October 29, 2025 • 37 mins
What if your next career leap doesn’t come from working harder, but from curating the right relationships and asking better questions about who you are and why you lead? We sit down with Wale “Wally” Adebogun—author, speaker, and award‑winning banking leader—to trace his journey from a childhood in Nigeria to leading teams in Canada, and the surprising role that mentors, sponsors, and faith played at every turn.
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:05):
Welcome to the Leader Impact Podcast.
We are a community of leaderswith a network in over 350
cities around the worlddedicated to optimizing our
personal, professional, andspiritual lives to have impact.
This show is where we have achance to listen and engage with
leaders who are living this out.
We love talking with leaders, soif you have any questions,
comments, or suggestions to makethis show even better, please
(00:26):
let us know.
Best way to stay connected inCanada is through our newsletter
at Leaderimpact.ca or on socialat LeaderImpact.
And if you're listening fromoutside of Canada, anywhere else
in the world, check out ourwebsite at leaderimpact.com.
I'm your host, Lisa Peters, andour guest today is Wally Adagob
Adibogan.
Is that right, Wally?
SPEAKER_01 (00:45):
That's good.
That's good.
Great job.
SPEAKER_00 (00:47):
All right.
Wally is an author, speaker, andaward-winning area manager at a
leading bank in Canada.
With over two decades ofleadership experience, Wally is
passionate about helping thenext generation of leaders grow
and thrive.
He's the author of The Power ofStrategic Relationships, Seven
Champions Who Accelerate YoungProfessionals' Careers.
(01:09):
And Wally also holds a master'sin leadership from the
University of Regina.
Wally also co-founded the Moneyand Marriage Conference with his
wife Elizabeth.
And when he's not mentoring orspeaking, he enjoys
volunteering, playing tabletennis, and spending time with
his twin daughters.
Welcome to the show, Wally.
SPEAKER_01 (01:28):
Thank you, Lisa, for having me.
Such a great honor to be here.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (01:35):
Well, I'm sure many people don't know, but I got the
opportunity to meet Wally, andwe had a five-minute interview
on my TV show, and it was like,whoa, this is not enough.
So I'm very happy.
SPEAKER_01 (01:46):
That was a great time.
SPEAKER_00 (01:48):
Very happy that you came.
unknown (01:49):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (01:50):
So on the Leader Act Impact podcast, we love hearing
about professional, yourprofessional story.
More importantly, we sort oflove hearing those pivot points
of how you got from where youare to where you got today.
So if if you can share a littlebit of that.
SPEAKER_01 (02:04):
Yes, again, thank you, Lisa, and uh thank you for
the great work that you'redoing.
Uh I got a chance to listen tosome of the past episodes.
It was really good.
So uh really proud of you andwhat you and your team are
doing.
Well done.
Um, when I think about myself,uh, my journey really started uh
back in Nigeria, uh, which iswhere I'm originally from and
(02:27):
where I was uh born.
And um and my journey startedafter university, I began a
career as a teacher and a smallbusiness owner.
And prior to that, and maybethis is something I like to have
fun with sometimes, I like tosay that uh I started my career
at eight years old as asalesperson because I worked for
(02:49):
my mom and dad.
You know, they had a shop there,and so and I was pretty good at
it.
I was pretty good at salesactually, and uh had a lot of
fun.
Of course, uh the only sad daysI had is when I couldn't get in
to play soccer with my friends,right?
And so so this way, but butthings changed uh when I when I
turned 12, uh, because my dadunfortunately passed away.
(03:13):
And so that that changedeverything for us as a family.
Uh, it meant that I needed togrow up so fast.
And um in my teenage years, I Iended up um working for an NGO
while I was still going toschool.
So a Sunday school teacher uh atthe time was the head of this
NGO that um was helping peoplewho were living with HIV and
(03:39):
AIDS, and uh so I was workingthere part-time, going to
school, and then that reallygave me a good foundation as
well.
And then I went off there fromthere to the university.
And when I got to theuniversity, I was very involved
in student leadership.
Again, that gave me a reallygood, solid foundation as well.
Uh, and then after I graduated,uh, then I thought for a year uh
(04:02):
and uh did a little smallbusiness as well.
And then at 24 years old, I madethe book big move.
I moved to Canada.
And uh and so I moved straighthere to Regina.
I haven't gone anywhere elsesince, right?
So uh and moving to Regina hadits own challenges too, right?
So new country, new culture,trying to figure out a whole lot
(04:24):
of things.
And and one of the things thatuh stands out to me, I remember
approaching one of my uh mentorsand just saying, hey, I'm trying
to figure out what I'm gonna dohere.
And he recommended, you know, uhjoining a bank, right?
I'm like, what?
Joining a bank?
And I'm like, okay, how do I dothat?
And then of course he providedsome guidance and fast forward
(04:47):
is one of the best decisionsthat I ever made, right?
Listening to somebody who wasable to guide and advise me.
And I said, look at where I amright now, of course, in a
community manager role, an areamanager role, uh, looking after
you know six of the branches ofthe bank that I work for, and uh
60, 65 uh employees that I getto work with and do great things
(05:10):
for clients and do great thingswith the team, the leadership
team that I work with as well.
It's been such a pleasure uhgetting to do that.
So again, when I think about myjourney just from a kid uh to
how that has evolved and some ofthe values and some of the
things that shaped me growing upas well, to where I am today.
It's uh it's been quite ajourney, and I really love um
(05:31):
you know adding value to people,whether that's through coaching,
mentoring, or helping peoplealong the way.
SPEAKER_00 (05:38):
I find it interesting that you moved from
Nigeria to Saskatchewan.
Uh, did you bring a winter coat?
SPEAKER_01 (05:48):
Well, I landed in March.
Um, it was, I think it was March29th.
Uh, was there I landed.
So it was spring when I landed.
And uh one of, of course, it wasa bit of a cultural shock to me.
One of the, you know, I had thisview of Canada, like Canada is a
very good country and all ofthat.
And so as my plane was landing,you know, at the Calgary uh
(06:10):
airport, you know, before wemade the connection to Regina, I
was like, why don't they growgreen grass here in Canada?
What's going on?
I had no idea about the seasons,right?
That you know, it was spring andthen it would take a while for
it to grow up.
Thankfully, I didn't say a word.
I was just a thinking in mymind.
And later on, I found out that,oh, they do have greengrass
(06:33):
here.
You just have to wait tillsummer to really see it.
So that was one of my culture ofshock that I had at first.
SPEAKER_00 (06:40):
Oh, yeah, I bet.
Um, thanks for sharing that.
I I didn't know uh a lot of yourbefore you got to Canada, so
that's exciting to hear.
Uh, we talk about bestprinciples of success, and I'm
wondering if you have one and astory that illustrates that.
SPEAKER_01 (06:57):
Yeah, thanks for asking that question.
Uh, the decision is to tellwhich story now, and what story,
because I'm I'm a uh quite astoryteller, like telling a lot
of stories.
But but I think the principleI'm gonna um put out there today
um is that no one truly succeedsalone, right?
And and the quality of yourrelationship really determines
(07:20):
the quality of your life.
And I mentioned earlier aboutthat Sunday school teacher,
right?
Um, and how the relationshipthat I had as a Sunday school
kid, you know, letting give mean opportunity to work with his
NGO, and that really exposed meto some of the things I needed
as a teenager to help me elevateum, you know, myself in life.
(07:45):
But also, as I look at mycareers, well, I remember my
first few years uh in banking.
I was one of those people thatbelieved so much in the fact
that my work will speak for me.
I just gotta work really hardand I did work really hard, and
I still do work really hard, uh,but I wasn't intentional about
making connections, right?
(08:06):
You know, those socials arelike, yeah, instead of doing
socials, let's just work harderon this on the work, you know,
that we needed to do here.
And then what I realized lateron was that that's not enough,
right?
So it's not enough to just workhard.
You need to connect with people,you need to connect with people
who can advise you, you need toconnect with people who can open
doors for you uh to be able toget to what you you need to get
(08:30):
to in life.
And so I think about um one ladyin particular, Linda, and Linda
was the one that spoke for me asa sponsor uh for me to land my
first branch manager role,because I was almost getting
passed on for that role.
And and she she went to what Ilike to call the powers that be
(08:51):
and said, Hey, this is your bestguy.
You know, he's done this, he'sdone this, he's done that.
I've watched him, he's ready.
He should be the person that youshould be going with here.
