Leadership isn't something you're born into. Most of the time, it's something you grow into, quietly, incrementally, and often without realising that the weight has already shifted onto your shoulders.
In this Yesticle, Akumu and Claire sit down (for the second time) with Kenyan business leader and board executive Dr. Laila Macharia to talk about what becoming a CEO really asks of a person: not the aesthetic version of leadership, and certainly not the motivational quote version, but the lived kind - the one shaped by responsibility, range, and consequence.
Laila's path was not a straight line toward a corner office. She moved through law, real estate, entrepreneurship, angel investing, and digital education before leadership became the thread tying it all together.
Beyond being Vice-Chair of Centum, and having sat on the board of ABSA Kenya, among others, she now leads Imaginable Futures in the region. But none of those titles tell the full story. What matters more is how each chapter required her to stretch into a different version of herself.
In this episode, we explore:
- The biggest misconception about becoming a CEO
- The invisible emotional weight of leadership
- What women in Kenyan corporate spaces navigate quietly
- The difference between founders and "ship steerers"
- The boring but powerful habits board-level leaders share
- And one small, reversible step anyone can take toward leadership this year
This conversation is for anyone curious about becoming a CEO, navigating leadership as a woman, or understanding what executive responsibility actually feels like.
Whether you are building something from scratch or growing inside an existing institution, the question underneath it all remains the same:
Who are you becoming as your responsibility grows?
Because the title is only the surface.
The real transformation happens underneath.
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Timestamps to Specific Segments:
(0:00) Intro
(02:00) Meet Dr. Laila Macharia: board leader, female CEO, and corporate executive
(04:13) Starting from the bottom: how her leadership journey actually began
(06:53) Do you need to "get your hands dirty" to become a leader?
(07:53) The biggest myths about becoming a CEO or senior leader
(10:50) The invisible challenges and advantages of being a female CEO
(12:38) Seeing the forest and the trees: strategic thinking vs operational leadership
(16:41) Breaking the glass ceiling: practical advice for women in leadership
(19:54) The "boring" habits of successful CEOs and board-level leaders
(24:08) Founder DNA vs CEO DNA: what type of leader is needed (and when)?
(29:52) Stepping into a new leadership role: her move to Imaginable Futures
(33:25) One small, reversible step toward leadership this year
(39:54) What Laila has recently said yes to
(40:27) Outro
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Follow Laila Machari on LinkedIn:
https://ke.linkedin.com/in/laila-macharia
Learn more about her:
https://imaginablefutures.com/team-member/laila-macharia/
Listen to the other episode we've done with Dr. Laila Macharia:
Episode 64: Saying yes to Critical Thinking (or scroll up or down right now in this pod feed to find it)
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