Airtel’s Lucy Quist is on a mission to make a big difference, and she is pulling it off; here’s why.
Lucy Quist is not new in the news for taking on challenging roles in Ghana’s telecommunications industry. Now as Managing Director of Airtel Ghana, after having served in transformational roles in other telecoms networks – roles which took her all over the African continent – she is set on steering Airtel Ghana in the next phase of its journey. Airtel is one of Africa’s largest telecommunications companies, with the widest footprint in 17 countries and the 4th largest globally! “The headline is that we’re in Africa to make a difference; to enrich lives by supporting them in making the changes they want to see in their lives”, she says.
“Already Airtel”, Quist notes; “has made a big difference in Ghana. We have done what the rest of the industry remains hesitant to do. We have been consistently led by Ghanaians and for the first time a Ghanaian woman is in charge. It clearly demonstrates our commitment and belief in talent in Africa. In fact it is a global achievement for us as very few women run telecommunications companies.”
While undoubtedly a challenging role, she sees it as a privilege as well as an opportunity to do more in an industry she loves; to truly make a positive difference. Quist sees a company that has done remarkably well in a short space of time, right from the days of Zain, which was the first telco to launch 3G services in Ghana through to Airtel – driven by innovation and passion for its customers.
She talks about being taken aback by the humbling response, support and well wishes she has received since she took over at the helm of Airtel Ghana.
Since she took office in May 2014, she has engaged her staff tirelessly in seizing opportunities notably in sustaining their strong leadership particularly in Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR).
In person, Quist comes across as having been delivered preloaded with consummate optimism. Indeed, in a first encounter a couple of years ago, you couldn’t miss her strong sense of direction and passionate optimism that simply couldn’t be masked by her obvious aura of affability. And now that she is in the driving seat, she has so perfected these attributes that she sounds like running a multi-million dollar telco isn’t too much of a challenge.
“A number of things drive me as a person, as a leader; one is I’m absolutely passionate about people. I believe that everyone has innate potential. They have something that they’re really good at; that they can do better than most other people. I am also passionate at driving people to discover and be the best they can possibly be.”
In that regard, she says the number one thing for her is to understand the company from the point of view of the people who work there; “to see the company through the eyes of the people who have been here a lot longer on the journey than I have been.”
“So my first weeks were spent talking to people. Then the next thing we did was to re-strategize, and I’m thankful that I managed to resist the temptation, which is easily the case, to show up and say these are the answers that I produced earlier, let’s just copy,” Quist says.
She got teams to develop the strategy from the bottom up. “We did so as an organization rather than as individuals because I really believe that the power of the hundreds of people who work for Airtel is much greater than the power of one person’s ideas, and if we can harness the hundreds of ideas, we could go a lot further.”
“The benefit is that we have ended up with a strategic direction that we all buy into, we’re all agreed on, and we’re all running with. Those initial days of engagement and spending time with the people and stakeholders have really paid off,” she says.
Quist is also driven by integrity and the desire to excel, since to her; “there is absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t always pursue excellence in whatever we do.”
She believes that this applies not only at the professional level but also with the everyday, routine activities that she engages in. And even though in many ways her domestic life is very traditional, she says she learnt very quickly that a typical day varies, such as the difference in her routine between when school is on holiday and when school is in session.
“My kids are growing and have been in school a number of years – they are able to do a lot for themselves now. However I find when they are in school, I am up much earlier than otherwise. I love being part of their preparation for a productive day” she says.
She also sticks to the strict discipline of starting off the day; “by really spending some time in the morning praying. So I try to get up early. I also like to get some exercise done before I get into the normal routine of preparing the children for school and all the other domestic tasks. My husband and I get through the morning as a team. But he gets full credit when it comes to keeping them (our children) on track academically”.
“The early start affords me the chance to think quietly; to think from the point of view of the coming day. I don’t like to just come in lightly and hope that things just kind of work out; you have to enter the day with intent. Surpassing my limit is really about setting my intent for the day,” Quist quips.