And what I learned from that isyou cannot succeed alone.
Like you need a team ofchampions, you need a team of
people uh to help you open thosedoors, but to also guide you
(09:13):
into those doors as well.
So that's one lesson that I canI can share today that has you
know stood out for me in mycareer journey and continues to
stand out for me is when I knowin my interaction with many
professionals around the world,um, that's that's an area as
well that I see as an area ofopportunity for people.
Relationships matter.
SPEAKER_00 (09:34):
Yeah, I think many leaders um identify with that
because leadership can be lonelyat the top.
That's right.
You know, you maybe you workedyour way up there, but then
you're alone at the top and youhave no one to talk to.
Um, I think that's why Iabsolutely loved your book, The
Power of StrategicRelationships.
And not, you know, and I I thinkit because you know, the tagline
is seven champions whoaccelerate young professionals.
(09:55):
But I think of myself who, youknow, um maybe stepped back, and
now I need to step back in, andI've just forgotten who are
those people to connect with.
And not that the who is in here,well, not that the people's
names are in here, but the thewho's, right?
The the sponsors, the mentors,the the friends, the family, the
like allies and coaches.
(10:18):
Yes.
Yes, yeah, and and we forgetthat we need all those people.
Um because yes, we think we cando it alone.
Yeah.
Uh so thank you for sharing thatbest principle.
I think you live that.
And I think was that I mean, Ifeel like that's what inspired
the book that you read.
SPEAKER_01 (10:34):
That's that's exactly what inspired the book
in there.
And so, of course, I know you'vehad the opportunity to read the
book, so thank you for doingthat.
Um, and so when you look at thecentral theme of the book, it's
really from my story, but alsothe story of people that have
had the opportunity to work withthis last 20 years, coaching,
(10:54):
mentoring them.
And there is one common pattern,one common denominator that I
see.
It's the fact that um whenpeople are intentional about
building what I sometimes callpersonal board of directors,
right?
It's a game changer.
It's a game changer.
We're at whatever stage anybodyis in life.
Now, there are some stages inour lives where maybe we're not
(11:17):
the one directly benefiting fromthe relationship as we like to
think about it.
Uh, so you're more in the giverposition, but it's really a
win-win, right?
And so I know that when I get tomentor people, the things I
learn is remarkable, right?
That the information I get fromthat is remarkable.
And so we we might be at it.
(11:38):
So I have people that I'mmentoring, but I also have
people that mentor me.
So it's like a win-win, it's anexchange, and and it goes on
that way.
And I think that um that that'sthe central message of the book.
And like whether you're givingor are you at the receiving end,
strategic relationship is awin-win, and it's something that
we all need to continue to dobecause that's really what life
(11:58):
is all about.
How can we make impact uh in thelife of all the people?
SPEAKER_00 (12:03):
Yeah, it's funny because I know I told you this
story because I asked you if youknew this woman.
She was following your book to aT.
She asked me to mentor her, andshe was following, and I'm
reading it going, This is crazy.
Like she didn't waste, you know,she came with the questions, she
was very respectful of my time.
Like it just and and when yousay that they help you, she
inspired me when you know, justtalking to her, and I walked
(12:26):
away thinking, I can do this,you know, something I was
thinking of.
And so I I agree, you know, asmuch as you need a mentor, it's
great to mentor someone.
SPEAKER_01 (12:36):
That's right.
That's right.
I love that.
Um thanks for sharing that.
SPEAKER_00 (12:40):
Yeah, and I'm gonna come back to your broken another
question, but uh right now Iwant to ask you about failures
and mistakes, or if you call itfailings, if you don't use the
word, but we know we learn more.
We learn more from our failures,mistakes, and our successes.
So I'm wondering if you have onethat you could share and maybe
what you learned from it.
SPEAKER_01 (12:56):
I do have more than one, and it depends on how much
time we have, but I only shareone.
Uh you know, your questionreminds me of um a book written
by John Maxwell, who is someoneI have great respect for and I
love to follow.
He wrote the book FailingForward.
Uh, and so as I think aboutthat, well, the story that
(13:16):
stands out is one of my first, Iwould say, leadership lessons,
and one of my failures in life,but which I've also learned from
and that's helped, you know,been a guiding light really for
me over those years.
And it happened when I was aboutnine years old.
Um, and I know it's weird, andI'm going back to when I was
nine years old, but but thatthat has stuck with me.
(13:38):
So I want to share that storyvery quickly.
And so growing up, uh, there wasa day I approached uh a
12-year-old in our neighborhood,and uh this this young boy, and
I was nine, he was 12, so he wasolder than I was, but I
approached him and said, youknow what?
Uh how about if we start umplucking uh it was kind of like
(13:59):
apples, you know, fruit, he'skind of like what we just called
it.
That was a general name at thattime.
I said, How about if we justpluck it off the tree and sell
it to all the kids in theneighborhood and do that?
And then the question he askedwas, like, well, who's gonna
climb the tree?
And I'm like, Well, you're olderthan I am.
You should be climbing the tree,but I'll do the selling and all
(14:20):
of that.
So we just stopped.
Anyway, he was hesitant atfirst, but I was able to
convince him, even as anine-year-old, uh, to say, you
should be, you know, climbing atree.
And and we and he did that.
He agreed to doing that and hedid that.
And then one day we went out.
Unfortunately, he fell from thetree.
And I was so scared.
(14:40):
Actually, I thought he had died,and I didn't know what to do.
I just, I just ran away.
Like I just went to hidesomewhere.
I mean, I was nine years old, Iwas confused, I didn't know what
I needed to do, and and I couldnot put myself in a position
where I could go back to to gotalk to him because I was just
so scared I couldn't move pastthat.
(15:02):
But what I learned from thatlesson was uh as a leader, you
need to learn to stick withpeople.
Taught me loyalty, right?
So no matter what's going on,you know, good, bad, ugly, stay
with people, stick it out withpeople.
I wish I had, you know, staythere, uh, you know, supported
as much as I could, visited himevery day.
(15:24):
I wish I could have said that,but but but I didn't.
I was just so scared.
I didn't even know what to do.
Uh, of course, I knew that someadults were around and if you
know they were able to take careof him, got him to the hospital
and all of that.
But but that taught me loyalty.
And so that's very much shapedmy leadership journey today.
Uh, where when I tell somebodyI'm gonna be here, I'm gonna be
(15:44):
there, right?
You know, so so and that's beena watchword for me, and that's
something that shaped me um overthe years now.
And so uh for me, I think thatas a leader, we learn every day.
You know, life is um is isleaped forward but understood
backwards.
So as we reflect on each day,because there are sometimes
(16:04):
every day in my job, I knowthere are a lot of times with
every day, we're like, hey, Icould have handled that that
conversation a little bitbetter, and then I take that
lessons so I'm not afraid tolearn from my mistakes.
As a matter of fact, I have aguiding principle in life, and
my guiding principle is I wantto get 1% better every day.
If I can just I tell my team allthe time, I don't want to get
(16:29):
better like 100% every day.
My goal is 1%.
And I said, hey, do you know whyit's 1%?
Because at the end of the year,if we've had 365 days, that's
365% if it's simple interest,right?
And then I always make a jokeand I just say, hey, but if you
feel like you're good at math,you can do the compounding,
(16:51):
right?
And and when you figure out thatcompounding, let me know, right?
So so I'm throwing that out toour audience today.
If you if you figure out acompounding of 1% every day for
a year, whatever that is, uh,you can let me know.
SPEAKER_00 (17:05):
You know, that's we talked about that this morning
being 1% better than yesterday.
And uh uh the book we're readingis John Maxwell's The 360
Leader.
That's where very good book.
So I've written down FailingForward.
I'll have to look up that one aswell.
He's a great leadership writer.
SPEAKER_01 (17:23):
Yeah, yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (17:26):
So my next question is a little about um uh we at
leader impact.
We want to grow personally,professionally, and spiritually.
That is what we do asmarketplace leaders.
We want to increase impact.
So, would you be willing toshare an example of how the
spiritual makes a practicaldifference in your life as a
leader?
SPEAKER_01 (17:44):
Great question.
Thank you, Lisa, for thatquestion.
Um, I believe very much thatthat faith and leadership for me
is very connected.
As a matter of fact, I don'tthink I can be a good leader
without my faith as a solidfoundation in there.
And so I lean on my faith everyday.
I read my Bible every day, Ipray every day.
