a strategic corporate lawyer and business advisor, has urged Nigerian women to embrace boldness and remain grounded as they navigate their professional journeys. She delivered this message at the FICHAYA IWD 2025 webinar, Authentic Leadership: Embracing Your True Self in Your Career and in Life, where she drew from her experience in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector.
Lawal, recognized in the Legal 500 GC Powerlist for 2024 and 2025 and named among ESQ Nigeria Legal Awards’ Top 40 Under 40 in 2019, serves as one of four Nigerians on a management board and one of three women on her leadership team. She emphasized resilience, stating, “To consider a situation as a setback implies that one is doing something right but is yet to figure it out completely,” reframing challenges as proof of progress.
She urged women to honour every milestone: “Do not forget the small wins as they are worthy of recognition and praise.” Addressing the concept of balance, Lawal redefined it:
“There’s no work-life balance, there’s work-life integration. When do I pause to re-educate, when do I pause for my partner, when do I pause for my kids, when do I pause for my career? Life is a jigsaw puzzle, so what makes up your jigsaw puzzle? Prioritize to make your picture come out beautifully.” She encouraged women to pursue their ambitions without guilt:
“Your inability to balance things never let that stop you from pursuing the things God is laying in your heart to pursue.”
Lawal emphasized the importance of community. “Your circle is core,” she said, recalling how she leaned on a trusted team even after switching companies. “You can’t grow alone,” she added, encouraging women to “put yourself in the right room” to fuel growth. She also highlighted humility as a key leadership trait:
“To always remind yourself of the reality of your present situation, be humble in your journey. I’ve been able to work with really amazing people. The team also reminds you that you’re also learning. Learn to ask for help, else you will fall on your face when you ought not to.”
A key point in her message was the importance of self-kindness as a leadership strength.
“Being kind to oneself, as women we are very hard on ourselves,” Lawal observed. “If your friend called you for advice and you were in that same situation, would you speak to yourself the way you did? Kindness to self is important.” She warned against the toll of self-doubt: “The way you speak to yourself becomes your inner child voice.”
The webinar also featured notable voices like Precious Imuwahen Ajonu, founder of SkillsHQ; Isineme Ughele, Head of Sourcing for West Africa & Morocco at Ericsson; Yvonne Alize-Obi, Director at Standard Chartered and founder of Well, Working & Living; and Temi Oyewole, Head of Customer Success at Remote. Their perspectives on excellence and authenticity enriched the discussion, complementing Lawal’s vision.
As women strive to lead authentically in 2025 and beyond, Lawal’s words encourage them to step into leadership while staying firmly grounded in purpose and self-compassion.
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