Arise Circle’s Roundtable Conversations equip professionals for BANI uncertainties

Edinah Kangwana DHL, MBS, MHC, Founder and CEO of Arise Circle KE, a center for leadership and organizational development, which hosted a round table conversation on February 3, 2024. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.
Edinah Kangwana DHL, MBS, MHC, Founder and CEO of Arise Circle KE, a center for leadership and organizational development, which hosted a round table conversation on February 3, 2024. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.
  • Every day is a new chance for us to improve our lives, a new season to improve our life graph.
  • The round table conversation was an avenue for the professionals to share their success stories and the challenges they’ve faced in the corporate field, allowing them to sharpen each other in diverse ways.
  • The participants had several exercises to help them envision themselves from the point of empathy and truthfulness, then use the insights gained from the personalized soul-search to pursue better approaches to creating the life they desire.

Life is a circle, a cycle of lessons, with good days and bad days. It is easy to get stuck in either the pains of yesterday or the wins of last year, until we forget about the life yonder.

Self-development requires regular stock-taking of one’s life and reviewing whether your strategies are serving you well.

This, however, needs help and regular refreshing of ideas through sharing with others and learning from their experiences, which is why Edinah Kangwana DHL, MBS, MHC, Founder and CEO Arise Circle Africa, organized and hosted The Round Table Conversations by Arise Circle Africa.

The personal growth and development discussion was attended by entrepreneurs, psychologists, community leaders, fashionistas, bankers, county representatives, agricultural experts and professionals drawn from other career fields.

Participants take part in a personal development round table conversation hosted by Arise Circle KE on February 3, 2024. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.
Participants take part in a personal development round table conversation. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.

The round table conversation was an avenue for the professionals to share their success stories and the challenges they’ve faced in the corporate field, allowing them to sharpen each other in diverse ways.

“We are offering you a platform to get accountability partners. This conversation will give you the reason why you should continue working on your goals,” Ms. Kangwana said, as she welcomed the participants.

Edinah Kangwana DHL, MBS, MHC, Founder and CEO of Arise Circle KE, a center for leadership and organizational development, giving her remarks. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.
Ms. Kangwana sharing her nuggets. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.

She underscored the need for such conversations, especially in today’s dynamic and fast-paced era, where reflection is key for clarity and implementing better pathways toward success.

The journey to Visioning Self, which was the round table conversations theme, requires an honest approach, and clarity of mind, appreciating past experiences but not sticking to them, acknowledging the present, and strategizing for tomorrow.

“Even when things don’t seem to be working for us at times, reflecting on the wonderful things that happened along the way allows us to stop complaining and instead grow a heart of gratitude and a culture of thanksgiving,” she noted.

Jairus Kibagendi moderating the event. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.

The participants had several exercises to help them envision themselves from the point of empathy and truthfulness, then use the insights gained from the personalized soul-search to pursue better approaches to creating the life they desire.

Every day is a new chance for us to improve our lives, and a new season to improve our life graph.

Goal setting

This calls for goal setting, which is one of the structures you must enact and implement if you want a fulfilling life.

Ms. Kangwana guided the participants into making SMART goals, the blueprint of success, and how to work towards achieving those dreams.

Despite all that we face along the way, achieving our dreams is possible. In anticipation, and to find the essence of putting in the work, we must ask ourselves, “What will success look like for me?”

Participants yielding to the lessons. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.

It’s never a straight line to have goals, chase them and achieve them. It is wise to ask, “What challenges do I envision along the way?”

More structures

She further guided them through establishing regular structures to enable them to remain grounded and laser-focused and ensure their life’s graph stays in check.

In a panel discussion, more of these structures were handled to help the participants set the correct goals.

Empowerment

Everybody stands to gain from empowerment.

“When you want to achieve certain goals, communicate effectively about what you want to achieve as a company.

With empathy, talk to the staff about their life, challenges, areas in which they may need help with and anything else they or you may need to hear from them,” said Vincent Sagwe, DHL, concerning empowerment at the workplace.

Sagwe is an Agribusiness Expert & CEO, Safe Line Farm, an agribusiness-centered venture.

Business financing

Business Financing, especially for entrepreneurs, is a challenging issue affecting most of the startups.

“Entrepreneurs should know when they need financing, where they can get it from and how to get it. The most important thing, however, is using the finances for the reason you needed them,” Agnes Nyakundi, a banker at KCB said.

“Normalize following your intuition. If it feels well in your heart, go for it, even when everybody else thinks it is not possible,” said Judith Ongiri, one of the participants.

She urged the participants to follow their passion, minding not what’s around them.

Ms. Nyakundi further highlighted the power of a positive mindset and having a backup plan to remain in shape.

The panelists during the discussion: Dr. Rose Omango, Entrepreneur & Humanitarian; Dr. Vincent Sagwe, Agribusiness Expert & CEO Safe Line Farm; Emily Oyugi, Micro Entrepreneur, Agnes Nyakundi, Banking Professional, Judith Ongiri, Communication expert & aspiring politician. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.

To develop, you need to understand the spiritual aspect of your life and tap into it to get light for your flight.

“Just as you plan about your other aspects of life, plan about your spiritual life and work towards snatching the best from it,” advised Rose Omango, DHL, a management expert and personal empowerment coach.