(18:07):
I I met Jesus when I was 16, andI haven't looked back since, and
I'm really proud because it'sone of the greatest decisions I
ever made uh in my life, and I'mthat public about my faith as
well.
I I really believe thateverybody should get to know
Jesus because it's a great, it'sit's a great thing, right?
So uh, and so how has thatshaped my leadership from day to
(18:29):
day in in the professionalworld?
What that has meant, um whatthat means to me is, you know,
even when I'm about to make somemajor decisions, you know, have
to have a difficultconversation, you know, just
just pausing to pray, pausing toreflect, and asking for God's
help, asking for God's wisdom,and that's really helped me.
Another example that I can shareis is during COVID, right?
(18:52):
So we all know COVID, I know itfeels like a lifetime ago.
Uh, but I was working for afinancial institution at the
time, uh, and I was branchmanager at that time, and uh it
was downtown, downtown Regina.
And so this financialinstitution made a decision in
order to serve customers not toclose at all during COVID.
(19:12):
So, which meant the branchmanager, of course, he had to be
at work every day.
And so a lot of days I felt likeuh a soldier fighting an
invisible war going to work.
I mean, I enjoy the fact thatthere was no traffic on the
road, so you could just leavehome like you know, you know,
very quickly you get to work.
I love that part of it.
But some days felt heavy,especially when you start to
(19:36):
think about, you know, like, youknow, we and those were early
days of COVID.
Nobody really knew what it was,and but then you still had to to
show up to work.
But one of the things that stoodout to me at that period is that
I had that sense of peace.
I had that sense of tranquilitywithin me.
And it wasn't it wasn't peacethat came from outside, it was
(19:59):
it was inner peace.
And I think that that came frommy faith and my walk with God
and my relationship with God.
And of course, we received God'smercies.
My family was protected allthrough the period.
Of course, you know, we had towear masks and do different
things.
So, through all of that, I sawfaith helping me and such that I
was also a voice ofencouragement to other people as
(20:20):
well, and say, hey, we're gonnabe fine, we're gonna be okay, we
don't know what it is yet, butyou know, take care of yourself,
follow all of the rules, get getvaccinated if you want to, and
you know, those kind of thingsin there, but but making sure
that I was I was a steady uhleader for the team, and I think
that I couldn't have done thatwithout my faith in place.
SPEAKER_00 (20:43):
Yeah.
Who do you surround yourselfwith that keeps you in your
faith?
You know, um because it's easyto, you know, like who who's in
your circle?
SPEAKER_01 (20:56):
I just I've got a lot of people in my circle.
The other day, I was just uh Ilooked at uh an old picture of
mine of when I was in theuniversity, my first degree now,
and uh it was the picture ofmyself and uh who I sometimes
will call my schoolmother, butshe was really my mentor, and
(21:16):
she's still my mentor.
Actually, she and her husbandthey live in England, and both
of them are my uh well, theywere my mentors then back in
school, but they're still mymentors today, and they're
spiritual mentors for me aswell.
I was a very new Christian whenI got on campus.
Uh, I remember they bought me myfirst study Bible, Dake's Bible,
(21:38):
if you ever know what that is,uh, in there, and and I would
pour through that.
Actually, the reason they boughtme that Bible was because she
had one and I borrowed it fromher.
And then I told her, wheneveryou need it, to let me know and
I'll bring it to you.
And so I guess she was gettingto a point where she felt like I
(22:00):
need I need my Bible.
And so they just decided on oneof my birthdays, and then they
bought me one.
I was like, oh my god, this isthe best gift ever.
And I still have that Bible, andI cherish it so much in there.
So I surround myself withpeople, people like that, and
they've been my mentors for over20 years.
Uh, and and you know, I've haddifferent times in my life where
I had to lean on thatrelationship.
(22:22):
Of course, here in Regina aswell.
I have uh a few other you knowspiritual leaders that are my
mentors, of course, the pastorof my church, uh local church
here in Regina that I go to, butI also have other people as well
who speak into my life as well,and I connect with them
regularly.
Uh, they help me stay grounded.
Of course, there are things thatI need to do myself as well.
(22:45):
I talked about you know gettingin my Bible every day, praying,
you know, uh as someone who'smarried as well, doing that with
my wife, but also doing it withmy family as well.
So every night we have adevotion, uh, devotional time as
a family where we have greatdiscussion, but also pause to
pray uh as well.
So all of those things havehelped me stay grounded, but I
(23:06):
am intentional about my innercircle.
No, I'm a social butterfly, Ilove to meet people, I love to
meet new people.
And so for me, I'm alwaysmeeting people, I'm always
connecting with people, but I'velearned the power of the inner
circle.
And I talked about this in mybook as well, uh, that find your
inner circle.
That's really, really importantbecause for someone who is
(23:28):
extroverted like me, and Istruggle with this for a number
of years until recently, is thatI can meet people connect with
them, meet another group ofpeople, connect with them, but
then I don't take it further toget to really know them and get
really close to people.
And so uh in the process of mewriting the book, that's
something I had to beintentional about because I'm
(23:50):
like, you can't write about thisif you haven't lived it.
And so now I've been workingreally hard on that, and now I
have people in my inner circlewho have not only helped me in
the area of faith, but evenother areas of my life as well.
So I believe strongly in notjust having one mentor, having a
network of mentors.
So I have a network of mentorsfor my spiritual life, I have a
(24:12):
network of mentorsprofessionally.
Uh, when it comes to marriage, Ihave a network of mentors, uh,
even fine even for my finances,even though I'm a banker and I'm
in the industry, I have anetwork of mentors that I
follow.
Um, you know, in that space aswell.
I think it just enriches ourlives, it gives a lot of
different perspectives uh as youwork in in life in that regard.
SPEAKER_00 (24:34):
Oh, great answer.
I love it, and that's why Ithink I loved your book.
SPEAKER_01 (24:37):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Buy the book, buy the book ifyou're listening.
SPEAKER_00 (24:42):
Buy the book.
Yeah.
So I'm gonna go to I have beenloving uh talking about legacy,
and uh um I have been pulled into moderate panels on legacy,
and I and on this question, I'mgonna ask you about your legacy.
Uh, in your book, first, youtalk about the legacy question.
What do you want to beremembered for?
And you talk all about it andour purpose and our legacy, and
(25:02):
oh, I loved it.
So, my question for you is youknow, as you continue to move
through this journey, um, yourown journey, have you considered
what you want your faith legacyto be when you leave this world?
SPEAKER_01 (25:15):
I have, and that's a great question.
So, um, when I think about that,I shared the story about my dad
earlier, how he passed awaysuddenly.
He was 36 years old uh when hepassed away.
Now I'm I'm well over 36 now.
Uh, and so that's that his storyhas helped me also have a lot of
time to think about my own lifeas well.
(25:38):
Now, this is the way I approachlegacy, and in and I talked
about this even in my book aswell.
Uh, it is that you cannot reallystart to truly answer the legacy
question if you haven't answeredthe purpose and the identity
question.
And here is what I mean.
Uh, when it comes to the issueof identity, the first thing you
need to ask yourself is who amI?
(25:59):
And who am I really?
Not what is your name, not whatdo you do for the bank, you
know, but but who are youreally?
What is your identity?
Like being able to answer thatquestion, I think it's really,
really important.
Now, for me, um uh my identityis grounded in my values, which
is shaped by my Christian faith.
So I know who I am, I am who Godsays I am, and I'm very proud of
(26:24):
that.
And that keeps me groundedbecause I've discovered, you
know, who I am that way.
And then, of course, the nextstep is is to then think about
purpose, right?
Why am I here on earth?
I know I'm not here by accident,and I know our listeners, you
know, you're not here byaccident.
God has a purpose for your life.
We all have a God-given purpose.
(26:46):
And so finding it, right,changes the game for you.
And it is when you've foundthose two things, then you can
start to talk about legacy.
So for me personally, uh I'vecome to discover my life's
purpose is helping othersmaximize their potentials and be
all that God has created them tobe.
Now, this shapes how I work,this shapes who I connect with,
(27:08):
this shapes my values, thisshapes a whole lot of things.
Um, in my even shapes where Ilive now, too.
I have a lot of opportunities tolike, you know, move cities and
do different things.
But I'm like, hey, this is whereI believe God wants me to be
now, and this is where what Ineed to be doing right now.
And so I'd rather do that and doit joyfully as well in that
space.
