Abella and the long journey to deserved top NMB leadership

Mwananchi Communication Ltd

What you need to know:

She grew up surrounded by male cousins, but when growing up, they were competing in many areas and she ultimately managed to beat them all

Dar es Salaam. Abella Tarimo, is a strategic, dynamic and transformational change leader.
She is a customer expert with more than 20 years corporate experience in various industries.
At NMB Bank, she is the current diversity, equity and inclusion committee chairperson spearheading NMB’s gender and generation agenda. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Information Management, earned from Damelin.
Sharing about her career journey she began with a quote by Ben Saunders “Growth only comes from adversity and from challenges - from stepping away from what is comfortable and familiar, and stepping out into the unknown.”
She grew up mostly surrounded by male cousins. Growing up, they had a very competitive spirit and as they grew up together and she outrun them in most races. Her awareness of gender differences or gender inequality came much later.
“I believe, God created us (male and female) in his image, each bringing unique and complementary qualities.
“I am also grateful that my late parents, who were both civil servants, instilled strong values. Encouraging and supporting me to always strive to be the best version of myself,” says Tarimo.
Describing her leadership style she says, leadership is about influencing people to get the work done through an inspiring vision. She loves and thrives in change. Her leadership style is mostly transformational. But again life is dynamic, to get the job done she has developed awareness and skills to ensure she can be agile and adapt to situations and people.
“It has meant sometimes I delegate more, I am direct especially in situations where there is little room for errors. For me, leadership is a muscle that is built. It is a personal journey with every opportunity or challenge helping me to build my leadership muscle and become a better version of myself, she says.
Commenting on the personal sacrifices she has made throughout her career and helped her as woman she says, she has made quite a few.
She was lucky to have a smooth pregnancy for both her children. With her first born, she got pregnant after she had accepted a new role in Sales and Distribution. A completely new territory for her which included extensive travel across the country.
“During the pregnancy, I worked hard, sometime at the expense of my own health. I thank God that when my son was born, I made a commitment to breast-feed him exclusively for six months. It was a turbulent time, but I kept my commitment and gradually built strong support systems to sustain that decision and that kept me sane,” says Tarimo.
Being asked on how companies would benefit from having more women at the top she says, today’s marketplace is defined by Volatility, Uncertainty Complexity and Ambiguity (VUCA).
Adding to that she says,most organisations, which successfully navigate and are built to last, bring diverse perspectives and experiences to address these new challenges.
“Financial performance,a report by McKinsey Global Institute reported that gender equality could add at minimum 11 % and up to 26% annual global GDP by 2025. That is $12 trillion at a minimum. That is a compelling business case,” she says.
Talking about what motivated her to be a leader and what inspires her as chairperson of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at NMB, she says, opportunity, change, a gift and growth.
She says, about 80 percent of the Tanzanian population own a mobile phone or have use of a mobile phone, but probably might not have a bank account. So it is a privilege and great opportunity being in the banking sector.
“Working with an industry leader, NMB, gives me a great platform to work with great minds and talents to make an impact while shaping the customer experience within the banking sector,” she adds.
Sharing about her advice to the young women who are at the start of their career she says, the have to seize control of your career. By not letting gender define their future, they have to seek and gain knowledge, to build their confidence. They have use their strength and take calculated risks.
“Be unapologetically strong and never give up. How? Strive to challenge yourself continuously. Be proactive. I recall an incidence in my early days at Vodacom as a junior systems administrator. All the computers including servers were hit by a computer virus, a big headache in those days. As the IT Director was passing by, I said to him, if you give me 3 days, I can clean all the servers and then rebuild a new virus free environment with full anti-virus protection. He gave the go ahead. Three days later, I showed him what I had achieved. In summary, I was promoted within an hour,” she adds. She ended up by saying, time is now. Seeing is believing. On a daily basis, we have an opportunity to study, debate, analyse, defend on how Tanzania as a country is prospering under Her Excellency, Samia SuluhuHassan.
For the girl-child and my fellow women, keep rising. For men, the women in your live, your loved one can have a more equitable world. Your daughters, mother, sisters, aunts…, let’s us together build a better Tanzania for them, she says.