40 •
The Lion King
• January - March 2017
personal life, whereas some others
who have a vibrant personal and
family life are below par at work. Being
successful in one's sphere of life at the
cost of the other is not healthy. Family
happiness and a decent personal life
are key determinants of a successful
career; to be a successful career
woman you must possess the ability to
manage your home effectively.
It is a collective responsibility to support
ourselves in the family and women
have greater role in cascading these
to every member of the family.
My husband identifies opportunities
and gets prospects for my business,
my children always pray and are also
eager to know my progression at work;
indirectly they are inculcating the habit
NAOMI KAGONE
Customer Service Officer
What do you do at UBA?
I am currently handling Customer
Service
Experience.
Through
interaction with customers of
diversified expectations, I have learnt
great life skills and my relationship
management has moved to a greater
level. And I look forward to giving the
best service ever for there is joy in
serving.
Kenyan women are known to be very
strong on feminism. What is your take
on this?
I totally agree on that, besides the
strong backing by our constitution,
Kenyan women have devised
their own mechanism to empower
themselves especially by going back
to school at any age, on realization
that they can be of great value not
only in the kitchen and dining room but
also in the boardroom. This is clearly
represented by strong women like
Ambassador Amina Muhammed, who
has made significant contributions to
Public Sectors and Institutional reforms.
She is a precise representative of a
true Kenyan woman and what she
can be in a conducive environment.
How realistic is the notion of a female
Kenyan president in the near future?
Currently we have high flying
women in leadership and they have
demonstrated they can deliver,
in both elected and nominated
positions; also we have quite very
exemplary performers both at National
Assemblies and County Assemblies.
The outspoken ones like the leaders of
political parties such as Martha Karua,
Charity Ngilu among others have
exhibited great leadership qualities
that warrant them to take up the helm
of leadership of Kenya.
What are your dreams in your career?
Are you planning to break glass
ceilings and have it all?
Honestly, I plan to break glass ceilings
and have it all and become the head
of customer experience in Kenya if
not in Africa. This is clearly guided by a
very simple fact that a dream is simply
the recognition of an opportunity,
both current and future and asking
whether there is a better way to
deliver existing products or services. In
my experience with both internal and
external customers, I have learnt that I
only need the right attitude to tap the
untapped market segment by offering
heart to heart customer service which
is rarely offered and is greatly sort by
customers at all levels of interaction.
Women are primarily nurturers, how
have you used this quality to progress
in life generally?
My motherhood journey has been a
big stepping stone to my nurturing
capabilities. Nursing my three children
while at the same time being a career
woman, wife and a student has been
quite challenging and at the same
time exciting and worthwhile. It taught
me that you must be patient, caring
and tender to achieve the best
desired lifetime goals.
I have also nurtured many young girls
at close vicinity, this has come out
in my relationship with my domestic
house managers where I have ensured
that any lady that comes on board
leaves a better and more empowered
person academically, socially and
economically. As I strive to nurture
them I have gotten incredible support
from them hence playing very well in
the field of work-life balance.
of being successful in whatsoever they
do in life. God has deposited grace in
women to multi task themselves but
it takes a determined and focused
woman to be successful in all. The
most important thing is to create a fair
balance between work and family
lifestyle.
If you had to relocate far away without
your family, what decision would you
make?
I have done it before without regret
and I can still do it again; it is all about
identifying the inherent opportunities
in your prospective location and
clarify if it fits perfectly into your career
plans. It is a decision that needs to be
deliberated and agreed upon by the
entire family.
My driving force is a strong
determination to excel as a woman
in my career with a high level of
commitment and dedication; God
made everything work together for my
good. I received tremendous support
frommy family, especially my Husband
who believed in my career path, and
would do anything in his capacity
to support my growth, also my Boss
who motivates and encourages me
to move on.
Do you think you can have it all,
Family, career and be happy too?
YES, you can have it all. Family,
work and personal life should be
complimentary and not conflicting
with one another. Some are successful
in their careers but fail in family and
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