Now, as I've thought about mylegacy, I'm always reminded, uh,
(27:32):
especially when it comes to myfaith legacy, about the story of
King David.
And and and he says here, andyou may not know, but I'm also a
preacher as well, so but I'mtrying hard not to not to start
quoting scriptures here.
But it does say um in myfavorite book, uh, that you
know, he served his generation.
(27:54):
Uh, it served God's purpose inhis generation.
And so I'm hoping to leave thatlegacy as well of serving God's
purpose in my generation, suchthat the people that I've had
the opportunity to connect with,they can truly say that you
know, it was a man, it was a manthat that loved, it was a man
that led really well, it was aman that really cared, that
(28:16):
impacted people.
And so for me, I keep that um inmind.
And and my goal every day isthat when I meet somebody, I
want to leave them better than Imet them.
That's what I want to beremembered for, right?
Making impact in people's life,in in how I lead, in how I love
people, in how I connect withpeople.
(28:36):
Uh, that's a legacy that I hopeto leave.
Um, you know, on that day, uh,when I disappear, whether by
rapture or, you know, or bydeath, right?
So uh of course, uh I plan tolive longer than King David did,
uh, but until that time, I wantto continue to leave each day uh
(28:56):
intentionally because the timeis short and we really need to
continue uh to maximize the timethat we have while we're here.
And the best way to do that isto invest in other people.
I view success from the lens ofother people, and so every day I
have to invest in other peopleis a great day for me.
SPEAKER_00 (29:17):
Oh, it's a great day for me, Wally.
You've made a difference in mylife.
SPEAKER_01 (29:23):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (29:23):
You're leaving me better.
SPEAKER_01 (29:25):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (29:26):
Uh my last question for you is what brings you the
greatest joy?
SPEAKER_01 (29:31):
That's a that's a very deep question.
I uh and uh thinking about whatgives me a great joy.
Let me let me share this story.
So Monday, October 6th, sotoday's October 8th, right?
Um a colleague of mine at worksent me a note and said, Hey,
(29:51):
you wouldn't believe it.
My son started working.
And and his son had not beenable to walk for A couple of
years now.
Now, it's such a sad, you know,touching story because this this
friend of mine or this colleagueof mine, the wife had just
passed away.
The wife was was just 43 yearsold.
(30:13):
And and this happened last monthin September.
Now that happened in the middleof, you know, their son playing
basketball had an injury,14-year-old, and it just
happened to be that he hasn'tbeen able to work for a couple
of years.
And so I decided to visit theirhouse.
(30:33):
We went to their house.
And so when we were about toleave, he said, you know, you
know, I was with, you know, oneother person there and said,
Would you guys pray?
You just for my son, you know,it's my desire to have my son
walk, right?
And then and this other person Iwas with was much older than me.
And so she she prayed first.
(30:54):
And and and as she was wrappingup, I just felt a leading also
um to to pray.
And and so I began to to pray.
I I held his legs.
I I had the leading to for us toanoint his legs.
And so I asked them if they hadsome kind of oil and you know
that we could use.
And so they they brought someand we prayed over the sun.
(31:16):
And I truly, really believedthat he was healed that day, and
we held him up and tried to kindof move him around a little bit.
Uh, and then that episode wentonly for me to get that message
that I got from him, you know,two or three weeks after we
prayed to say, hey, they gothome and then he started
walking.
And I was like, wow, storieslike that brings me joy, right?
(31:42):
That is there is nothing morejoyful to me than that, right?
So, so whether it's the story ofthe life of the 14-year-old that
was touched, or the father whowas just recently gone through a
loss, but but a bit of joy, youknow, he was telling me how
tears of joy, he had tears ofjoy, and I was like, oh wow,
(32:03):
this is amazing.
Or, you know, when I come intothe professional circle of
people that get promoted becauseof you know conversation that we
had, you know, or like today,just before I came on the show
today, uh, somebody wanted me tobe a reference for them.
And so I did that referencespoke, and I hope to get the
job, right?
You know, those are the momentsthat give me joy when I'm able
(32:26):
to pour into others, when I'mable to help other people,
whether at work or they'reoutside of work, those are the
moments that gives me great joy.
And of course, um, you know, myconnection with my family as
well, my wife, my kids, thosemoments that we spend together,
it's it's really great becauseyou know, it doesn't really
(32:46):
matter how much money you makein life when you're by your dead
bed.
You're not gonna say, oh guys,so how much is in my account
right now?
Bring me all the money.
You know, it's really your lovedones.
That's really what's gonnamatter.
The people that you impacted,the lives that you touched,
that's really what's going tocount.
So for me, what gives me thegreatest greatest joy is seeing
(33:07):
lives change, is seeing livestransform, whether it's
spiritually, whether it'sprofessionally, whether it's
financially, whatever way itmeans that I can help people
when I see people's liveschanged, that gives me joy.
SPEAKER_00 (33:22):
Oh Wally, it has been a fabulous 33 minutes with
you.
Um, I've really enjoyed.
I I've I've loved your book andjust uh hearing a little bit
more about you.
And how did I miss that you werea preacher?
It is not in your bio.
SPEAKER_01 (33:38):
I know.
I I wasn't sure if I if I shouldhave that in there or not, but
uh I've got a few messages onYouTube actually from a church
that we go to here.
It's Gateway Church.
I was actually speaking on onSunday at two of our services
there.
Uh and uh I know you intervieweduh Carol Lafayette Boyd.
(33:59):
Do you remember what that is?
We go to the same church, yeah.
And uh I know she was on churchon Sunday.
So Carol, I saw you at church,you were at church, right?
So um, so yeah, so I get to tosupport our pastor, you know, uh
sometimes speaking in there aswell.
And of course, I do get inviteduh to other places as well to to
(34:20):
bring God's word, sometimes in aprofessional circle, but also uh
just uh playing, you know,talking about God's word and
helping people, um depending onwherever they are, they are,
right?
It's all about adding value topeople and bringing God's God's
goodness to people, really.
SPEAKER_00 (34:38):
I love it.
Thank you, Wally.
So not only can we find you onYouTube, where else can we find
you if any of our uh listenersor viewers want to connect with
you?
SPEAKER_01 (34:46):
So you can find me on LinkedIn.
Probably the easiest way toconnect with me, uh, LinkedIn,
just search my name Wally atdeboko, it would come up.
Uh I also have a website, uh,wali at dbokoon.com.
Uh, so easy to connect with methrough that as well.
Of course, I'm on social mediahandles as well.
So uh you can just even Googlethe name Wally at debokoon, you
(35:08):
know, you'll get a lot ofinformation uh from that and
you'll be able to connect withme that way.
And I look forward toconnecting.
I love meeting new people and uhtalking about relationships and
leadership, and that's somethingI'm really passionate about.
So I look forward to connecting.
SPEAKER_00 (35:22):
Yeah, and if the people Google the power of
strategic relationships, Wally,and it's spelled W-A-L-E,
they'll find you there onAmazon.
SPEAKER_01 (35:31):
That's right.
That's right.
SPEAKER_00 (35:32):
Yes.
Well, Wally, thank you again forjoining us.
It has been an absolute pleasureto have you.
SPEAKER_01 (35:37):
Thank you again.
I would just say finally, uhLisa, you and your team, you're
doing a great job and keep doingthat.
I was just listening to one ofyour previous conversations.
You were talking about an adviceyou received from one of your
uncles that said, you know,retire into something, right?
So I was listening to thatepisode there.
So I said that to say thatyou've been making a great
(35:59):
impact in our community.
Please keep doing that becauselife is really all about, you
know, the lives that we touch,right?
And so that's what we should allbe about uh as leaders.
Leadership is influence andinfluencing people uh for the
better.
And so thank you for that.
And that's my goal uh tocontinue to do that as well, as
(36:19):
long as I have breath.
SPEAKER_00 (36:22):
My cheeks hurt from smiling.
Thank you.
Thank you.
It was wonderful.
SPEAKER_01 (36:27):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (36:27):
All right, and to all our viewers, uh, if you're
part of Leader Impact, you candiscuss or share this podcast
with your group.
And if you are not yet part ofLeader Impact, would like to
find out more and grow yourleadership, find our podcast
page on our website atleaderimpact.ca.
And you can also check outgroups available in Canada at
LeaderImpact.ca.
Or if you're listening fromanywhere else in the world,
check out LeaderImpact.com orget in touch with us by email.
(36:50):
Info at LeaderImpact.ca, and wewill connect you.
