Former country head of human resources at Deloitte Nigeria and human resource management professional, Victoria Ibhawa, tells TEMITOPE ADETUNJI about her career and the challenges she dealt with
You had a stint in the banking industry. What are the other major highlights of your career in human capital management?
As a senior human resources management professional with multisector professional experience, I have worked with different organisations. I started my career in the banking industry but that was a short stay at Intercontinental Bank (now Access Bank). I have worked for KPMG, Deloitte Nigeria (as a country head of human resources). I have also worked for Coca-Cola Hellenic where I was a senior manager in charge of organisational development and employer branding. Currently, I work for Shell companies in Nigeria as an HR consultant.
I am a graduate of the University of Benin, Edo State; had my MBA from the Lagos Business School, and also attended the IESE Business School in Spain. I am certified by the Human Resources Certification Institute, USA; Global Professional in Human Resources, and Senior Professional in Human Resources International. I am also a certified member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, SHL certified in psychometric analysis, and Hofstede-trained in organisational culture consulting. I am also a John Maxwell certified coach.
I wanted to study economics, so I didn’t make it through; I had to study Geography and Regional Planning at UNIBEN. I missed the first class I was targeting but glory be to God where I am today, after my National Youth Service Corps programme, I was able to work with KPMG.
With your wealth of experience, how have you been able to mentor young Nigerians interested in HR?
I am a career coach. I have young people that I mentor and lecture in that regard. In 2018, I created a non-profit platform for professionals called Inspired for Impact, a platform that aims to support professionals to achieve their optimum potential while taking charge of their careers and lives purpose and achieving sustained impact in their spheres of influence. I am also the convener of the annual Inspired for Impact summit that brings together leading professionals on a joint platform of experience sharing and impact. Out of work, I am a pastor, married with kids.
I have been in human resources for about 15 years, starting in 2007 and it’s been a beautiful experience, I love helping people to help them be better versions of themselves, passion. I have worked as a consultant to organisations, and I have also worked as an HR practitioner. Coincidentally, I combine both, meaning I am a staff member of Shell, an HR practitioner, and a Shell consultant. I have had significant opportunities for leadership roles. Me being in that field has been greatly rewarding, in terms of professional growth and also in the aspect of creating an impact in people’s lives.
As the only girl in your family, what was childhood like for you?
Childhood was fun for me, there are three boys ahead of me, and I am the only girl. As the only girl, I got so much love from my siblings, most especially my elder brother. He became a father to us at 21. The kind of family background I came from, everybody had to do something. There was no job meant for a specific gender. There was nothing like a particular chore meant for a man or woman. I grew up with brothers who were always watching my steps, and even checking how I dressed. I come from a Christian background, I was used to overnight reading. My dad made me get used to it because there was a time when I was preparing for my Junior Secondary School Three examination and my dad woke me up and made me read overnight.
You said your eldest brother became a father to you when he was 21…
So when I was in SS3, my dad passed on. I was a teenager when he passed on. My brother was already working as a banker; he used to come home tired from the bank and read newspapers because he wanted me to read overnight. At that time, I was preparing for an examination. I had that support from my family that I can’t afford to misbehave; I needed to put in my best. I grew up in the church. As a matter of fact, I am a pastor. I was able to become a Sunday school teacher teaching other teenagers.
What kind of parents did you have?
I grew up in a Pentecostal Christian home and had strict disciplinary expectations from my parents. While my dad was a stickler for excellence and would not allow speaking of pidgin English within the house, despite it being the main language within the environment, my mum on the other hand was the spiritual anchor for the family. I started reading at midnight in junior secondary school because my dad woke me up to read and stayed awake with me to ensure I did not stay up alone.
I lost my dad just after my JSS3 exams and my eldest brother continued this tradition of midnight reading with me for my GCE exams in SS2 and WAEC exams. He stayed up with me despite working in a bank at the time and getting home tired after work. My mum, on the other hand, was my spiritual role model. Whenever I woke up at night and did not immediately see my mum, I was afraid that the rapture had taken place and I missed it. As a young lady, I looked up to my mum as my standard of Christianity.
What are the things you miss about your dad?
My dad was very strict when it came to excellence. I grew up in an environment where pidgin English was spoken. I was born in the Orile Koka area. I think by the time we moved into our house, I was already in my final year at the university. There was a time when we used to live in a room-and-parlour apartment, a setting that is popularly called ‘Face me, I face you’. You can imagine that kind of environment. So whenever we sensed that my dad was coming back home, everybody switched to good English because we could not speak pidgin English in his presence. We either spoke correct English or our native language whenever he was around and despite the environment, he was very intentional about that. I think that really helped me, even with the fact that I attended a public school and lived in that environment.
What is that decision that you made for which you are always grateful because you consider it as the turning point in your life?
I will speak about three major decisions. The first was the decision I made as a young girl to live a life of purity. Now, this was not easy and it made me quite different but formed the bedrock of my decision later in life about relationships, courtship, and marriage. I decided not to start a relationship until after graduation from the university and this helped me focus on my academics and my relationship with God, which has helped me in my career and life in general to date.
