Ekamma Inanga

“Believe in Yourself”

What is your personal story?

From my musical roots in Nigeria to my education in England and a challenging career in business management in the Netherlands – my life has taken some interesting turns. I was born and raised in Nigeria, living on a university campus until I was 17. My mother taught music, and my father taught accounting. For my father, who grew up in a very small village in southeast Nigeria, education was the way out of poverty. My parents taught me and my three brothers to take our education very seriously.

Music was a big part of our lives. I taught myself to play the piano and was giving music lessons when I was just 8 years old. After high school, I received a scholarship for the International Baccalaureate in the United Kingdom at Sevenoaks School in Kent. I took a wide range of subjects because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to study. Eventually, I studied music at King’s College in London. In the back of my mind, I always thought, ‘I will study music, but become a lawyer or management consultant to make money.’

After completing my music studies, I moved to the Netherlands, where my father was now a retired professor. I thought I would stay for a year to learn the language, but I ended up studying business administration. The school made an exception for me and allowed me to enter the master’s program despite my musical background. Statistics and accounting were a huge struggle at first. But I was determined to graduate with distinction, so I studied hard and achieved my goal.

After obtaining my MSc in 2008, I worked my way up through various roles at Océ-Technologies (now Canon) as an intern, marketing and communication employee, project leader and analyst, and at one point even created my own job. Since 2015, I have held various management positions at Office Depot (now Viking), leading to my current position as Senior Manager Vendor Management, where I lead a team of 8 people.

They Call Me Sherlock Holmes
Creating harmony and unraveling complexity have been the common threads throughout my life, whether I’m making music or working in business teams. At work, they call me Sherlock Holmes because I am so good at analyzing business problems. I do this by finding connections and patterns to locate what is going on and then figuring out and implementing a solution.

What major challenges or breakthroughs in your career have led to where you are now?

Defining New Roles to Meet Business Needs
After completing my internship at Canon, I wanted to work there full-time, but there were no jobs available in my field. I saw that the communications team was creating a lot of digital assets for their website but hardly measuring their effectiveness.

So I wrote a job description with a business case and pitched the idea to the VP of Marketing Communications. I told him that he needed a web analytics specialist and that I was the most suitable to perform this role. After some negotiations, I got the job and developed a set of online analytics and a benchmarking database, then trained people in the sales offices in its use. The insights from this database enabled them to significantly increase the number of sales leads.

Figure It Out
This experience helped me when I moved from Canon to a newly created Web Merchant role for DACH-BENELUX at Viking. My personal motto has always been: ‘I’ll figure it out.’ If I don’t know something, I know I can learn it, and I will find the right information and analyze the problem until I understand it. I may not be the one who solves the problem, but I will understand the cause of the problem and find the right person to solve it.

I have always been open to new challenges, projects, and roles. This has given me a wealth of experience and introduced me to various different areas within the company. Recently at Viking, I led the teams tasked with venturing into new ways and doing business in new areas.

Fighting for Equal Pay
Twice in my career, I have dealt with discrimination in equal pay. The first time it happened, I had changed roles, and later a former colleague moved to a similar role that should have been the same pay scale. I found out there was a big gap in what he was offered compared to what I was offered. At that time, I didn’t know if it was because of my skin color, because I was a woman, or because I was just a poor negotiator.

Many years later, I was offered a leadership role, and something similar happened. I was asked to fill the position, but they offered less than what the role required. This time I was prepared. I had done my research and learned a lot about women and negotiation and was determined to overcome my fear of asking for what I deserve. The negotiations were not easy, but I fought hard for what I knew I deserved. Since then, I have heard from many women that they just are not skilled in negotiating salaries, and that is definitely an important skill to master as you move up in your career.

Learning from Behavior That Holds You Back

In our interviews, we like to talk about ’12 behaviors that hold you back’ – which have been researched and published in the book ‘How Women Rise’ by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith. We asked Ekamma if she could identify with any of these 12 behaviors that prevent women from advancing in their careers.

The Trap of Perfection
I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing well. However, this means that I strive for perfection in everything I do, regardless of whether it is required or even possible. Time, however, is not a limitless concept, nor are resources. Striving for perfection comes at a price, and I often pay that price. I often get feedback from my superiors: ‘You always go for 100%. But 80% is enough.’ I am still working on that.

Ruminating: Spending Too Much Time Blaming Yourself and Dissecting Past Mistakes
I love analyzing and self-reflection, but sometimes I go too far. Then I spend a lot of time thinking about how things could have been said or done differently, how I can plan next time. At first glance, this sounds good, but rumination gets in the way of progress. I also hold myself accountable and feel responsible for the outcomes. Again, sounds good, but ultimately I blame myself. My mentor often reminds me to think about what I learned from the experience/mistake and move on.

Nurture Allies from the Beginning
An advantage I had when I took on a larger leadership role was that I had a strong ally on my side. On the one hand, I had the support of the highest management level, but I also had support from my colleagues. In particular, a colleague with whom I had previously worked nominated me for the leadership role. He was a strong advocate for me throughout the process, and that made a difference. Throughout my career, I have had a number of very inspiring allies at all levels, who have influenced and helped me. It is very important to cherish those relationships.

Mentorship is also important. I always thought: if I work hard, I will get what I deserve. But that’s not how it works in large organizations. When I first got into management, one of the senior directors offered to mentor me. She taught me how to navigate at the management level, to sit at the table and stay at the table. As you climb up, it’s about what you can do and the results you achieve. Once you’re in management, it’s more about relationships, influence, and how you are seen as an equal.

Now I mentor other women around me and try to help them become the best version of themselves. That can be a challenge because I believe I am still figuring things out myself, but it is very rewarding to see them also grow and develop.

What is your ‘go-to skill’ when you find yourself in a difficult situation?
I’m not sure if this is a skill, but I always believe that ‘I’ll figure it out.’ This is where I go to when faced with difficult or unknown situations. This leads me to ask many questions that ultimately lead to a solution. Nobody knows everything, and I’m not afraid to admit that I don’t know something. Throughout your career, you just have to keep improving and figuring it out. They call me Sherlock Holmes here because I’m so good at analyzing complex situations and figuring out what’s causing the problems. That gives me a great sense of pride.

Do you think personal branding is important for female professionals?
I link personal branding to values. For me, it’s about living your values in what you do. I value honesty and responsibility. I always challenge the status quo by asking questions and learning. I also find it important to listen to your team members and show empathy and understanding for their situation. Those are the leadership skills I expect from a leader in the 21st century.

What advice would you give to other professional women who want to shine in their careers?
Believe in yourself. Others will not always believe in you, so you need to have that solid core within yourself.

I believed that as a woman, I had to tick all the boxes to do a job, but that’s not how it works. At one point, I was asked to do an IT course, so I felt I needed to be certified in Agile IT to prove my credibility. At that time, I was lucky because I had a boss who believed in me more than I did. After a year, I was asked to take over supplier management, another area that was new to me. My boss asked me five times, and eventually he said, ‘Just do it.’ I took the position and I really enjoy it.

Women tend to wait until they have checked all the boxes before they go for a promotion or a new role. If you believe in your own strength and qualities, then it doesn’t matter if you meet all the requirements. Just go for it!

Want to know more about Ekamma?
Visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekammainanga/