Five lessons (re)learned as CEO of Black Ballad in 2022

Tobi Oredein (above), CEO and founder of Black Ballad

Credit: Tols Abeni

And just like that, another working year begins. 2022 was the year I navigated the biggest challenges of my CEO-ship yet. Until this year, I do not think I really felt like a CEO, I still felt a bit like a journalist masquerading as a CEO and the truth is I still have no idea why.

Surviving a living crisis and making some tough economic decisions to protect the future of my business (Black Ballad, the leading media and data company for black women in Britain and Europe) has taught me, or maybe more accurately, reinforced, much more than any business book I have ever read. So I have decided to share these lessons.

To some, these lessons may be super obvious, but as a first-time CEO, I often think it is important to reflect and document the lessons no matter how obvious they may be to some. So here are the five big lessons I learned in 2022 as a CEO. 

Being able to show up even when you do not feel up to it

Like most of you in manager/founder/entrepreneur positions, this year has been a rough year on us all. Businesses we admired and loved have closed down, cut staff, fought inflation in our business costs, which has been pretty demoralising.

At times, I have questioned if I still have the motivation and ability to steer a company, but those fears and doubts have no place and cannot be shown to your team as you provide both the foundation and North Star of the business. It is something that is not said enough or out loud, but part of the job is being able to turn up and turn it on even when you feel at your worst. 

You can be fair, but you cannot always be liked as the boss

The hardest decisions I have made in my career have required me to put my personal feelings aside in order to make them. In an ideal world, you want to make your team happy all of the time but it isn not realistic and you end up making decisions in the interests of people and not the company - that is a recipe for disaster.

Rest adds to your productivity, it does not take away from it

Last year, I took nine annual days of holidays and that just is not good enough to rest and recharge. For the first time in forever, I did not work over Christmas. I enjoyed the festive period with my family abroad (for the first time) and it felt so good to give my family, especially my husband and children.

I was speaking with one of my younger sisters who is training to be a barrister and we said that taking this time away from work and completely switching off has helped us both have refreshed outlooks on our careers.

Not thinking and talking about the strategy of Black Ballad has helped me clarify a lot of things on my mind and helped me feel assured about decisions I will be making in 2023. Ultimately, I have a renewed sense of energy towards work and it was needed after the challenges of 2022. 

Courtesy of Tobi Oredein (above)

Spending Christmas abroad not working was exactly the way I needed to end 2022

Hire slow, fire fast

When I was raising investment, an investor gave me this advice when hiring and it stuck with me and I should have executed it. You know when an employee gets it and when they do not, and for some reason, I did not listen to my gut when I knew I did not get it right as an employer. But hindsight is a wonderful thing, as they say. 

It is fine to change your management style when needed

I absolutely hate micromanaging and due to my personality, I am a very hands-off manager. But with Black Ballad entering its ninth year and the plans I have for its 10 year anniversary, the company and team require me to be more hands-on across every area of the business.

No doubt, this will be an adjustment, especially for me, but this change in management style is the right thing to take Black Ballad to the next level. 

Tobi Oredein is CEO and founder of Black Ballad. This article first appeared on her LinkedIn account and has been republished with her permission.

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