Bonds That Matter
For organisations to succeed, the wellbeing and development of people must be at the core of it. For many, it can be a challenge to identify the right ways to bring people together and foster openness. The goal however, is to ensure that there are enough support structures to ensure that people feel seen and heard.
For Impact Africa Network, we have always been passionate about learning and collaboration. Hence, the birth of power pods.
“I would like us to bond and create impact, let’s focus on making team Mercedes bigger than the competition. Our goal should be to create impact in the society, grow as a team and individuals,” said Barasa Wycliffe, our power pod lead on our first team virtual hangout.
Power pods are groups where Impact Africa Network (IAN) members get to have an opportunity to interact, learn, build relationships and support each other in order to maintain and scale IAN’s culture.
In a nutshell, each member of a power pod strives to consume learning content every week, meet with different members of the organisation, as their performance in their individual teams is consistently tracked. All these contribute to a larger score that determines their pod's overall position in an exciting and highly competitive league with other pods. Exciting, right?
When power pods were launched, none of us knew how impactful this program would be to us; the bonds we would create, the learning journey we would go through, and the things we would discover about ourselves and each other.
Get to know us
Meet Team Mercedes, a power-pod composed of 11 members from different departments of the organisation, who are driven by making a difference.
Each has a special experience to share about how the pods have been of impact to them as individuals.
The Power of the Pods
Liza Adhiambo
Many individuals feel inspired to take steps towards personal growth after reading inspirational books, watching ennobling movies or listening to stories of those who have achieved success. Mine has to be IAN Power pods, it’s growth unbound.
As Brunello Cucinelli coined it, “The simplest things can have the highest value.” This could be as simple as a 30-minute podcast on how to make a sandwich. When I was introduced to the IAN Power pods, a podcast or two a week seemed so daunting and the thought of weekly reflection felt like the Leadership and Development team were doing the most {wana over-do} but despite all that, I conformed.
And the journey started, juggling between crazy work timelines, listening to edutaining podcasts (see what I did there), meeting KPIs, while trying to figure out who to connect with — let me not dive into the anxiety of having to actually talk to people out of your comfort zone, its T for Tuff!.
Four months in, and I am in awe! Learning can take place anywhere; I could be cleaning, shopping or exercising, with a podcast episode playing in the background. The conversations I have had with colleagues in other departments have been fun, deep, thought-provoking, but mostly heartwarming. And while living this, I have seen the value of nurturing a culture of learning within an organization. No doubt, if your heart’s in it, there is passion and conviction and ultimately growth. I have grown, both personally and professionally and the beauty of it is, I can tell.
Tesfa Romano
At IAN, I was introduced to the culture of listening to podcasts. What fascinates me most with the whole concept of power pods is that you have access to this treasure trove of information at the click of a button! The topics are endless, and there is something for everyone whether you are into sports, media, tech or maybe just browsing for something interesting. The list is endless!
Even so, the main takeaway from podcasts is how it stretches the limits of your intellect. I have come to love how I can listen to someone with a totally new idea and apply it into my life, both at work and at home. IAN has given me new tools on the merit of the content I get to listen to on podcasts, that no school would have equipped me with. Now, I am on an upwards trajectory on all verticals of my being.
Onwards and upwards!
Ian Irungu
Objective and Key Results (OKRs) are core to what we do at IAN. Through setting our own objectives and key results, I’ve personally gained a lot of clarity in how I should approach my work. OKRs have given me a more strategic insight into how I do my work. I don’t just focus on the daily tasks but I have developed a more long-term thinking into my daily tasks.
Introducing OKRs at the pod level creates a whole experience for the power pod. Everybody is able to see how you’re faring and this creates a culture of transparency and openness. High collaboration increases due to the openness in the organization.
Mercy Nyaramba
I used to read for fun, just to pass time; but now I read with intentionality and purpose. Weekly learning is like having an internal book club. Reading about mental models and entrepreneurial books like ‘Zero to One’, ‘Good to Great’, ‘Measure What Matters’, and ‘Trillion Dollar Coach’ give you fundamentals on how entrepreneurs think, how companies spin from simple startups to multi-billion dollar companies, the culture to implement in an organisation and so many other great insights.
The reading culture brings forth awareness you can’t find in normal corporations. On a personal level, I have improved my writing skills through reading. Now, I am looking forward to writing about my journey and telling my story to impact others someday. Through power pods, my passion for reading has grown and shifted from just romantic novels to great impactful entrepreneurial books.
Getting to push people out of their comfort zone, holding each other accountable in our team has to be my extra power pod highlight alongside practising my leadership skills one bit at a time. I bet my teammates are almost nicknaming me ‘Miss @channel on our Slack communication channel, considering my many check-ins with my team. Right now I find pleasure in pushing people beyond their limits.
Christine Gatwiri
Since the introduction of power pods, more specifically weekly connections, I have gotten to chat with so many people who I normally wouldn’t have met.
Our organisation has grown grew significantly larger over the last year, and there was almost a new person each week. As someone who works primarily in the engineering department, meeting with some people would be trickier than others. However, through these connections, I have met so many new people and gotten to know them beyond work; their interests, what makes them who they are, their hobbies etc. and we have discovered new things to bond on. This has honestly made collaboration with different colleagues so much easier because now I can view them as the amazing unique people they are, not just as workmates. I usually look forward to these conversations because they are authentic and raw, and a great way to relax and chill.