And if you like this podcast,please leave us a comment, give
us a rating or review.
This will help other globalleaders find our podcast.
Thank you for engaging with us.
And remember, impact starts withyou.
Welcome to the Leader Impact Podcast.
We are a community of leaderswith a network in over 350
cities around the worlddedicated to optimizing our
personal, professional, andspiritual lives to have impact.
This show is where we have achance to listen and engage with
leaders who are living this out.
We love talking with leaders, soif you have any questions,
comments, or suggestions to makethis show even better, please
(00:26):
let us know.
Best way to stay connected inCanada is through our newsletter
at Leaderimpact.ca or on socialat LeaderImpact.
And if you're listening fromoutside of Canada, anywhere else
in the world, check out ourwebsite at leaderimpact.com.
I'm your host, Lisa Peters, andour guest today is Wally Adagob
Adibogan.
Is that right, Wally?
SPEAKER_01 (00:45):
That's good.
That's good.
Great job.
SPEAKER_00 (00:47):
All right.
Wally is an author, speaker, andaward-winning area manager at a
leading bank in Canada.
With over two decades ofleadership experience, Wally is
passionate about helping thenext generation of leaders grow
and thrive.
He's the author of The Power ofStrategic Relationships, Seven
Champions Who Accelerate YoungProfessionals' Careers.
(01:09):
And Wally also holds a master'sin leadership from the
University of Regina.
Wally also co-founded the Moneyand Marriage Conference with his
wife Elizabeth.
And when he's not mentoring orspeaking, he enjoys
volunteering, playing tabletennis, and spending time with
his twin daughters.
Welcome to the show, Wally.
SPEAKER_01 (01:28):
Thank you, Lisa, for having me.
Such a great honor to be here.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (01:35):
Well, I'm sure many people don't know, but I got the
opportunity to meet Wally, andwe had a five-minute interview
on my TV show, and it was like,whoa, this is not enough.
So I'm very happy.
SPEAKER_01 (01:46):
That was a great time.
SPEAKER_00 (01:48):
Very happy that you came.
unknown (01:49):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (01:50):
So on the Leader Act Impact podcast, we love hearing
about professional, yourprofessional story.
More importantly, we sort oflove hearing those pivot points
of how you got from where youare to where you got today.
So if if you can share a littlebit of that.
SPEAKER_01 (02:04):
Yes, again, thank you, Lisa, and uh thank you for
the great work that you'redoing.
Uh I got a chance to listen tosome of the past episodes.
It was really good.
So uh really proud of you andwhat you and your team are
doing.
Well done.
Um, when I think about myself,uh, my journey really started uh
back in Nigeria, uh, which iswhere I'm originally from and
(02:27):
where I was uh born.
And um and my journey startedafter university, I began a
career as a teacher and a smallbusiness owner.
And prior to that, and maybethis is something I like to have
fun with sometimes, I like tosay that uh I started my career
at eight years old as asalesperson because I worked for
(02:49):
my mom and dad.
You know, they had a shop there,and so and I was pretty good at
it.
I was pretty good at salesactually, and uh had a lot of
fun.
Of course, uh the only sad daysI had is when I couldn't get in
to play soccer with my friends,right?
And so so this way, but butthings changed uh when I when I
turned 12, uh, because my dadunfortunately passed away.
(03:13):
And so that that changedeverything for us as a family.
Uh, it meant that I needed togrow up so fast.
And um in my teenage years, I Iended up um working for an NGO
while I was still going toschool.
So a Sunday school teacher uh atthe time was the head of this
NGO that um was helping peoplewho were living with HIV and
(03:39):
AIDS, and uh so I was workingthere part-time, going to
school, and then that reallygave me a good foundation as
well.
And then I went off there fromthere to the university.
And when I got to theuniversity, I was very involved
in student leadership.
Again, that gave me a reallygood, solid foundation as well.
Uh, and then after I graduated,uh, then I thought for a year uh
(04:02):
and uh did a little smallbusiness as well.
And then at 24 years old, I madethe book big move.
I moved to Canada.
And uh and so I moved straighthere to Regina.
I haven't gone anywhere elsesince, right?
So uh and moving to Regina hadits own challenges too, right?
So new country, new culture,trying to figure out a whole lot
(04:24):
of things.
And and one of the things thatuh stands out to me, I remember
approaching one of my uh mentorsand just saying, hey, I'm trying
to figure out what I'm gonna dohere.
And he recommended, you know, uhjoining a bank, right?
I'm like, what?
Joining a bank?
And I'm like, okay, how do I dothat?
And then of course he providedsome guidance and fast forward
(04:47):
is one of the best decisionsthat I ever made, right?
Listening to somebody who wasable to guide and advise me.
And I said, look at where I amright now, of course, in a
community manager role, an areamanager role, uh, looking after
you know six of the branches ofthe bank that I work for, and uh
60, 65 uh employees that I getto work with and do great things
(05:10):
for clients and do great thingswith the team, the leadership
team that I work with as well.
It's been such a pleasure uhgetting to do that.
So again, when I think about myjourney just from a kid uh to
how that has evolved and some ofthe values and some of the
things that shaped me growing upas well, to where I am today.
It's uh it's been quite ajourney, and I really love um
(05:31):
you know adding value to people,whether that's through coaching,
mentoring, or helping peoplealong the way.
SPEAKER_00 (05:38):
I find it interesting that you moved from
Nigeria to Saskatchewan.
Uh, did you bring a winter coat?
SPEAKER_01 (05:48):
Well, I landed in March.
Um, it was, I think it was March29th.
Uh, was there I landed.
So it was spring when I landed.
And uh one of, of course, it wasa bit of a cultural shock to me.
One of the, you know, I had thisview of Canada, like Canada is a
very good country and all ofthat.
And so as my plane was landing,you know, at the Calgary uh
(06:10):
airport, you know, before wemade the connection to Regina, I
was like, why don't they growgreen grass here in Canada?
What's going on?
I had no idea about the seasons,right?
That you know, it was spring andthen it would take a while for
it to grow up.
Thankfully, I didn't say a word.
I was just a thinking in mymind.
And later on, I found out that,oh, they do have greengrass
(06:33):
here.
You just have to wait tillsummer to really see it.
So that was one of my culture ofshock that I had at first.
SPEAKER_00 (06:40):
Oh, yeah, I bet.
Um, thanks for sharing that.
I I didn't know uh a lot of yourbefore you got to Canada, so
that's exciting to hear.
Uh, we talk about bestprinciples of success, and I'm
wondering if you have one and astory that illustrates that.
SPEAKER_01 (06:57):
Yeah, thanks for asking that question.
Uh, the decision is to tellwhich story now, and what story,
because I'm I'm a uh quite astoryteller, like telling a lot
of stories.
But but I think the principleI'm gonna um put out there today
um is that no one truly succeedsalone, right?
And and the quality of yourrelationship really determines
(07:20):
the quality of your life.
And I mentioned earlier aboutthat Sunday school teacher,
right?
Um, and how the relationshipthat I had as a Sunday school
kid, you know, letting give mean opportunity to work with his
NGO, and that really exposed meto some of the things I needed
as a teenager to help me elevateum, you know, myself in life.
(07:45):
But also, as I look at mycareers, well, I remember my
first few years uh in banking.
I was one of those people thatbelieved so much in the fact
that my work will speak for me.
I just gotta work really hardand I did work really hard, and
I still do work really hard, uh,but I wasn't intentional about
making connections, right?
(08:06):
You know, those socials arelike, yeah, instead of doing
socials, let's just work harderon this on the work, you know,
that we needed to do here.
And then what I realized lateron was that that's not enough,
right?
So it's not enough to just workhard.
You need to connect with people,you need to connect with people
who can advise you, you need toconnect with people who can open
doors for you uh to be able toget to what you you need to get
(08:30):
to in life.
And so I think about um one ladyin particular, Linda, and Linda
was the one that spoke for me asa sponsor uh for me to land my
first branch manager role,because I was almost getting
passed on for that role.
And and she she went to what Ilike to call the powers that be
(08:51):
and said, Hey, this is your bestguy.
You know, he's done this, he'sdone this, he's done that.
I've watched him, he's ready.
He should be the person that youshould be going with here.
And what I learned from that isyou cannot succeed alone.
Like you need a team ofchampions, you need a team of
people uh to help you open thosedoors, but to also guide you
(09:13):
into those doors as well.
