IWB Immigrant Women in Business

As a founding member of IWB, I combine 15+ years in finance with $2M+ raised to guide high-achieving professionals and immigrants in building scalable, fundable, and freedom-driven businesses.

Founding Member

The Money Mint

My focus is on providing comprehensive financial solutions to individuals and businesses. 

With over 15 years of industry experience, I leverage funding strategies and structure deals to help you achieve your financial goals and secure the best options available. 

At The Money Mint, our mission is to support individuals and businesses through various financial services. These include mortgages, small business loans, commercial real estate financing, equipment purchase loans, working capital loans, invoice financing, and more. 

A team of former banking executives, realtors, and investment specialists collaborate to deliver tailored financial advice and support. This ensures clients navigate the complexities of securing funding with ease, helping Canadians obtain the necessary funding for growth, stability, and building wealth.

Financial Strategist

Owndra Digital

You’ve spent your best years building someone else’s dream.

It’s time to OWN yours.

Owndra is a movement helping high-achieving women turn their expertise into digital income so they can live on their OWN terms.

I believe wealth, independence, and impact are possible for every woman. That’s why I help them Pivot. Profit. Thrive.

Through The OWN Accelerator™, I guide ambitious professionals to launch scalable offers, grow visibility, and create freedom beyond their 9-5.

What you’ll get inside the 90-Day Roadmap:

A proven system to turn your expertise into a digital income stream

Strategic support to launch or scale with clarity and confidence

Accountability from someone who’s built, pivoted, and helped others do the same

This is for women ready to take ownership of their careers, their voice, and their income.

My clients have pivoted careers, launched $20K+ businesses, and tripled their income because they stopped waiting for permission and started OWNING their next chapter.

If this sounds like you, here’s what to do next:

📍 Book a free discovery call in the Featured section.

I’ll see you on the inside.

Founder & Head Business Coach

SHALOM MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED

As the pioneer CEO of the bank, I spearheaded the overall Strategy formulation, Operations management, Risk Management, Talent Management, Product Design Management, and Business Development Initiatives.

Key Highlights:

- Achieved an exponential growth of the loan portfolio by over 80% MoM within 6 months of the banks inception demonstrating robust business scalability and market penetration.

- Successfully launched new revenue streams through focusing on micro lending and loans to small and medium businesses. This led to astounding growth of the micro loan portfolio by over 800% MoM within 3 months.

- Innovatively established interactive, Tech and Service-Led channels, resulting in a significant 60% reduction in complaints and improved Turnaround Time (TAT) for credit disbursement.

- Implement robust risk controls, keeping special accounts within regulatory thresholds, and ensuring collections above 90% MoM.

- Strengthened investor confidence and stakeholder trust through successful recapitalization of the organization in line with regulatory guidelines in 2022 increasing the bank’s assets by 76%.

-Mentor and empower an exceptional team of professionals and peers, catalyzing their individual journeys towards entrepreneurial success within the financial services industry..

Co-Founder

Zenith Bank Plc

-Managed the USAID/Nigeria $10m loan portfolio guarantee to provide long-term mortgages for qualifying individuals based on risk acceptance criteria. Achieved disbursement of over 80%.

Head, Product Team - Corporate/Commercial Banking Group

REAL ESTATE 
PROJECT NAME:7B Alexander Avenue, Ikoyi.- 20 apartments located in the prime real estate area of Ikoyi, Lagos.
- Project Cost: USD $20,000,000 I Project Duration: 18 months I Architects: Great Earth Architects, Beijing China I Contractor: Shenyang The North Construction Group - Shenyang, China

-Provided comprehensive project details and rationale to key stakeholders.
-Spearheaded the management of the development and portfolio marketing plan in coordination with sales and marketing leadership, ensuring cohesive execution and maximum market impact.
-Achieved a measurable increase in sales revenue by 80% within the first six months of implementing pricing strategies and targeted marketing campaigns.

