People, Culture & Everything In Between: An Advancer Behind The Dream
6 mins read
Otaren Iduoze on art, being a People person and how to build culture into startups.
How would you describe what you do at Advancly?
In the simplest of terms, I’d say I help people make the best of their careers by enabling them to grow into better professionals and/or leaders. My job is basically to support people to be the best versions of themselves, in the context of the workplace but also to ensure that this doesn’t affect their lives outside work.
You lead the People and Culture team at Advancly, which is the equivalent of Human Resources in most organisations. Beyond the name change, what would you say is different in our approach to Human Resources?
When you look at HR as it is done traditionally, you realise there’s a bit of a disconnect between the practice and the people it’s supposed to care for. I mean, it’s right there in the name; people are seen as resources to help achieve a goal. At Advancly, we take a more holistic approach, where we see people as humans first with lives and dreams and goals that transcend the value they add to the organisation. We understand that career is just one aspect of people’s lives and, beyond making sure they are fulfilled in that aspect, we are committed to providing support in other aspects like health, family and development to ensure that they can live fulfilling, well-rounded lives.
Did you always know you wanted to work in this field?
Not really. I studied Political Science and Public Administration at university and that’s where I stumbled across Human Resources as a field and as a concept. I was fascinated by it for two reasons. For one thing, it involves managing people to deliver results, which is a transferable skill across job roles. I also liked that it cuts all sectors; every organisation needs a People Operations department. For these reasons, I decided to further my studies in Human Resource Management.
You recently celebrated your one-year anniversary at Advancly. How has the experience been so far? What has stood out for you?
I’d say the experience so far has honestly surpassed my expectations.
One thing that has really stood out for me is leadership. When you’re moving to a startup, the major concerns are leadership and sustainability. When those two things are missing, there’s the fear that you’re just going to be wasting your time, especially when you work in People Operations. You can come up with the most amazing initiatives that can make a huge impact on bottom line or productivity and performance, but if there’s no leadership buy-in, all your efforts will be wasted. I’ve been blown away by how cooperative and supportive the leadership at Advancly is. Having leaders that understand your vision and run with it is unmatched because it has enabled us as People and Culture to implement some really amazing initiatives that have brought us phenomenal results.
So would you say that’s your favourite thing about working at Advancly?
Well, [the leadership] is only one of my favourite things. Another one of my favourites is the speed of execution of ideas which, again, is catalysed by leaders who are enthused about getting things done. Because we believe in ‘Progress Over Perfection’, we can learn by doing and this does wonders for productivity because you’re not stuck on having things or ideas be perfect before you execute them. Working this way has helped me grow because I’m able to see what works and what doesn’t in real-time, and consistently improve the quality of my work.
Another thing I really love is the people. We’re fortunate to have a team that is not only talented but extremely collaborative. It makes work easier and amazing to be surrounded by a culture of genuine support from people who are truly invested in seeing you win.
Speaking of culture, as the foundational People and Culture team member, you’ve spearheaded the efforts of building culture at Advancly. What would you say has been key to success in that regard?
I’d say one thing that’s very important is intentionality. I’ll explain using the culture of collaboration which I spoke about earlier.
At Advancly, we strongly believe in shared ideas, shared values and all-around teamwork and collaboration that transcends the norm. Our vision at Advancly is to Power Progress and we know that no one team can do this alone, so we endeavour to foster collaboration from the very framework of things and we’ve found that it extends to all other aspects from there. Take our Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) system, for example. Our OKR framework takes cross-functionalities and interdependencies into consideration, so you rarely find a situation where you can achieve your goals without collaborating with another person or team. We’ve also factored this mindset into recruitment, performance management and our rewards system. When we’re looking for people to join our team, a collaborative nature is top of our requirements for soft skills. A key part of performance reviews is getting feedback from teammates and other collaborators. All these, alongside leadership that is really committed to walking the talk, have gone together to build this culture of collaboration we’re so proud of.
You have to be intentional about building culture into operations and practices. This is the only way it can grow from being just fancy words in a strategy document into an actual way of life for the organisation.
Listening to you speak, it’s obvious you’re really passionate about what you do. I’m curious: is there anything else you’d have been doing if you weren’t in this field?
Maybe project management. I had a brief stint in project support and resource coordination and, just like People Operations, I like that it cuts across fields and industries. If I wasn’t doing that, I probably would have been a theatre actress.
That’s interesting! Why theatre specifically?
I’ve always had a passion for the arts, especially acting, singing and dancing and theatre combines all three. In secondary school, I was the head of the drama and dance clubs and choir as well!
A multitasking queen! How could you possibly balance all that?
It helped that I started really early, so I was able to figure out routines and the magic that is time management very quickly. It also helped that everything was happening in boarding school, which was a very structured environment, with a time for everything. Now that I think of it, these experiences really influenced even how I’m able to manage the demands of my role today. Back then, I set goals with how I wanted people to feel after a play or performance in mind. I still do this today when crafting people initiatives, and having a structure to things enables me manage the many demands of my position.
Is acting a dream you still want to pursue?which would it be?
Maybe as a hobby. I definitely don’t think I could get into it full-time. But I’d love the opportunity to be part of a stage play if I had the time.
Do you have a favourite stage play?
If I had to pick, I’d say Fela and the Kalakuta Queens. I also like Motown: The Musical.
When you’re not leading People and Culture or seeing a stage play, where can we find you?
I love [looking at] art, so you’ll probably find me in a gallery somewhere. I especially love going to Nike Art Gallery; it relaxes me and helps me appreciate talent. It also helps me appreciate myself, my uniqueness and growth. You walk into a gallery and there are so many different artworks of different sizes, different modes of expression, all with a place to shine. It’s like that with life and people as well. Sometimes, it can get hard to recognise how unique we are, especially when comparison comes into play. But whatever value you bring to the table is value – it’s important and it has its place. Just like you. I love to spend time at galleries because they remind me of this fact.
Do you have any advice for anyone that wants to go into People Ops?
Don’t do it because you’re a people person! A common misconception people make is that being a people person means you’d be a great People Ops person. But People Ops isn’t about liking people, it’s about managing them to ensure that they are motivated and empowered to become their best selves. And, closely related to this, it’s important to remember that one size doesn’t fit all. Because people are inherently different, the ways to manage them differ as well. It’s important to understand the environment you’re playing in and structure your initiatives and methods to suit the people in that environment.
Otaren leads the People and Culture team – the heart and soul of Advancly. Our People and Culture team works tirelessly to build an environment where every Advancer is motivated to be their best self.