The second was the decision to switch from auditing to human resources consulting in the early years of my career. I am privileged to have a fusion of my job (HR management) with my passion which is people development. I made this switch early in my career after attending training on time management and personal effectiveness. This was a mindset shift for me, and I wanted to spend my life and career doing what I knew was my life’s purpose.
The third was the decision to focus on purpose when I started the Inspired for Impact platform for professionals. I believe that everyone is created for a purpose and that our experiences all connect to that purpose, both positive and negative experiences. There’s always something to learn from your successes and failures and your story is an inspiration to at least one person. The decision to start Inspired for Impact in 2018 was for me the fulfillment of a major life purpose for me – supporting professionals to achieve their best potential while taking charge of their careers and purpose and achieving sustained impact in their spheres of influence.
What is the biggest lesson that life has taught you?
Life has taught me many big lessons, and top of these lessons is that life is transient. You want to look back and be satisfied that you made the best choices you could and made an impact that mattered when you could. Your story, your impact, and your experience are an inspiration to someone out there. Be intentional about focusing on what matters the most to you and live the best life that you can.
There is also the importance of family. As a young girl, I experienced the loss of two family members – my elder brother when I was barely 11 and my dad, three years later. This taught me to cherish family relationships as they cannot be replaced. You can replace close friends and colleagues but family is irreplaceable. It’s a significant glass ball among the balls that we juggle in life that we should not let drop. I cherish the time spent with my brother and dad and wish we had more years together. As a married woman and a mum, I have also had to take career decisions with consideration for family needs and the need to focus on what matters while also building the career of my choice.
Every experience that we have can be maximised to the fulfilment of purpose. When you connect the dots backward, you will see that both the positive and the not-so-positive experiences have contributed to your successes and achievements, depending on how you used them to your advantage. Every work experience I have had has been a major highlight and a wonderful experience for me.
How did working at Deloitte shape your career?
My experience at Deloitte and Touché as the country head of human resources had a particular impact on me for some reasons. I had leaders who believed in my abilities and gave me the platform to grow. I started as the learning and development manager for West and Central Africa but became the head of HR for Nigeria within a year, first in an acting capacity and later confirmed in the role.
This period was a major high point in my career as I had a direct leadership role in the scheme of things at a crucial time when the organisation was undergoing significant change and positioning within Nigeria, in West Africa, and in Africa. The contributions of my team and I during this time led to significant accomplishments and recognition awards such as the 2015 Best Place to Work in Nigeria Awards, Great Place to Work International, 2015 Excellence in Learning and Development, and the 2014 CIPMN Best HR Practices Awards, given by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management, Nigeria.
Also, there was an impact on relationships and people. While in this role, I developed relationships across levels and in particular had mentoring relationships with my team and other staff members that are still in place to date. It has been a fulfilling experience seeing my team members go ahead to achieve great strides in their careers and still be in the picture of their career trajectory.
What is the ultimate goal for you?
The ultimate goal is to live a life of purpose, live a legacy that I can be proud of and one that outlives me.
What should people know about the secrets behind your getting to this point in your life?
They should be themselves and orchestrate their narrative. People should focus on their core, who they are and what matters the most to them. The pressure to conform is high but finding your path in life and staying true to your course has great dividends. Everyone has a unique story and a unique purpose. Live your own life.
Focus on growth; be intentional about growing professionally and in other aspects of life. No one stays static; you are either growing or decaying because the knowledge that got you to where you are becomes obsolete or irrelevant later. Growth can sometimes be lateral and at other times vertical. What matters is that you are growing and getting better every day. Be intentional about tracking your progress intermittently.
Also, it is important to connect and network intentionally. Be intentional about making an impact through your network and connections. It is said that the top five persons that you spend the most time with reflect how far you can go in life.
How do you balance your family affairs with your career?
I am married to an incredibly supportive man. My husband not only supports my professional ambitions but steps in to cover up areas I am unable to balance adequately at certain times. Our marriage is a partnership where roles are flexible as our goal is to build a lasting legacy for our children while achieving our career, ministry, and other goals. My mum and mother-in-law were both with me for over a year after the birth of our twin girls. I cannot quantify what help this was to me as a professional. I also have a great cohort of supportive family members, in-laws, and friends as well as mentors and mentees.
At work and outside work, I am intentional about focusing on what matters the most to me. I try to create time for other aspects of my life that I find fulfillment from such as the platform. I have also had to walk away from some opportunities because of family and other personal considerations that mattered more to me than financial or positional benefits. I believe that when you are intentional about what matters, over time, things will add up.
You are also a pastor. What is the focus of your ministry?
I serve as a pastor at Truth of Calvary Ministries, Calvary Bible Church. My ministry’s focus is predominantly on young people. My husband and I have been pastors of the teenage ministry and also the youth fellowship of my church. I also mentor some young Christians.