Emily Oyugi, an entrepreneur and community leader, shared about some of her challenging moments in life, explaining that it is important to remain trustworthy and grounded in their faith in God.

For a successful end, she highlighted the need to balance money and emotions, especially to avoid making impulse-driven choices.

“We all need to have an investment, be it financial or non-financial. That entails investing in your skills, business, career, spiritual life and otherwise,” advised Sagwe.

Anticipating the probabilities of life, he encouraged the professionals to regularly set aside quiet time to reflect on their lives.

Perrys Ongori, a businesswoman and lecturer Kisii National Polytechnic, sharing about money wounds and investments. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.

Visioning self also involves the right use of finances, and prioritizing oneself upon getting the hard-earned money. That is according to Perrys Ongori, an Entrepreneur, IT expert and Lecturer Kisii National Polytechnic.

In her presentation, she handled money wounds and how leaders can become self aware and forge for personal financial stability.

She says that it is also important to talk well about money and be passionate about seeking it, spending it, and saving or investing it. There shouldn’t be any shame in pursuing money.

Keynote speech

Jamil Shamji, a renowned entrepreneur and transformation-motivated leader, shared his nuggets about “Transformational Leadership in the BANI environment” and how envisioning oneself amid these times is paramount.

It goes without saying, that today’s world is Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, and Incomprehensible (BANI), adding up to the essence of the many challenges bedeviling today’s human beings worldwide.

Mr. Shamji handled the balance between leadership and influence, with the two being pegged on the mandate to deliver on expectations.

Jamil Shamji, the keynote speaker, sharing with the participants. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.

“Are you born a leader, are you shaped to be a leader, or it’s a combination of both?” He posed.

He urged the participants to build their communication and leadership skills, as they present themselves with uniqueness for opportunities.

In today’s fast-paced world, several aspects are important to have, if you are to remain relevant and up-to-date:

Critical thinking: As you continue working on yourself, it is important to think through issues critically and find solutions to your own challenges and those around you.

“In every endeavor you toss yourself into, keep asking yourself why you are doing what you are doing or taking the path you’re taking,” Mr. Shamji advised.

They were all ears, internalizing the nuggets. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.

Agility of the mind: By now, a significant chunk of the conventional thinking people have held onto for centuries has changed. It is critical to stay up-to-date and willing to accept the changing times and change yourself and your thinking parameters.

Lifelong education: “If you are a leader and you desire to remain a leader, you must seek knowledge everywhere, every time,” he advised, encouraging the need for humility in the search for wisdom.

He urged the participants to embrace micro-learning through such round table conversations and online short courses, adding that they are critical to remain relevant.

“Seek first to understand others and then to be understood by them,” he advised.

Shamji handled the dynamics of life in the BANI environmental and what the participants must embrace to remain in shape. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.

The higher you go, the more impactful the decisions you have to make, and the responsibilities keep on getting heavier.

Visioning self involves knowing these pressures and how to release them. One strategy to release them, according to Mr. Shamji, is by finding your passion, making time for it, and using it as an escapade to refresh.

Knowing yourself is so important, and an unexamined life is not worth living.

The more we notice that we know very little, the more we dig deeper into pathways leading to knowledge, self-discovery, and the ability to make the best of our lives.

Vincent Sagwe DHL, gifts Mr. Shamji after his presentation. Alongside is Ms. Kangwana. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.

Joining the event virtually, M. Teresa Lawrence, an author, international speaker and philanthropist, shared with the participants about Leadership.

She reminded the audience that they are already powerful in living their authentic selves.

Teresa urged them not to give away their power or blame others for whatever comes around them.

“Leaders always take responsibility for everything that happens in their life. You cannot lead a team and blame them for their actions, for as their leader, you are responsible for their actions,” she noted.

Participants keeping in step with M. Teresa Lawrence as she caught up with the event virtually from the USA. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.

“Everything else can be taken away, but the power of your mind is eternal,” she said, encouraging them to use their power to learn and do things they love, for that’s the way they can create wealth and gain the most from their lives.

Teresa, who is the President and Executive Director of The Trueness Project, shared about the transformation the world needs, a journey full of authentic living, integrity, trueness and courage.

In her contribution to transformation, she’s calling upon the world to take a step towards transformation and promoting community, creativity and love, and will be hosting a world record-breaking Grand Butterfly Gathering in Wyoming, USA, and virtually everywhere, on June 29, 2024.

A section of the participants pose for a group photo after the event. PHOTO/Lee King Photography.

The event’s success was facilitated by the strategic partnerships between Arise Circle KE and several other entities, including Gusii Women In Leadership Network (GWILN), The Trueness Project, Ajiwa Shamji (AJS), Scholar Media Africa, Summer Winters, A Million Hugs and Benmak Virtual Assistants, among others, and it drew its aesthetic value from the decor services of Liz Wanjiru.

RELATED STORY: Walking the Talk: Arise Circle coaching professionals for greatness

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Mr. Makau holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics, Media & Communication from Moi University, Kenya. He is a Columnist and Editor with Scholar Media Africa, with a keen interest in Education, Health, Climate Change, and Literature.

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