“The corporate world is brutal and selfish, especially for single parents. Not many people have understanding managers. I’ve learned to be vocal about the fact that my daughter comes first in my life - not work.”
I’ve been following Kennedy on LinkedIn for a little over a year now and I knew almost immediately that his story was one that needed to be told. He shares with us about being a single dad in the corporate world, losing his job, and finding his way back to the top. He didn’t do this alone and mentions the people that held his hand throughout his professional career. Read on to find out more.
You became a father at 17 years old. What was that like?
At that age, you are in high school and you basically have no idea what you are doing. I was an orphan and depended on someone to pay my school fees. My daughter’s mother was an orphan too and we didn’t know what to do. We had a chat and she said to me, “Once you are stable, you can pick your daughter.” And I did. She’s now in Form 1 at Ngara Girls. I’ve done my best to set the right foundation for her and impart proper values. She’s a lovely kid.
How has your relationship with your daughter evolved over the years?
We have a great relationship. Not the typical father-daughter relationship - we’re friends and she takes care of me. She calls home from school to find out how I am, whether I’ve eaten, and if I’m still being affected by the AC (laughs). We talk about boys, sex, love, and everything in between. One time, she came to me and said, “Dad, I want to buy a waist trainer.” And I asked her, “What’s a waist trainer?” She said that there’s a girl in school who owns a waist trainer and so she wanted one too. I had to sit her down and remind her that there’s nothing wrong with her body and she did not need to train any waists. I am her confidant, her friend, her go-to person, and her inspiration. I’m grateful for the relationship we have.
What challenges have you faced rising the corporate ranks as a single parent?
The corporate world is brutal and selfish but I’ve been lucky. I’ve never been in a situation where I have had to choose between my job and my daughter. Unfortunately, not many people have such understanding managers. In any conversation I start with anybody in this world, the first three sentences are about my daughter. I’m very vocal about the fact that my daughter comes first in my life - not work. I learned this through my first boss at Diamond Trust Bank (DTB), Marion Wanjiku. She was a present parent despite her rank at work. She would drop and pick her kids from school every single day and attend all school events. She said to me on several occasions, “This is what you’re supposed to do for your daughter”.
Tell us about starting off your career as a cleaner and messenger
I took a job as a cleaner and messenger basically to impress a girl. We can sugar coat it all we want but it was simply to impress a girl. I used to get paid Kshs. 13,081 per month and I realized that that was more than the cash I needed to take her out for pizza dates and to the movies. The job seemed easy but when Marion, my boss, noticed I was skeptical about it, she reminded me that money has no honor. It was either that, or I go back home and stay idle. And so I took the job - probably one of the best decisions I ever made. Marion saw that I had great potential and mentored me along the way. One day, when one of the tellers unexpectedly resigned, I told Marion I wanted that job. Everyone looked at me as though I was speaking Chinese. I got the job and performed outstandingly well. I was later promoted to Front Office Operations.
And then what happened?
I fostered great relationships with staff and clients and when an opening came up in the Treasury Department, I was selected for that position. It was tough at the beginning but I grew to love treasury. 6 months later, I was promoted to Assistant Manager and Head of Treasury Sales. The time came when I realized I had outgrown the role and I decided to move away from DTB. John Muli, who I met while working at DTB connected me to my next opportunity at Credit Bank. 4 years later, I moved to Mayfair Bank and then later to Anvil Shield Group where I learned strategy, proposals & partnerships. A few months ago I got an opportunity to head treasury for a bank in Djibouti and this is where I currently work.
Losing your job after 11 years of steady employment must have been rough. What was that experience like for you?
It was silent and scary. I had never been unemployed all my life. The longest I have been away from work is 6-day-leave. The day I lost my job, I woke up and everything was blank - no clients were calling me, no boss or colleague calling me to find out if I sent the report. It was dead silent. I had no idea where my next paycheck would come from and that scared me.
What kept you sane during this time?
I felt like I had been terminated wrongfully and that the world was unfair to me. My mentors and trusted people within my network helped to keep me sane. A special mention to Pamela Mutembei, Founder of Envoute, and Lilian Ngala, Head of Human Resources at DTB. They reminded me that the world owes you nothing and that I had to dust myself off and keep moving. And so, I did.
You recently got a job in Djibouti. Tell us more about that.
Djibouti was a whole new experience. Quite challenging I must say. It’s a French-speaking country. This means that all correspondence and communication is done in French or Arabic. I only know Swahili, English, and a bit of my mother tongue. I am used to reporting with some structure where you know your JD and your KPIs. Here, the working culture is completely different. It takes a month for you to get a desktop, a week to get your password, and up to 4 days just to get a report from your junior.
Is life any different in Djibouti?
There’s no such thing as RTGS, mobile money, or inter bank market. It’s almost as though I’m learning treasury afresh. It makes you realize how small you are and how little you know. Meetings are conducted in a language I don’t understand, so I decided to learn French. Here, there’s no traffic and they eat bread for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Things are much slower here. People go back home during lunch hour and then return to the office at 2:00 PM. Life here is more expensive. A decent meal goes for about Kshs. 1,800 - this would be like your chapati dondo in Kenya.
What do you wish job seekers knew?
I will address this in two parts:
To job-seekers who have been unemployed for a long time, take the job you can get. I got a job immediately after finishing high school. I got my first and second degree, Master’s degree, and Post-graduate diploma, all while on the job. I didn’t wait to get educated to start looking for work, so start where you are and work your way up.
To those who have lost their jobs, it’s scary - I know it. Your friend won’t give you a job just because you are friends, the world owes you nothing. You will get a job because you are able to show the value you bring to an organization. Build your social capital while going through life. This will help you get ahead during times like these.
