Our blogger of the month is our Founder, Nwanyibuife Adaeze Ugwoeje.
Nwanyibuife is a project management specialist with over 10 years of experience strategically managing and executing projects within the Healthcare, Education, and Tech industries.
She has expertise in project scaling and capacity building of project/program teams, healthcare professionals, and young career women across multiple African countries and the U.S.
Nwanyibuife is the Founder and CEO of DYGL Africa, an ecosystem rooted in kindness that provides coaching, mentorship and networking platforms, products & services for women to achieve their personal and professional goals.
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Here are Nwanyibuife’s answers to our 10 Questions.
Q. What is one productivity app, gadget, or tool you use consistently?
I’ll give you two: Google Calendar and Evernote. I use them for scheduling/noting down daily activities and tasks. If I note down my to-do’s, there’s a high probability they will get done. If I don’t, there’s a high probability they will not get done. I’ve seen this play out so many times for myself to know that I function better this way.
Q. How do you practice self-care in your life?
Traveling and eating delicious food. The ‘eating delicious food’ part is a daily minimum requirement that brings me happiness. You can ask my husband – he’ll corroborate ?
Q. What is one pet peeve of yours?
Bullying and shaming of people (for their physical looks, having different viewpoints from the norm, failed endeavors, etc). It is a huge pet peeve of mine. It’s mean-spirited, unkind, and plants seeds of insecurity and low esteem in people. This creates a dangerous ripple effect because many people who experience bullying and shaming go on to bully and shame others.
Q. What is one thing you love about yourself?
My willingness to continue showing up to do impactful work in the world; even though I experience challenges or failures or feelings of doubt and fear. I take breaks (and cry when needed) however I will always keep showing up and forging ahead to do good work.
Q. What is one thing that makes you laugh hard?
The TV show Friends. It ran for 10 seasons and stopped airing in 2004. I’ve spent the past 2 decades watching reruns on TV and now on Netflix. Although I’ve watched each episode more times than I can count, I always laugh so hard when watching them as if it’s the first time! That show is comedic magic. From the actors to the directors to the writers – sheer brilliance.
Q. What is one thing about you most people don’t know?
I’m an introvert. It shocks a lot of people when they find out because as a project management specialist, a lot of my work includes continuous engagement with my teams and stakeholders, which means I have to participate in a lot of meetings/workshops, give presentations at conferences, and be vocal.
However, I’m someone who can happily spend most of my work hours operating remotely from home. All I require is good food, books, Netflix (so I can watch reruns of Friends during my lunch break :)
Q. What is one cause or initiative you believe in and support?
Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI). I believe mental health is a critical aspect of health care that has not been prioritized as it should in Nigeria and African countries. When I heard about MANI and researched the great work they are doing to educate Nigerians on mental health issues and provide support systems for mental health, I was impressed!
Q. What is one way you practice kindness to women in your life?
Through DYGL Africa. The reason we exist is mentioned above: to provide kind coaching, networking and mentorship platforms, products & services for African women to achieve their goals. Our intention is to infuse kindness into everything we do. I also believe it is kind to tell other women the truth – about my experiences and lessons learned, the importance of being proactive and improving your skills so you can achieve the career advancement you want, and how to speak up in your life.
Q. What is one personal or professional development resource (book, podcast, course, video, song) you recommend?
The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday.
I read it last year. Ryan is a brilliant researcher/writer and this book helped me start to change my perspective on challenges so that I stop seeing them as miserable visitors and instead see them as ‘personal growth opportunities’ to be embraced when they show up. It’s a life-changing book and I believe it’s worth the time investment to read it. I loved it so much that I shared a 3-part writeup on Medium about lessons I learned from the book. I must confess, I have not perfected the art of seeing every obstacle as the way in the moment when I feel like it is kicking my ass (still a work in progress) however when I deep dive into further reflection, I DO see the truth of its benefit.
Q. What is one of your favorite mantras or quotes?
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.”
It’s an African proverb that resonates so deeply with me because I spent a portion of my earlier life as a ‘lone ranger’ focused on going very fast and I did – which led to an epic burnout that affected me terribly (a story for another day). Since then, I understand more the value of collaboration and pacing myself because life truly is a marathon, not a sprint. I share this proverb whenever I can (as evidenced by the photo above where it’s displayed as part of my presentation during a conference :)
Bonus Question:
Q. Who is one woman in your network you’d like to see featured on the blog and blogger spotlight series?
Nkiruka Obiako. She’s a creative digital marketing rockstar. She also happens to be my sister ?
