Uche Ofodile

Lessons from @ucheofodile I closed the month of October meeting a phenomenal woman, Uche Ofodile, CEO of MTN Benin and former CEO of MTN Liberia. She first caught my attention because, for the longest time, one of my role models has been @sylmulinge , the current CEO of MTN Uganda. I guess I have a type 😅 I met Uche here on LinkedIn while reaching out to as many people as possible ahead of my trip to Nigeria. Fortunately, she accepted my connection request and invited me to her book launch for her book, Beneath the Smile. During the launch, she spoke on the struggles of high-performing women. And when I got back home and started reading, I found myself connecting with so much of what she had written. Here are a few that stayed with me: "High-functioning women can often appear fine, even when we're internally unravelling." "They saw a calm, focused CEO leading through pressure and delivering results. But what they didn't see was this: I couldn't sleep. Every night, I had to put on the TV and play the same show. It wasn't because it was relaxing. I needed something to drown the noise in my head. I was trying to stop the overthinking, the anxiety, and the unprocessed weight of what I was carrying. It became a nightly ritual: lie in bed, press play and let the voices of fictional characters mute the real ones." "High performance is seductive....There is no glory in self-neglect, and leadership doesn't last if it's built on burnout." I resonated with these words more than I can explain. Since early 2025, I have been struggling with something I spent a long time trying to ignore: real burnout. I kept pushing, convincing myself that I just needed to get through, but the truth is, I don't remember what proper rest feels like. I don't think I've genuinely rested since 2016. And in 2026, my mind and body came to collect. Over the past decade, I have: - Successfully completed one of the most demanding courses at Strathmore University. - Worked and consulted for nearly 15 companies, sometimes juggling multiple engagements at once. - Given birth to two beautiful children. - Travelled to several countries. - Built an award-winning brand under my own name. - Become a recognised leader in my industry before even turning 30. This required years of commitment, ambition, hard work and, sometimes, enormous personal sacrifice. But there is only so much the human body and mind can take. This year, I was forced to slow down. And honestly, finding my way back has not been easy. When you have spent years being the person who figures things out, delivers results and keeps moving, learning to pause can feel incredibly unfamiliar. Listening to Uche reminded me that this is not a struggle I face alone. So many women are navigating the same reality, often behind impressive titles, successful careers and seemingly perfect lives. Thank you, Uche, for sharing your story and reminding us that there is a woman beneath the smile.