Name: Anikeade Funke

Title: Lead Consultant

Organisation: YellowBloom Consulting

Broadcast Journalist & Administrator. Trainer. Speech & Leadership Coach. Author. Media Strategist.

Anike-ade Funke Treasure is the first female journalist to manage an all-news radio station in the Radio Nigeria Network and indeed the Nigerian broadcast industry. One of the leading women in the media in Nigeria especially in radio broadcasting, where she has worked tirelessly for more than two decades, she is an advocate for inclusion of women in the newsroom. She broke the ceiling as a female news anchor of her generation on the Network Service of the FRCN in 2003; paving the way for younger women to be considered as news readers on the radio network. In 2013, and as General Manager, Radio One 103.5FM, she created a distinct identity for the station, restructuring and transforming it from a general interest into an all-news format in six months and accelerating it into one of the listener's favourite stations in Lagos.

A multiple award winner, in reporting & production, her news feature report on female condoms at the Seme border made the category finalist of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Award for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Reporting in Africa as part of the 2007 CNN/Multi Choice Africa Journalism Awards. In 2010, she covered and reported the Beijing Review Conference at the UN Headquarters in New York for Radio Nigeria. A well respected media professional in Nigeria across media forms – radio, television, print and literature, she is the pioneer elected Vice President & Acting President of Pan Atlantic University‘s School of Communication.

She was one in five media experts engaged by Action Aid, Nigeria; who worked on contextualising and domesticating the Media Strategy for Mobilising Civil Society Support for the Implementation of the African Governance Architecture (AGA) and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) policy documents for Nigeria. She was a member of the Research Advisory Group for the DFID funded Voices For Change Peer Led Research on Young People & their Participation in the Process of Change in Nigeria.

She was a panelist for the Vice Presidential Election Debate organised by the Nigerian Electoral Debate Group (NEDG) in 2015 and was invited as a panelist & moderator by different organisations ahead of the 2019 general elections. She is a board member of International Press Centre (IPC), a media development & capacity building organisation & The Real Economy Sector Initiative (TRESI).

Specialties: Training (Corporate/Media & Personal Dev), Media Relations. Mentoring. Coaching.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Anikeade's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

The courage and intentionality that re-invention takes, in order to remain relevant and valuable in a rapidly changing world.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I have always been a leader. I was Library Prefect in primary school, Agriculture Prefect in secondary, I contested for departmental association leadership in college, contested for pioneer alumni vice presidency position for a university alumni group, eventually became the acting President, appointed Vice president for another, public relations officer for another. Career wise,I have led in several positions. My best leadership experience was being the Nigerian Country Producer/Trainer for a 5 nation HIV/AIDS project in West Africa.

I love my Nigerian Civil Service experience, particularly leading a change project for the transformation of a general format radio station to an all-news talk radio with about 115 staff and making a success of it. My most challenging act of leadership is leading myself to initiate projects. It has been a test of my personal and professional integrity, standing and clout from all fronts. Creating something out of nothing is my greatest leadership story, you know, giving form to ideas and watching people identify with them and support their growth.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I am an intuitive leader. I do goal setting and create a calendar of activities for the year and all that but I do not stick to them. I am also a woman of faith so there’s a huge space for inspiration in leadership and it works well for me. I know people say we are creations of habits but I dislike being predictable as much as I detest being controlled. And I don’t do stimulants of any kind.

I always pray for delightful disruptions to my plan, and they happen. I start my day with a walk, it opens me up to receive direction, for the day, other times I end my day with it, on a note of gratitude. I am a tea person. Sometimes, I grab a cup as I wake up read and write or write and then go for a walk, that’s when I chisel my thoughts, refine them and return to rewriting. At other times I end my day with writing an article for future use.

A Ted talk or a speech or material for the day drops on me literally from wherever, sometimes it becomes my theme for the day or becomes the lead to an article, a contact, an idea or a project. Yes. Nevertheless, to do lists help me to get tasks done. I have cut out commuting in the mornings out of my schedule, except I am guesting on a TV programme or compering an event. My meetings are mostly remotely done online.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

There are two quotes by John C Maxwell that I started using like a compass in my leadership journey. The first is “Everything rises and falls on leadership” and the second is, “A leader knows the way, shows the way and leads the way”. They are like path finders for me. Know, show, lead (KSL)to me mean knowledge, demonstration of competence and being exemplary. I am in constant pursuit of knowledge that equips me and qualifies me to do the things I do to lead others.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

Blue Ocean Strategy by Renee Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim. It has had a profound effect on me. It is about value innovation, exploring uncharted territories, alternatives to the mainstream, creating new demand and capturing uncontested market place. I understood what authenticity meant from that book. I understood that being different is an advantage, it’s a USP, a unique selling point.

I see red ocean everywhere, everyone doing the same thing. I prefer blue ocean. The book made me unashamedly comfortable in my difference whether professionally or privately. Just seeing that book on my shelf is a constant reminder to see my difference as a strength, and to use that difference to chart a path for myself. All my projects are blue ocean inspired. So it’s a significant book in my collection.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

Leaders think for others. Thinking is critical to succeeding. It’s 80% of the work. Once you get the big picture, little steps that add up are easier. Use your gift of leadership strategically, focus on what’s needful, don’t spread yourself thin wanting to be like the Joneses. Be authentic and original, and trust your intuition.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

I have many but will gush about having to create and grow the Sanitary Pad Media Campaign (SPMC), outside of my comfort zone, and institutional cover of Radio Nigeria where I worked for over two decades. Navigating the social entrepreneurship journey has been daunting. I learnt not to be afraid of being laughed at, or harshly criticised. My greatest fear was that of failing at it, but I conquered that fear.

Once I factored failing into the journey and thought about what the consequences could be, I figured what the worst case scenarios could be, all the what if’s. I concluded that if I failed, I would have contributed something no matter how little to someone’s life. That was it, I decided to enjoy the journey whichever way it ends. It’s okay to fail, and the best stories are those of people who failed forward.