Culture and Leadership Connections Podcast

Dele Ajele – Leave Things Better

March 15, 2022 Marie Gervais Season 5 Episode 6
Culture and Leadership Connections Podcast
Dele Ajele – Leave Things Better
Show Notes

Bio for Dele Ajele

Dele Ajele is Co-Executive Director and franchise owner of Corporate Connections® Alberta South as well as BNI Alberta South, Canada. Dele is also a business coach and consultant with a passion for helping entrepreneurs create a strong foundation for sustainable business growth. 

Episode highlight

Listen in on Dele Ajele’s journey from an engineer in Nigeria to a business consultant in Canada! 

Links

Email: dele@bnisalberta.ca

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/deleajele/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dele.ajele/

Websites:

Quotes

“Don’t ever equate work with suffering.”

“Work has an intrinsic value in itself.”

Takeaways

Childhood Incidents

Dele’s Grade 6 teacher was also his Grade 4 teacher. He noticed Dele’s relatively low academic performance, and was experiencing problems at home. He adopted Dele, which elevated his status as a student, and boosted his confidence and ability to succeed in life. Dele’s father taught him that “work is a privilege” and to value the opportunity to work while always giving his best. 

Influential Groups 

Dele explains that his family and ethnic culture taught him to be considerate of everyone in the community in his decisions and actions. He became a practising Christian in his 20s and the teachings of the Bible inspired him towards collaborative and servant leadership, based on kindness and generosity. His engineering training taught him to be thorough and focused in everything he does. 

Temperament and Personality Influences

Dele claims to have always been nurturing, caring, and inclusive, believing that “there’s hardly any job worth doing if it means trampling over people.” He is a listener and likes to think of himself as a catalyst for individuals to discover the best in themselves. He has worked on developing his outgoing side, talking to strangers, and making them feel comfortable. 

Cultural Epiphanies

In Nigeria, you acknowledge and greet an older person “in a certain posture and very deliberately”, and help an older person carry their belongings. When Dele first moved to Canada, he thought it was rude that people didn’t do that. 

Advice to an Employer 

Dele loves when he can take someone from a place of confusion to identify a clear vision for their lives and have them be prepared to take on the steps to get there. 

More Great Insights! 

Dele’s advice is to “leave people feeling better about themselves than when you met them” by finding the treasure in them, bringing it to their awareness, and being good listeners. 

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