Owning What I Had Already Earned
I used to think building a presence online was "cringe", but the truth is that I just hadn’t given myself permission to be seen.
I joined the Impact Leaders Mentorship Programme expecting advice. Instead, I found something closer to a mirror, one that reflected patterns I had never paused to examine. I assumed that partaking in the mentorship would mean being told what to do and how to do it with limited real engagement, but it was the opposite. From the very first session, Ms. Akullo was deeply invested and offered each mentee feedback tailored to their own journey. Given how diverse we were, that level of individual attention made the experience far more valuable than I expected.
There were six sessions - my turning point came in the third. I began to recognise how some of the cultural norms I had grown up with had shaped my career path in ways I didn’t notice.
During my session with Ms. Akullo, she identified that my discomfort with highlighting my own accomplishments was perhaps shaped by the way I had been raised as a Nigerian woman, where humility is valued. She pointed out that I was inadvertently putting myself at a strategic disadvantage in the job market.
That observation explained why I felt uneasy posting achievements on social media, why drawing attention to myself online felt wrong, and why selling myself in interviews never came naturally. Once I could separate my cultural understanding of humility from the simple act of acknowledging what I had actually accomplished, something shifted. Owning my skills no longer felt like self-promotion but an honest reflection of the work I had already done. This mindset shift has changed how I now show up professionally as I understand that career advancement requires visibility, and visibility begins with a willingness to be seen. I have become more willing to take risks that I would have previously avoided, apply for opportunities that I would once have dismissed, and put myself forward with greater confidence.
A Positioning and Branding Masterclass, organised by Ms. Akullo for mentees and delivered by Brand Architect Ms. Moon Ting Li , helped me understand the difference between having value and communicating it effectively. It challenged me to think more intentionally about my professional identity and digital presence. For example, instead of avoiding LinkedIn because it felt uncomfortable, I began asking how I could use it to reflect my experience and aspirations more authentically.
Ms. Akullo’s network allowed me gain access to job platforms, volunteer opportunities and conversations that would otherwise have been difficult to reach. Having a mentor with such varied connections has broadened my sense of what is possible in my career. My approach to job searching has changed as I now apply with far more confidence and treat rejection as information about fit rather than a judgement on my ability.
I concluded the mentorship with a clearer understanding of the obstacles that had held my career back and with practical tools to address them. I wish the programme had lasted longer, but perhaps that was the point — it gave me the strategic foundation, and the execution is now mine to follow through on. Like Chinua Achebe wrote in Things Fall Apart: “The lizard that jumped from the high Iroko to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did.” For me, it’s a reminder that even when your achievements go unnoticed by others, it is okay to acknowledge them yourself. That is the lesson I will carry with me long after this mentorship has ended.
About the author
Ms. Adedolapo Akingbade is a communications professional with four years’ experience in content creation, digital media, and programme support. She has worked across the public, private, and international sectors and currently serves as a Communications Intern in the Department of Technical Cooperation at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, where she translates complex nuclear science topics into accessible narratives for diverse audiences.