Name: Jesse Damptey

Title: Renewable Energy Expert | Researcher | Data Scientist

Organisation: E.E.K. Consults

I am a young environmental engineer with a passion for providing sustainable solutions to environmental issues in today's world. I am choosing to make data-driven decisions and capitalize on my research skills to make a significant change in the world. I am currently the head of the Renewable Energy Division and the Research Division in my current organization.

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

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

Cheers,

Jonno White

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

One of the most difficult things i have had to deal with is meeting deadlines whilst working with seemingly sluggish folk. It is extremely challenging to be punctual and meet deadlines when the staff and site workers are unwilling to put in the work as much as they are supposed to. It was prudent on my part to devise strategies and techniques to ensure that regardless of who I am working with, my milestones are always achieved within the defined time.

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

Before I completed my master's degree, I met the founder of my current occupation at the research center I worked at. He needed help with forecasting the energy demand of a town that had never had access to electricity to help size the mini-grid. I sent him a research I had been working on at the time and the rest was history.

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

I wake up by 6:00am, I go to the kitchen and make me my daily dose of concoction PS I am pretty stringent on my health and what i consume. After that, I check my itinerary for the day, the tasks I am meant to achieve for the day and I start working on it before I even take my shower. I get to work by 9 am and I meet with the interns I am supervising and the workers in my department to discuss our plans for the day. My work usually involves site visits, so by 11am, I start check what the workers are doing on all the sites and observe the protocols they follow. I am responsible for all site activities, so it is important i ensure they follow the right protocols for safety and construction. We currently have 4 active sites we check on so I get to my office back around 3 pm. Usually, if there is research we are working on or there is a proposal we are writing, I use this time to go through what all my teammates have contributed. If there are any inclusions on my part, I make the necessary inputs before I close for the day. I usually leave the office around 7 pm. I get home by 7:30, take my shower, get behind my laptop, and finish any pending jobs before I call it a day. I typically get to bed around 10pm to ensure I get my full 8 hours of sleep

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

You can not do it all on your own. I am usually a very independent worker, even though I work great in a team when I find some of my workers slacking behind, I take the work upon myself to do. This usually leaves me with some much on my plate and leaves me with time for nothing else. The best place to be in life is in a balanced environment; a balanced work-social-family life.

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?

Unfortunately, I am really a reader myself. I learn easily through visualization, I get impacted more by videos. I have been impacted heavily by John C. Maxwell and Daymond John. Their perception of leadership is an ideology that resounds very deeply with me and my work style.

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

Always be confident, strong, and independent. It is not easy being young in managerial positions, it requires strength and confidence.

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

Just this year, with our current project, we had some deadlines to achieve; 3 major milestones to be completed before the end of our second quarter. Two months in we had achieved just one milestone due to delays from sub-contracted parties. I realized that anxiety started to kick in anytime it dawned on me that the time was closing in, it put me in panic mode and I just kept on making one bad decision after the other. I made wrong calls, and paid more than I should have for services I already had people working on; the financial losses I was incurring were just drowning me in deeper into my anxiety. But one morning, I realized that in my calmness, my thoughts were clearer, smarter, and more productive. From my experience, it is imperative to keep calm at all times regardless of the situation.