PROJECT NAME: Twin Towers - 6/8 Ozumba Mbadiwe, Lagos I DESCRIPTION: Two 15-storey towers with state-of-the-art facilities
-Conducted project appraisals resulting in a 25% increase in projected ROI.
-Managed funds disbursement with a 95% accuracy rate for project milestones, optimizing resource allocation and minimizing financial discrepancies.
-Successfully delivered the project within budget and ahead of schedule, exceeding client expectations and earning commendation for exceptional project management.

CONSUMER CREDIT 
-Collaborated in loan underwriting and pre-qualification for customers and businesses
-Appraised all request to the disbursement team and prepared files for final disbursement
-Appraised credit request in line with the banks risk acceptance criteria 
-Grew the banks portfolio by over 80% in loan assets.

Program Manager- Real Estate Development, Mortgages, Consumer Lending Credit Group

Business Funding Strategist I I help Entrepreneurs secure funding for business purchase/expansion | Co-Founder in Financial Services | 100+ successful clients | “DM me”

In 2016, I took a bold leap.

I pitched a vision, raised over $2 million in funding, and built a microfinance bank from scratch, one that has helped over 500 entrepreneurs access the capital, clarity, and structure needed to grow.

But even before that, I spent nearly a decade in corporate finance watching brilliant professionals stay stuck in systems that limited their income, creativity, and power.

I knew there had to be another way.

Today, I coach high-achieving women ready to make that same leap from employee to empowered founder.

These are women who already have extensive professional experience.

What they need is a roadmap to monetize their expertise, show up with confidence online, and build digital income streams, without quitting their 9-5.

Clients I work with have:
* Launched their first digital offer in under 6 weeks
* Landed $3K+ clients from LinkedIn without ads or funnels
* Rebuilt confidence after years of playing small in the corporate world
* Transitioned from finance roles to owning purpose-driven businesses

My coaching helps you:
* Turn your professional expertise into a scalable offer
* Build visibility on LinkedIn and grow your audience
* Create sustainable income without burnout
* Transition from career to on your terms

You don’t need another degree.

You need a system, a strategy, and someone who’s walked the path.

Let’s build your OWN platform.

DM me “OWN” to start your transition from employee to empowered founder.

Erhi Ojoboh MBA, PMP®, SAFe®

People think confidence means being fearless.
It doesn’t.

Confidence is saying,
“I’m terrified… but I’ll still go.”

For years, I tried to fix my fear before starting.

But fear doesn’t go away.
It just learns to sit quietly.

These days, I treat it like a passenger. It can ride along.

But it doesn’t get to touch the wheel.

Every time I move anyway,
fear shrinks and trust grows.
That’s the real bet.

Not that it’ll be easy.
Not that you won’t stumble.

But that you’ll keep driving even with trembling hands

because deep down, you finally trust the driver. 

And that’s where confidence begins.

♻️ Repost this for everyone who’s scared, but moving anyway.

Erhi Ojoboh MBA, PMP®

I help high-achieving women turn their expertise into high-ticket digital businesses they OWN | $2M+ raised in Series A | Financial Services Co-Founder | Speaker | DM “OWN”

This week humbled me.
Can I be real with you for a second?

I had a moment on Wednesday where I stared at my laptop and thought, “Am I even cut out for this?”

You know those weeks where nothing goes viral…

your inbox is quieter than usual…

and that voice in your head whispers, “Maybe you should just go back”?

Yeah. That was me.

But then yesterday, something shifted.

A woman I’ve never met sent me a DM:

“I’ve been following you for 3 months. I finally left my toxic job. Your posts gave me the courage. Thank you.”

And just like that… I remembered why I do this.

Not for the algorithm.
Not for the vanity metrics.
Not even for the money (though let’s be honest, that part is nice 😂).

I do this because someone out there is watching…

waiting for permission to believe in themselves.

And if my messy, imperfect journey can be that permission slip…

Then every quiet week, every doubt, every “failure” is worth it.

