THE FUTURE OF WORK: ‘I FORESEE AN INCREASING NUMBER OF IDLE REAL ESTATE’ – FASHOLA • Jamiu Badmos Gets Plaudits As QHSES Holds Annual Leadership Reboot
By Oki Samson, Trek Africa Newspaper
L-R: Dr Mojisola Olateru – Olagbegi, Guest Speaker; Taizir Ajala, CEO Gordon Barrett; Senior Pastor, Trinity House & Guest Speaker, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo; Bukola Alofe, Guest Speaker; Eyitayo Iyortim, Chief Operating Officer, NIRA and Engr. Jamiu Badmos, Converner, QHSES Leadership Reboot during the annual Leadership Reboot -02 by Qhses leadership Network, held in Lagos.
• Ighodalo Says ‘Traditional Method of Leadership Will No Longer Be Effective‘
As part of its aim to raise leaders who will make lasting impact in various fields of human endeavour, the QHSES Leadership Network held its annual Leadership Reboot on 1st October. The Reboot is one of 4 initiatives by the Quality Health Safety Environment and Sustainability (QHSES).
This year’s event held on Nigeria’s 62nd anniversary is themed ‘The Future of Work: Becoming A Responsible Leader’.
The Convener of the programme, Engr. Jamiu Badmos speaking on the purpose of the event said: ‘There is a need to add value to the society not only to wait for the government. We started the journey by saying we want to raise thought leaders who will make lasting impact. Success is not about how much money you make but the difference you make in people’s lives.
Quality Health Safety Environment and Sustainability (QHSES) is not an NGO, it is a personal social responsibility that has 4 cardinal areas – Sustainable People, Unmasking Vision Zero Leaders, QHSES Leadership Academy, and Leadership Reboot.
The Sustainable People are not more than 30, we are leaders in our various organizations and we meet 1st and 3rd Sundays and bring speakers to come speak to us. Sustainability is meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of the future.’
‘The world is undergoing a lot of changes. COVID assisted us to quicken the future of work. You see people working remotely but it also come with its own risks. When you have such situation, how can you have responsible leadership? If you live with empathy, you are going to see a lot of your staff become more productive, more motivated, and inspired by your leadership.
In Ikeja Electric, we have the CEO Folake Soetan who is very passionate about her people. She put on the cloth of the technical staff and worked under the sun and she said ‘I am feeling the heat on my body. If the technicians are doing this everyday, I must give them hazard allowance’ and a lot of things she introduced’, the Jagaban of Safety, Engr. Badmos told Trek Africa Newspaper.
Delivering his keynote, the Honorable Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN shared: ‘Things are changing and they affect the way we work. COVID-19 and the ensuing global shutdown has shown us the remarkable impact we can make in the virtual space.
Many people are starting to work from home and I am now hearing new words like metaverse, virtual reality, etc. Unicorns are operating in servers and millions of kilometres of broadband cable connectivity whereas the old corporations thrive on basis of large real estate for production, storage and distribution. While older retail chains are utilizing large facilities to undertake their distribution business, I notice and foresee an increasing number of idle real estate.’
‘It is my belief that many offices will overtime begin to shrink. There is increasing blurring of the line between the workplace and the home and that is a very important change in the future of work. There is blurring between work and rest and its toll on the human being, family life, and human civilization. The new phase of work will be on the screen and that means many people will either have eye problem, need eyeglasses or other reading aid. That industry itself will be worth 200billion dollars by 2025. People will definitely need to reskill themselves and probably switch jobs.’
On responsible leadership, the minister said: ‘For me, the hallmark of leadership is responsibility. In our homes, there are some who worry whether everybody is safe and secure, that the door and windows are closed, whether everyone has eaten, that person for me is the leader and those are the people who transfer these responsibilities to bigger stages because oftentimes you find that they are the go-to person and it is simply because they recognize responsibility and accept it.’
‘The thing that worry me the most is how some of us are quick to recognize the worst report, data, and statistics about Nigeria whether they are verified or not. And we embrace them as if they are badges of honour. I want to remind us that we are Africans and our values and reputation are pillars upon which our society are nurtured for centuries. We must not lose our value and reputation in the metaverse.’
Illustrious accountant and clergyman, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo who also spoke at the summit started with the vast generational differential that is working in today’s world.
‘There are about 9 generations identified in the workspace today. So you have to have all this balance going forward. We have a lot of organizations today who have 3 or 4 different kinds of workspaces for the Babyboomers, the Millenials, the Gen Z’s, etc. So the traditional method of leadership which focus on delivering best returns to business owners and shareholders alone will no longer be effective today. The responsible leader will be one who unite the idea of effectiveness with the idea of corporate responsibility by being an active citizen and promoting active citizenship within and outside the organization.’
Pastor Ighodalo who reminisced on what used to be in the early 1980s when he started working noted that the future of work will be shaped by two powerful forces. ‘The growing adoption of artificial intelligence in the workplace and expansion of the workforce to include both on-and-off-balance-sheet talents.’
He added that relational intelligence, empathy, cognitive moral development, and Machivellianism are qualities that the responsible leader of the future of work must imbibe.
The Group CEO of Global Properties and Facilities Intl, Dr. MKO Balogun said: ‘Every organization has been thinking of balancing work with flexibility before COVID. But COVID forced us and we are balancing out.
We are going to have a work environment which allows employees to work the way they want without organization losing value. I am impressed at the calibre of speakers, audience here, it is impressive. I congratulate Engr. Jamiu Badmos.’
Another guest speaker at the leadership conference, Dr. Mojisola Olateru-Olagbegi, Chief Executive Officer of TWPC Tech stated that, “we should be futuristic, we should look at leadership as what would get us to where we supposed to be as a nation and as a people.”
She added that, the older generation with experience needed to coach the new generation to develop transformational leaders, leaders with empathy, leaders that understand and are able to think strategically, leaders that have creative excellent spirit and are able to give back to the society.
Many dignitaries who were present at the one-day summit lauded the convener Engr. Jamiu Badmos for his personal social responsibility which has now turned a society personal responsibility. They urged him not to relent on this amazing societal development initiative.
Some of the dignitaries include Mr. Dapo Omolade, Mrs Tasir Ajala, Alhaja Lawal Adebayo, Mrs. Funmi Adegbola, Mrs. Busola Alofe, Mrs. Joke Olatunji, Mr. Festus Kode, Mr. Deji Oyinloye, Mrs. Eyitayo, and many more.