Yuanita Rita
It is easy to feel like a stranger in the workspace especially with working from home and joining the organization within the last quarter when everyone else has already formed relationships, which can be quite intimidating. To be honest, forming online relationships is not the easiest.
However, weekly connections have helped me bond with my colleagues and added a more human aspect to remote working. It no longer feels like I am just talking to a person on the other side of the screen but a friend. These connections have helped me know and understand my colleagues better and even helped me learn a few things about myself. This has actually improved how I work with people within the organization. The connections have definitely added a layer of trust and made me quite comfortable.
Within the first few weeks, I stopped feeling like the person who just joined Impact Africa Network to someone who belongs.
Erick Liona
I usually long for our bi-weekly hangouts. I call them my chill spot, my safe haven. After fully immersing myself in the important mission of changing the African narrative through storytelling, I use these hangouts as a space to unwind and hit reset. I get to rediscover more of who I am and my capabilities during these hangouts. I remember during our physical meetup, I got to discover how good I am at board games. I am not bragging but I was almost kicked out of the game for my many wins. I am compelled to say that it’s indeed lonely at the top.
Diana Wangechi
From as far back as I can recall, I have been a chronic procrastinator. I tend to delay decision making until it’s do or die. This decision could be as minute as the choice of cereal to have breakfast, or as fundamental as what course to pursue in university. I figured that this is perpetuated by anxiety around failure and seeking perfection- until things are faultless, I cannot proceed.
Enters Impact Africa Network, a fast-paced dynamic working environment where the cogs are constantly in motion. One decision impacts another and the ripple effect continues. I am particularly indebted to mental models that constantly enable me to introspect and unpack the world in bite-size pieces. Complexities like procrastination have been simplified into practical solutions. There is no reason not to be a better person once you internalise mental models!
At IAN, I have been forced to leave my comfort zone and be decisive and resolute. Being part of Team Mercedes affirms this even more given our competitive nature, and just as the luxury brand vows to be The best or nothing, so do we. We push one another to show up for the team and play your part whether it’s in your project, department or our very own pod.
Because I am part of something bigger than myself, I am aware of how procrastination directly impacts not only me but also the people around me. Studies have shown that six months of consistent alignment and discipline can put you five years ahead in your life. I will report back in a couple of months on how my journey will have progressed. Fingers crossed!
Michael Gitonga
One of the major activities that I enjoy is coding, it gives me some time to myself and my computer. I consider myself an introvert, so it does not come as a surprise that I interact with very few people at work; fellow devs and my internal team.
However, being part of an organization that has many brilliant people, keeping to self is not ideal. The answer to this “self-enclosed environment” of mine is Power Pod.
The idea behind this program was to help break the silos that existed that made it harder for interactions to occur. Three months into it and the one on ones I’ve had have been interesting. I’ve been able to get to hear certain backstories about individuals that touch you, inspire you and sometimes just crack you up. No wonder, we humans at the end of the day are social beings.
Esther Mumbi
“I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.”
- Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
Working at IAN has always been the good fortune that comes your way for me. Ever since I joined this organization, it’s been a learning curve. At first, it came with culture shock since I had not been exposed to an environment of continuous learning, being pushed to become the best possible version of myself. With the introduction of power pods, this has most definitely accelerated my growth in ways I couldn’t fathom.
The power pod has brought in a crucial and very important element of a suggestion scheme to the organization. It has brought in the element of having a desire to become more innovative and channeling employee creativity. It has also brought in the aspect of transparency and openness through the suggestion box.
The podcasts have also been a great highlight for me. Podcasts stimulate different parts of the brain, forcing us to actively listen, especially since it’s a topic we’re truly interested in. Another great benefit of listening to podcasts has been learning new things. I have definitely been given the platform and transformed my good fortune into something valuable.
Wycliffe Barasa
I remember my first week at IAN. What amazed me was the culture being enforced by our founder & CEO, Mark Karake. For the first time, I met a person who embraces a culture of continuous learning and development. He is the first CEO among a few in Africa who have wholly embraced the culture of learning in an organisation.
After Covid-19 hit the world so hard, we moved away from the physical office to remote working, and I was worried that we would lose the culture of learning. This was something new to organisations, and we never knew how we would track and implement our continuous learning culture. Mark came up with a brilliant idea to solve for this through introducing the Weekly Learning and Development Program.
At the beginning, only 40% of the organisation had fully embraced the learning culture. Out of this percentage, we discovered there was a big difference between the people who immersed themselves in the learning compared to those who didn’t. There emerged a need to introduce something that will motivate and fill the gap of our learning culture. And this is where power pods were introduced.
It has been 15 weeks since the introduction of power pods. There has been a drastic growth in the learning culture from 40% to more than 95% internally. Being part of the Learning & Development team, I have had a front-row seat on how people are growing on a personal level, team-wise and how this has affected the organisation performance.
For Africa to grow, we need more young people to be immersed in an environment like IAN. We would like to hear more testimonials like the above across the continent. I call upon people out there to support our fellowship program at IAN through our microdonations program.
It being just the first season of the pods, we can’t wait to see what’s in store for the other seasons. More learning, more growing, and more bond creations with our workmates. Furthermore, we look forward to creating more impact in the world outside our organisation.
Stay tuned!