📌 Here’s What I Want You to Remember This Weekend:

Your impact is bigger than you think.

The post you almost didn’t publish?
Someone screenshotted it.

The story you thought was “too vulnerable”? Someone saw themselves in it and finally felt less alone.

The advice you think is “too obvious”? It’s exactly what someone needed to hear today.

You’re not doing it wrong.
You’re planting seeds you can’t see yet.

So this weekend, I need you to do something for me:

Stop comparing your Chapter 3 to someone else’s Chapter 20.

Stop shrinking your voice because it doesn’t sound perfect.

Your story matters.
Your expertise matters.
YOUR VOICE MATTERS.

(And if no one told you this week, I’m proud of you. For showing up. For trying. For not giving up.)

Now go rest. You’ve earned it🙌🏾

Have an amazing weekend ❤️

What’s one thing you’re proud of this week: big or small?

♻️ Repost for someone who needs to hear they’re doing better than they think.

No alternative text description for this image

The “good girl” conditioning that made you likable is the same conditioning that’s keeping you poor.

Here are 7 ways we’ve been wired to play small (and why it’s costing you everything):

1.	“Be nice; don’t make waves.”
↳ Reality: Nice gets you overlooked, not promoted.
↳ Directness gets you respect.

2.	“Don’t be too ambitious; it’s not attractive.”
↳ Reality: Your ambition isn’t something to apologize for.
↳ It’s your competitive advantage.

3.	“Wait your turn; good things come to those who wait.”
↳ Reality: While you’re waiting, someone less qualified is asking.
↳ Permission is a trap. Take the seat.

4.	“Don’t talk about money; it’s impolite.”
↳ Reality: Silence about salary keeps the pay gap alive.
↳ Negotiation is how you close it.

5.	“Downplay your achievements; let the work speak.”
↳ Reality: Your work is silent. You need to be more visible.
↳ Advocacy isn’t arrogance, it’s strategy💯.

6.	“Be the helper; support everyone else first.”
↳ Reality: Endless supporting roles don’t lead to the spotlight.
↳ Supporting yourself isn’t selfish, it’s survival.

7.	“Fit in; don’t be too much.”
↳ Reality: “Too much” is exactly what makes you unforgettable.
↳ Your difference is your super power.

The world taught us to shrink.
To smile more. Apologize faster. Take up less space.

But here’s what I know now:

The boxes we’ve been taught to fit into weren’t designed for our success, they were designed for our compliance.

You weren’t born to be small.
You were born to be seen, heard, and impossible to ignore. 

Stop editing yourself down.
Stop waiting for permission.
Stop making yourself digestible for people who can’t handle your full flavor.

The version of you that’s “too much” for some rooms?

That’s the version that builds empires.

Be bold. 
Be loud. 
Be unapologetically you.

The world doesn’t need another woman playing small.

It needs YOU at full volume.

🔁 Know a woman who needs to read this? Share it with her.

Post inspired by my friend David🙏🏽

She had 9 years of supply chain experience.

An MBA.

Certifications most people can’t pronounce.

And she was Googling “how to start a side hustle” at 11pm on a Tuesday.

When we got on a call, I asked her:
“What do companies pay you $120K/year to do?”

Her answer: “Optimize procurement processes, reduce vendor costs, negotiate contracts…”

Me: “And you don’t think someone would pay you $8K to do that for their company in 6 weeks?”

She laughed. “Who would hire me? I’m not a consultant.”

3 months later, she closed $27K in contracts.

Same skills. Same expertise.
Different packaging.

Here’s the truth most corporate professionals miss:

You don’t need a new skill set to build a consulting business.

You need to stop thinking like an employee.

Employees trade time for money and wait for approval.

Consultants trade expertise for premium fees and create their own opportunities.

The companies hiring you already paying consultants.

Just not you. Yet.

Because you’re still showing up as the person who does great work.

Not the expert who solves $100K problems.