So that's one lesson that I canI can share today that has you
know stood out for me in mycareer journey and continues to
stand out for me is when I knowin my interaction with many
professionals around the world,um, that's that's an area as
well that I see as an area ofopportunity for people.
Relationships matter.
SPEAKER_00 (09:34):
Yeah, I think many leaders um identify with that
because leadership can be lonelyat the top.
That's right.
You know, you maybe you workedyour way up there, but then
you're alone at the top and youhave no one to talk to.
Um, I think that's why Iabsolutely loved your book, The
Power of StrategicRelationships.
And not, you know, and I I thinkit because you know, the tagline
is seven champions whoaccelerate young professionals.
(09:55):
But I think of myself who, youknow, um maybe stepped back, and
now I need to step back in, andI've just forgotten who are
those people to connect with.
And not that the who is in here,well, not that the people's
names are in here, but the thewho's, right?
The the sponsors, the mentors,the the friends, the family, the
like allies and coaches.
(10:18):
Yes.
Yes, yeah, and and we forgetthat we need all those people.
Um because yes, we think we cando it alone.
Yeah.
Uh so thank you for sharing thatbest principle.
I think you live that.
And I think was that I mean, Ifeel like that's what inspired
the book that you read.
SPEAKER_01 (10:34):
That's that's exactly what inspired the book
in there.
And so, of course, I know you'vehad the opportunity to read the
book, so thank you for doingthat.
Um, and so when you look at thecentral theme of the book, it's
really from my story, but alsothe story of people that have
had the opportunity to work withthis last 20 years, coaching,
(10:54):
mentoring them.
And there is one common pattern,one common denominator that I
see.
It's the fact that um whenpeople are intentional about
building what I sometimes callpersonal board of directors,
right?
It's a game changer.
It's a game changer.
We're at whatever stage anybodyis in life.
Now, there are some stages inour lives where maybe we're not
(11:17):
the one directly benefiting fromthe relationship as we like to
think about it.
Uh, so you're more in the giverposition, but it's really a
win-win, right?
And so I know that when I get tomentor people, the things I
learn is remarkable, right?
That the information I get fromthat is remarkable.
And so we we might be at it.
(11:38):
So I have people that I'mmentoring, but I also have
people that mentor me.
So it's like a win-win, it's anexchange, and and it goes on
that way.
And I think that um that that'sthe central message of the book.
And like whether you're givingor are you at the receiving end,
strategic relationship is awin-win, and it's something that
we all need to continue to dobecause that's really what life
(11:58):
is all about.
How can we make impact uh in thelife of all the people?
SPEAKER_00 (12:03):
Yeah, it's funny because I know I told you this
story because I asked you if youknew this woman.
She was following your book to aT.
She asked me to mentor her, andshe was following, and I'm
reading it going, This is crazy.
Like she didn't waste, you know,she came with the questions, she
was very respectful of my time.
Like it just and and when yousay that they help you, she
inspired me when you know, justtalking to her, and I walked
(12:26):
away thinking, I can do this,you know, something I was
thinking of.
And so I I agree, you know, asmuch as you need a mentor, it's
great to mentor someone.
SPEAKER_01 (12:36):
That's right.
That's right.
I love that.
Um thanks for sharing that.
SPEAKER_00 (12:40):
Yeah, and I'm gonna come back to your broken another
question, but uh right now Iwant to ask you about failures
and mistakes, or if you call itfailings, if you don't use the
word, but we know we learn more.
We learn more from our failures,mistakes, and our successes.
So I'm wondering if you have onethat you could share and maybe
what you learned from it.
SPEAKER_01 (12:56):
I do have more than one, and it depends on how much
time we have, but I only shareone.
Uh you know, your questionreminds me of um a book written
by John Maxwell, who is someoneI have great respect for and I
love to follow.
He wrote the book FailingForward.
Uh, and so as I think aboutthat, well, the story that
(13:16):
stands out is one of my first, Iwould say, leadership lessons,
and one of my failures in life,but which I've also learned from
and that's helped, you know,been a guiding light really for
me over those years.
And it happened when I was aboutnine years old.
Um, and I know it's weird, andI'm going back to when I was
nine years old, but but thatthat has stuck with me.
(13:38):
So I want to share that storyvery quickly.
And so growing up, uh, there wasa day I approached uh a
12-year-old in our neighborhood,and uh this this young boy, and
I was nine, he was 12, so he wasolder than I was, but I
approached him and said, youknow what?
Uh how about if we start umplucking uh it was kind of like
(13:59):
apples, you know, fruit, he'skind of like what we just called
it.
That was a general name at thattime.
I said, How about if we justpluck it off the tree and sell
it to all the kids in theneighborhood and do that?
And then the question he askedwas, like, well, who's gonna
climb the tree?
And I'm like, Well, you're olderthan I am.
You should be climbing the tree,but I'll do the selling and all
(14:20):
of that.
So we just stopped.
Anyway, he was hesitant atfirst, but I was able to
convince him, even as anine-year-old, uh, to say, you
should be, you know, climbing atree.
And and we and he did that.
He agreed to doing that and hedid that.
And then one day we went out.
Unfortunately, he fell from thetree.
And I was so scared.
(14:40):
Actually, I thought he had died,and I didn't know what to do.
I just, I just ran away.
Like I just went to hidesomewhere.
I mean, I was nine years old, Iwas confused, I didn't know what
I needed to do, and and I couldnot put myself in a position
where I could go back to to gotalk to him because I was just
so scared I couldn't move pastthat.
(15:02):
But what I learned from thatlesson was uh as a leader, you
need to learn to stick withpeople.
Taught me loyalty, right?
So no matter what's going on,you know, good, bad, ugly, stay
with people, stick it out withpeople.
I wish I had, you know, staythere, uh, you know, supported
as much as I could, visited himevery day.
(15:24):
I wish I could have said that,but but but I didn't.
I was just so scared.
I didn't even know what to do.
Uh, of course, I knew that someadults were around and if you
know they were able to take careof him, got him to the hospital
and all of that.
But but that taught me loyalty.
And so that's very much shapedmy leadership journey today.
Uh, where when I tell somebodyI'm gonna be here, I'm gonna be
(15:44):
there, right?
You know, so so and that's beena watchword for me, and that's
something that shaped me um overthe years now.
And so uh for me, I think thatas a leader, we learn every day.
You know, life is um is isleaped forward but understood
backwards.
So as we reflect on each day,because there are sometimes
(16:04):
every day in my job, I knowthere are a lot of times with
every day, we're like, hey, Icould have handled that that
conversation a little bitbetter, and then I take that
lessons so I'm not afraid tolearn from my mistakes.
As a matter of fact, I have aguiding principle in life, and
my guiding principle is I wantto get 1% better every day.
If I can just I tell my team allthe time, I don't want to get
(16:29):
better like 100% every day.
My goal is 1%.
And I said, hey, do you know whyit's 1%?
Because at the end of the year,if we've had 365 days, that's
365% if it's simple interest,right?
And then I always make a jokeand I just say, hey, but if you
feel like you're good at math,you can do the compounding,
(16:51):
right?
And and when you figure out thatcompounding, let me know, right?
So so I'm throwing that out toour audience today.
If you if you figure out acompounding of 1% every day for
a year, whatever that is, uh,you can let me know.
SPEAKER_00 (17:05):
You know, that's we talked about that this morning
being 1% better than yesterday.
And uh uh the book we're readingis John Maxwell's The 360
Leader.
That's where very good book.
So I've written down FailingForward.
I'll have to look up that one aswell.
He's a great leadership writer.
SPEAKER_01 (17:23):
Yeah, yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (17:26):
So my next question is a little about um uh we at
leader impact.
We want to grow personally,professionally, and spiritually.
That is what we do asmarketplace leaders.
We want to increase impact.
So, would you be willing toshare an example of how the
spiritual makes a practicaldifference in your life as a
leader?
SPEAKER_01 (17:44):
Great question.
Thank you, Lisa, for thatquestion.
Um, I believe very much thatthat faith and leadership for me
is very connected.
As a matter of fact, I don'tthink I can be a good leader
without my faith as a solidfoundation in there.
And so I lean on my faith everyday.
I read my Bible every day, Ipray every day.
(18:07):
I I met Jesus when I was 16, andI haven't looked back since, and
I'm really proud because it'sone of the greatest decisions I
ever made uh in my life, and I'mthat public about my faith as
well.