At work, she’s very much a people person.
“I like to spend my time thinking and discussing, negotiating and deciding with my team, rather than on my own, so I spend a lot of time and energy with my team. Meeting customers who make our business what it is, obviously is an extremely rewarding part of the day too, so sometimes I go out into the market to speak to them, and it’s great because when I wear my T-shirt and pair of jeans, nobody knows who I am. I can just go and talk to anybody when I’m on the street. Sometimes I mystery-shop in our shops too; there are many ways to ensure I experience what customers experience.”
“I like to engage our stakeholders as well, so my day is pretty much spent with people,” she says, disclosing that back home she tries to be disciplined and not spend too much time re-visiting work after the family has gone to bed. However; “sometimes it happens though, and I do a quick check when they’ve all gone to bed. I like to relax with the family or read a book.”
She views rest as a critical ingredient for success. “I try to balance my energy, acknowledging the fact that there are hundreds of people running this company. We get it done together at varying levels of responsibility so my energy is more focused.”
It may seem smooth sailing thus far but Quist is not oblivious to the evolution of the industry and how quickly things are changing with new technological developments, as well as new policy directions. They all present opportunities that require forward thinking about what they mean to Airtel’s customers.
To her, business moves in cycles; challenges are temporary and actually represent opportunities to be realized. The key is to continue to invest and grow; you come out at the other end stronger.
So as Airtel has taken up a strong leadership in CSR, not only in the industry but in the country as a whole, a lot of the activities the company will continue to be engaged in are sustainable CSR. A case in point is Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) “which is a grass roots football initiative that runs across Ghana and all 17 Airtel operating countries across Africa. ARS provides boys and girls with the platform to play football and to get noticed by those who matter in the game.
“We also have adopted schools under our School Adoption Programme. You will find that these are schools whose specific needs we met. A couple of months ago, we were at the Mampong School for the Hearing Impaired. When the school needed financial support to pay rent, we obliged. We’ve done other things with them and the most recent engagement was an eye screening for all the students.
“So Airtel Ghana’s CSR is about being engaged, not just touch and go; it’s a sustained engagement,” Quist says.
She confirms that the market will see more and greater impact from Airtel across the region, but specifically pertaining to its conversation in Ghana, it will be driving sustainable CSR. “And then, from a service point of view, we’re very much in tune with our customers; with what they need and where they want to go so we’ve taken a strong stand on internet, which most people have seen with our “browse chaw” and Airtel Internet campaign,” Quist adds.
To her, the internet is here to stay and it is the company’s primary focus.
“We’ve positioned the internet around the information it provides and the world it opens up to people – all the many things they can do – so customers can expect our continued investments to ensure that they have the right access to information from anywhere in the world,” she discloses. The company continues to invest particularly in its internet infrastructure, opening it up for greater capacity and higher speeds. Airtel Ghana already has the second biggest data network in the country and the only truly 3.75G service, Quist notes.
Lucy adds that they will continue to innovate on products like Airtel Money, which is an industry game-changer from a service point of view, and Airtel Insurance, which is a great opportunity for people who are not normally within the insurance catchment group to be included.
She further discloses that they are investing in systems with the intent that at every single touch point, customers have the best experience of service, whether going into shops to request services, or calling any of their call centres. Airtel is thus investing heavily in training its people, particularly the frontline, on skills and values and most importantly mindsets – how to deal professionally with customers.
Airtel Business was launched over a year ago; a fully-fledged division serving the needs of customers in the business sector both locally and across Africa with a very strong bias towards SMEs, innovating for them.
Above all, making a positive difference remains paramount on Lucy’s agenda. She has spent many years preparing for this and knows that with her wealth of experience, coupled with that gritty resolve to pursue excellence and a brilliant team, she’ll pull it off. And for her customers, she says now’s the time to experience the new! #MakeYourChange