Exclusive Trusted Magazine Q&A with Pauline Warui, Founder @ EA Customer Care Centre
How could you describe your career path in few words ?
My Career can be described as a journey. In a journey you are never sure if you have all the necessary life skills so you keep upgrading and seeking more resources and solutions. Sometimes the journey has level ground but most of the days you are in unknown and unchartered terrain. I started out as an untrained teacher full of naivete and dreams. I would then graduate from University and explore the world of work at the Bangladesh High Commission to Kenya as a receptionist. This job taught me that the world may not necessary prioritize your academic skills but the output of your capabilities and other tertiary courses. I only landed this job because I knew how to type. I then joined Chevron Oil Kenya and later Safaricom PLC as the Director for Customer Management. I’d then establish my own organization to train and offer consultancy in Customer Experience. Working for myself as a leader has also impacted me to do voluntary work e.g. as VP for the Commonwealth Business Women’s Network in Kenya. As I walked this long journey towards my dreams, all I did was work on the right things. This catapulted me to the next level without a struggle. An investment born out of hard work, dedication and living the values my parent instilled in me as they were teachers. I learnt the value of being in sales also early and by the time I changed my focus in to Customer Experience, I knew how to sell my career to the highest bidder too.
What was your most challenging experience and it has changed your mindset ?
My greatest challenge in my career was shifting my mindset from being a sales person into one who had to deal with customers in-house every day. I struggled to stay indoors and handle customer feedback while I was used to the free range world of the salesperson.
My other shock was dealing with the lack of integrity and accountability in the workplace and how some colleagues who had no value for hard work would go far into claiming achievements from others sweat. This to date still shocks me that some people can invest so much on internal corporate fights instead of growing their own brands using their talents. For me, putting a value system and performance metrics that can highlight the good in everyone is paramount.
When you get surprised by unusual or uncertain context, what do you think ?
I seek to understand this unusual phenomenon and consistently seek clarity. I am also great in consulting others to ensure that I am not biased in my way of understanding or interpretation. I am also guided by my experience and extensive research to ensure that I learn or unlearn previous experiences. I also consult experts in various areas knowing very well that everyone counts as they contribute to the greatness of a project or organization.
I also stay calm to absorb the new uncertainties. Courage is one of my strengths so I also face the new challenges boldly with a mindset to overcome or create new options.
What’s the most important key success factor for you based on your experience ?
My greatest success factor in my career is discipline. My late mother taught me that the difference between those who make it and those who lag behind is in the precision in execution. My second driver is my passion to achieve that which I have set my eyes on. If I dream that it can be done, I purpose to do it. I am also consistent on what I have done in my life so that I can achieve mastery. I have clarity on what my goals are and simply defray distractions. I also keep myself abreast of changing times and trends. What is new and how can I leverage what I do on it to gain more knowledge and skills?
I am also a great believer in growing people no matter their situation in life. It gives me great pleasure to see my team develop to higher heights even beyond my personal capabilities.
I also believe in upgrading myself and I am always finding solutions to great challenges in life. I am equipped with a knack to create solutions fast and innovatively. I can easily interpret data to form a story and cultivate a great product or solution particularly on human behavior.
What would be the major pitfall that may undermine the success of a leader ?
One of the greatest qualities of a leader is to be visionary and to create great teams. A good leader must have very good people skills to nurture and capacity build. Major pitfalls for a leader would be not investing in teams. A good leader must invest in his team to grow. Another pitfall would be lack of a common vision. To influence the team and steer them to achievement one must have clarity in the goals of his organization. Another pitfall would be not creating the right environment as a leader for the team to thrive. Applying biases in handling the team is another pitfall. A good leader must have emotional intelligence and must be decisive at all times. He must be courageous and one who stands for a course to impact others in life.
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