I I really believe thateverybody should get to know
Jesus because it's a great, it'sit's a great thing, right?
So uh, and so how has thatshaped my leadership from day to
(18:29):
day in in the professionalworld?
What that has meant, um whatthat means to me is, you know,
even when I'm about to make somemajor decisions, you know, have
to have a difficultconversation, you know, just
just pausing to pray, pausing toreflect, and asking for God's
help, asking for God's wisdom,and that's really helped me.
Another example that I can shareis is during COVID, right?
(18:52):
So we all know COVID, I know itfeels like a lifetime ago.
Uh, but I was working for afinancial institution at the
time, uh, and I was branchmanager at that time, and uh it
was downtown, downtown Regina.
And so this financialinstitution made a decision in
order to serve customers not toclose at all during COVID.
(19:12):
So, which meant the branchmanager, of course, he had to be
at work every day.
And so a lot of days I felt likeuh a soldier fighting an
invisible war going to work.
I mean, I enjoy the fact thatthere was no traffic on the
road, so you could just leavehome like you know, you know,
very quickly you get to work.
I love that part of it.
But some days felt heavy,especially when you start to
(19:36):
think about, you know, like, youknow, we and those were early
days of COVID.
Nobody really knew what it was,and but then you still had to to
show up to work.
But one of the things that stoodout to me at that period is that
I had that sense of peace.
I had that sense of tranquilitywithin me.
And it wasn't it wasn't peacethat came from outside, it was
(19:59):
it was inner peace.
And I think that that came frommy faith and my walk with God
and my relationship with God.
And of course, we received God'smercies.
My family was protected allthrough the period.
Of course, you know, we had towear masks and do different
things.
So, through all of that, I sawfaith helping me and such that I
was also a voice ofencouragement to other people as
(20:20):
well, and say, hey, we're gonnabe fine, we're gonna be okay, we
don't know what it is yet, butyou know, take care of yourself,
follow all of the rules, get getvaccinated if you want to, and
you know, those kind of thingsin there, but but making sure
that I was I was a steady uhleader for the team, and I think
that I couldn't have done thatwithout my faith in place.
SPEAKER_00 (20:43):
Yeah.
Who do you surround yourselfwith that keeps you in your
faith?
You know, um because it's easyto, you know, like who who's in
your circle?
SPEAKER_01 (20:56):
I just I've got a lot of people in my circle.
The other day, I was just uh Ilooked at uh an old picture of
mine of when I was in theuniversity, my first degree now,
and uh it was the picture ofmyself and uh who I sometimes
will call my schoolmother, butshe was really my mentor, and
(21:16):
she's still my mentor.
Actually, she and her husbandthey live in England, and both
of them are my uh well, theywere my mentors then back in
school, but they're still mymentors today, and they're
spiritual mentors for me aswell.
I was a very new Christian whenI got on campus.
Uh, I remember they bought me myfirst study Bible, Dake's Bible,
(21:38):
if you ever know what that is,uh, in there, and and I would
pour through that.
Actually, the reason they boughtme that Bible was because she
had one and I borrowed it fromher.
And then I told her, wheneveryou need it, to let me know and
I'll bring it to you.
And so I guess she was gettingto a point where she felt like I
(22:00):
need I need my Bible.
And so they just decided on oneof my birthdays, and then they
bought me one.
I was like, oh my god, this isthe best gift ever.
And I still have that Bible, andI cherish it so much in there.
So I surround myself withpeople, people like that, and
they've been my mentors for over20 years.
Uh, and and you know, I've haddifferent times in my life where
I had to lean on thatrelationship.
(22:22):
Of course, here in Regina aswell.
I have uh a few other you knowspiritual leaders that are my
mentors, of course, the pastorof my church, uh local church
here in Regina that I go to, butI also have other people as well
who speak into my life as well,and I connect with them
regularly.
Uh, they help me stay grounded.
Of course, there are things thatI need to do myself as well.
(22:45):
I talked about you know gettingin my Bible every day, praying,
you know, uh as someone who'smarried as well, doing that with
my wife, but also doing it withmy family as well.
So every night we have adevotion, uh, devotional time as
a family where we have greatdiscussion, but also pause to
pray uh as well.
So all of those things havehelped me stay grounded, but I
(23:06):
am intentional about my innercircle.
No, I'm a social butterfly, Ilove to meet people, I love to
meet new people.
And so for me, I'm alwaysmeeting people, I'm always
connecting with people, but I'velearned the power of the inner
circle.
And I talked about this in mybook as well, uh, that find your
inner circle.
That's really, really importantbecause for someone who is
(23:28):
extroverted like me, and Istruggle with this for a number
of years until recently, is thatI can meet people connect with
them, meet another group ofpeople, connect with them, but
then I don't take it further toget to really know them and get
really close to people.
And so uh in the process of mewriting the book, that's
something I had to beintentional about because I'm
(23:50):
like, you can't write about thisif you haven't lived it.
And so now I've been workingreally hard on that, and now I
have people in my inner circlewho have not only helped me in
the area of faith, but evenother areas of my life as well.
So I believe strongly in notjust having one mentor, having a
network of mentors.
So I have a network of mentorsfor my spiritual life, I have a
(24:12):
network of mentorsprofessionally.
Uh, when it comes to marriage, Ihave a network of mentors, uh,
even fine even for my finances,even though I'm a banker and I'm
in the industry, I have anetwork of mentors that I
follow.
Um, you know, in that space aswell.
I think it just enriches ourlives, it gives a lot of
different perspectives uh as youwork in in life in that regard.
SPEAKER_00 (24:34):
Oh, great answer.
I love it, and that's why Ithink I loved your book.
SPEAKER_01 (24:37):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Buy the book, buy the book ifyou're listening.
SPEAKER_00 (24:42):
Buy the book.
Yeah.
So I'm gonna go to I have beenloving uh talking about legacy,
and uh um I have been pulled into moderate panels on legacy,
and I and on this question, I'mgonna ask you about your legacy.
Uh, in your book, first, youtalk about the legacy question.
What do you want to beremembered for?
And you talk all about it andour purpose and our legacy, and
(25:02):
oh, I loved it.
So, my question for you is youknow, as you continue to move
through this journey, um, yourown journey, have you considered
what you want your faith legacyto be when you leave this world?
SPEAKER_01 (25:15):
I have, and that's a great question.
So, um, when I think about that,I shared the story about my dad
earlier, how he passed awaysuddenly.
He was 36 years old uh when hepassed away.
Now I'm I'm well over 36 now.
Uh, and so that's that his storyhas helped me also have a lot of
time to think about my own lifeas well.
(25:38):
Now, this is the way I approachlegacy, and in and I talked
about this even in my book aswell.
Uh, it is that you cannot reallystart to truly answer the legacy
question if you haven't answeredthe purpose and the identity
question.
And here is what I mean.
Uh, when it comes to the issueof identity, the first thing you
need to ask yourself is who amI?
(25:59):
And who am I really?
Not what is your name, not whatdo you do for the bank, you
know, but but who are youreally?
What is your identity?
Like being able to answer thatquestion, I think it's really,
really important.
Now, for me, um uh my identityis grounded in my values, which
is shaped by my Christian faith.
So I know who I am, I am who Godsays I am, and I'm very proud of
(26:24):
that.
And that keeps me groundedbecause I've discovered, you
know, who I am that way.
And then, of course, the nextstep is is to then think about
purpose, right?
Why am I here on earth?
I know I'm not here by accident,and I know our listeners, you
know, you're not here byaccident.
God has a purpose for your life.
We all have a God-given purpose.
(26:46):
And so finding it, right,changes the game for you.
And it is when you've foundthose two things, then you can
start to talk about legacy.
So for me personally, uh I'vecome to discover my life's
purpose is helping othersmaximize their potentials and be
all that God has created them tobe.
Now, this shapes how I work,this shapes who I connect with,
(27:08):
this shapes my values, thisshapes a whole lot of things.
Um, in my even shapes where Ilive now, too.
I have a lot of opportunities tolike, you know, move cities and
do different things.
But I'm like, hey, this is whereI believe God wants me to be
now, and this is where what Ineed to be doing right now.
And so I'd rather do that and doit joyfully as well in that
space.
Now, as I've thought about mylegacy, I'm always reminded, uh,
(27:32):
especially when it comes to myfaith legacy, about the story of
King David.
And and and he says here, andyou may not know, but I'm also a
preacher as well, so but I'mtrying hard not to not to start
quoting scriptures here.
But it does say um in myfavorite book, uh, that you
know, he served his generation.
(27:54):
Uh, it served God's purpose inhis generation.
And so I'm hoping to leave thatlegacy as well of serving God's
purpose in my generation, suchthat the people that I've had
the opportunity to connect with,they can truly say that you
know, it was a man, it was a manthat that loved, it was a man
that led really well, it was aman that really cared, that
(28:16):
impacted people.
And so for me, I keep that um inmind.
And and my goal every day isthat when I meet somebody, I
want to leave them better than Imet them.
That's what I want to beremembered for, right?
Making impact in people's life,in in how I lead, in how I love
people, in how I connect withpeople.
(28:36):
Uh, that's a legacy that I hopeto leave.
Um, you know, on that day, uh,when I disappear, whether by
rapture or, you know, or bydeath, right?
So uh of course, uh I plan tolive longer than King David did,
uh, but until that time, I wantto continue to leave each day uh
(28:56):
intentionally because the timeis short and we really need to
continue uh to maximize the timethat we have while we're here.
And the best way to do that isto invest in other people.
I view success from the lens ofother people, and so every day I
have to invest in other peopleis a great day for me.
SPEAKER_00 (29:17):
Oh, it's a great day for me, Wally.
You've made a difference in mylife.
SPEAKER_01 (29:23):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (29:23):
You're leaving me better.
SPEAKER_01 (29:25):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (29:26):
Uh my last question for you is what brings you the
greatest joy?
SPEAKER_01 (29:31):
That's a that's a very deep question.
I uh and uh thinking about whatgives me a great joy.
Let me let me share this story.
So Monday, October 6th, sotoday's October 8th, right?
Um a colleague of mine at worksent me a note and said, Hey,
(29:51):
you wouldn't believe it.
My son started working.
And and his son had not beenable to walk for A couple of
years now.
Now, it's such a sad, you know,touching story because this this
friend of mine or this colleagueof mine, the wife had just
passed away.
The wife was was just 43 yearsold.
(30:13):
And and this happened last monthin September.
Now that happened in the middleof, you know, their son playing
basketball had an injury,14-year-old, and it just
happened to be that he hasn'tbeen able to work for a couple
of years.
And so I decided to visit theirhouse.
(30:33):
We went to their house.
And so when we were about toleave, he said, you know, you
know, I was with, you know, oneother person there and said,
Would you guys pray?
You just for my son, you know,it's my desire to have my son
walk, right?
And then and this other person Iwas with was much older than me.
And so she she prayed first.
(30:54):
And and and as she was wrappingup, I just felt a leading also
um to to pray.
And and so I began to to pray.
I I held his legs.
I I had the leading to for us toanoint his legs.
And so I asked them if they hadsome kind of oil and you know
that we could use.
And so they they brought someand we prayed over the sun.
(31:16):
And I truly, really believedthat he was healed that day, and
we held him up and tried to kindof move him around a little bit.
Uh, and then that episode wentonly for me to get that message
that I got from him, you know,two or three weeks after we
prayed to say, hey, they gothome and then he started
walking.
And I was like, wow, storieslike that brings me joy, right?
(31:42):
That is there is nothing morejoyful to me than that, right?
So, so whether it's the story ofthe life of the 14-year-old that
was touched, or the father whowas just recently gone through a
loss, but but a bit of joy, youknow, he was telling me how
tears of joy, he had tears ofjoy, and I was like, oh wow,
(32:03):
this is amazing.
Or, you know, when I come intothe professional circle of
people that get promoted becauseof you know conversation that we
had, you know, or like today,just before I came on the show
today, uh, somebody wanted me tobe a reference for them.
And so I did that referencespoke, and I hope to get the
job, right?
You know, those are the momentsthat give me joy when I'm able
(32:26):
to pour into others, when I'mable to help other people,
whether at work or they'reoutside of work, those are the
moments that gives me great joy.
And of course, um, you know, myconnection with my family as
well, my wife, my kids, thosemoments that we spend together,
it's it's really great becauseyou know, it doesn't really
(32:46):
matter how much money you makein life when you're by your dead
bed.
You're not gonna say, oh guys,so how much is in my account
right now?
Bring me all the money.
You know, it's really your lovedones.
That's really what's gonnamatter.
The people that you impacted,the lives that you touched,
that's really what's going tocount.
So for me, what gives me thegreatest greatest joy is seeing
(33:07):
lives change, is seeing livestransform, whether it's
spiritually, whether it'sprofessionally, whether it's
financially, whatever way itmeans that I can help people
when I see people's liveschanged, that gives me joy.
SPEAKER_00 (33:22):
Oh Wally, it has been a fabulous 33 minutes with
you.
Um, I've really enjoyed.
I I've I've loved your book andjust uh hearing a little bit
more about you.
And how did I miss that you werea preacher?
It is not in your bio.
SPEAKER_01 (33:38):
I know.
I I wasn't sure if I if I shouldhave that in there or not, but
uh I've got a few messages onYouTube actually from a church
that we go to here.
It's Gateway Church.
I was actually speaking on onSunday at two of our services
there.
Uh and uh I know you intervieweduh Carol Lafayette Boyd.
(33:59):
Do you remember what that is?
We go to the same church, yeah.
And uh I know she was on churchon Sunday.
So Carol, I saw you at church,you were at church, right?
So um, so yeah, so I get to tosupport our pastor, you know, uh
sometimes speaking in there aswell.
And of course, I do get inviteduh to other places as well to to
(34:20):
bring God's word, sometimes in aprofessional circle, but also uh
just uh playing, you know,talking about God's word and
helping people, um depending onwherever they are, they are,
right?
It's all about adding value topeople and bringing God's God's
goodness to people, really.
SPEAKER_00 (34:38):
I love it.
Thank you, Wally.
So not only can we find you onYouTube, where else can we find
you if any of our uh listenersor viewers want to connect with
you?
SPEAKER_01 (34:46):
So you can find me on LinkedIn.
Probably the easiest way toconnect with me, uh, LinkedIn,
just search my name Wally atdeboko, it would come up.
Uh I also have a website, uh,wali at dbokoon.com.
Uh, so easy to connect with methrough that as well.
Of course, I'm on social mediahandles as well.
So uh you can just even Googlethe name Wally at debokoon, you
(35:08):
know, you'll get a lot ofinformation uh from that and
you'll be able to connect withme that way.
And I look forward toconnecting.
I love meeting new people and uhtalking about relationships and
leadership, and that's somethingI'm really passionate about.
So I look forward to connecting.
SPEAKER_00 (35:22):
Yeah, and if the people Google the power of
strategic relationships, Wally,and it's spelled W-A-L-E,
they'll find you there onAmazon.
SPEAKER_01 (35:31):
That's right.
That's right.
SPEAKER_00 (35:32):
Yes.
Well, Wally, thank you again forjoining us.
It has been an absolute pleasureto have you.
SPEAKER_01 (35:37):
Thank you again.
I would just say finally, uhLisa, you and your team, you're
doing a great job and keep doingthat.
I was just listening to one ofyour previous conversations.
You were talking about an adviceyou received from one of your
uncles that said, you know,retire into something, right?
So I was listening to thatepisode there.
So I said that to say thatyou've been making a great
(35:59):
impact in our community.
Please keep doing that becauselife is really all about, you
know, the lives that we touch,right?
And so that's what we should allbe about uh as leaders.
Leadership is influence andinfluencing people uh for the
better.
And so thank you for that.
And that's my goal uh tocontinue to do that as well, as
(36:19):
long as I have breath.
SPEAKER_00 (36:22):
My cheeks hurt from smiling.
Thank you.
Thank you.
It was wonderful.
SPEAKER_01 (36:27):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (36:27):
All right, and to all our viewers, uh, if you're
part of Leader Impact, you candiscuss or share this podcast
with your group.
And if you are not yet part ofLeader Impact, would like to
find out more and grow yourleadership, find our podcast
page on our website atleaderimpact.ca.
And you can also check outgroups available in Canada at
LeaderImpact.ca.
Or if you're listening fromanywhere else in the world,
check out LeaderImpact.com orget in touch with us by email.
(36:50):
Info at LeaderImpact.ca, and wewill connect you.
And if you like this podcast,please leave us a comment, give
us a rating or review.
This will help other globalleaders find our podcast.
Thank you for engaging with us.
And remember, impact starts withyou.
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