I’ve worked with clients who thought they needed:
❌ A bigger platform
❌ A perfect website
❌ More credentials

What they actually needed:
✅ Clarity on their high-value offer
✅ Confidence to name their price
✅ A simple system to find their first clients

If you’ve been the smartest person in the room but you’re still waiting for someone to notice…

It’s not an expertise problem.

It’s a positioning problem. 

♻️ Share this with a high-performer who’s been undervalued too long.

📩 DM me “OWN” if you’re ready to turn corporate skills into a consulting offer people actually pay for.

Most people don’t pivot because they’re stuck.

They stay stuck because they never pivot.

For years, I checked all the boxes:

📌 Pharmacy degree  
📌 Successful finance career  
📌 Stability, structure, status

But something still felt off.

Not because I wasn’t good at it…

But because I knew I was made for more.

The hardest part of a pivot isn’t starting over.

It’s unlearning the life you built on autopilot.

Here’s what I realized after pivoting three times:

1. Success can be a stronger trap than failure.

It’s easy to leave what’s not working. Harder to walk away from what is.

2. People will praise the version of you that serves them most.

Not necessarily the one that’s most true to you.

3. You don’t find your purpose. You choose it.

Then build the courage to pursue it before it makes sense.

4. Every pivot is a vote for your future.

And you never run out of chances to choose again.

5. The longer you wait, the louder the fear gets.

But momentum quiets doubt. Start.

You’re more ready than you feel.

You don’t owe the world a version of yourself that’s well-packaged but deeply unfulfilled.

If something’s stirring in you, trust it.

Your pivot might look messy.

It might not make sense to others.

But it could be the most powerful thing you ever do.

You weren’t just made to fit in a system.

You were made to design a life you’re wildly proud of.

What’s one pivot you know you need to make but haven’t yet?

♻️ Repost for someone who’s been waiting for a sign. This is it.🔥

They say “believe in yourself.”
But nobody talks about what to do when your mind won’t listen.

Because the real truth is this:

Self-doubt doesn’t show up when you’re weak.

It shows up when you’re growing.

It shows up when you’re stepping into rooms your past wasn’t prepared for.

It shows up when the future version of you is louder than the familiar version you’re trying to outgrow.

And the more you rise, the more that old voice tries to pull you back.

Not because you’re unqualified…
but because you’re becoming someone your old identity doesn’t recognize.

This weekend, I noticed something:

Every time I felt doubt creeping in, it wasn’t a sign to stop.

It was a sign that I had stepped into a bigger version of myself.

A version that required new courage, new language, new confidence.

So I shifted my perspective:
Self-doubt isn’t the enemy.
Self-doubt is evidence.
Evidence that you are moving.
Evidence that you are expanding.
Evidence that you are standing in unfamiliar territory, because you have outgrown the old one.

If you feel doubt, it means you’re already becoming the person you used to pray to be.

Don’t stop now.

♻️ Repost to remind someone: Doubt isn’t a setback, it’s a signal that growth is happening.

I quit a job I loved because of something my boss never said out loud:

“I don’t trust you.”

They hired me for my experience, my ideas, my leadership.

Then second-guessed every decision, rewrote my work, and showed up to meetings I was running.

So I stopped trying to lead.

Not because I couldn’t.

Because I knew whatever I built would be undone.

And my team saw it all.

They stopped giving their best too. 

They knew there was no point.

Eventually, they started leaving.

That’s when I learned the hardest lesson about leadership:

Control is not leadership.

Trust is.

Being a good boss means hiring talented people and getting out of their way.

If you’re building a team, start with trust.

It’s not just the foundation for great culture.

It’s how you keep your best people.

What’s your experience? Have you worked for a leader who trusted you, or one who didn’t?

♻️ Repost if this resonated
🔔 Follow Erhi Ojoboh MBA, PMP®  
for insights on leadership

I watched my friend spiral for six months over a deal that fell through.

“I had it. It was mine. They took it away.”

But it was never hers.

Because until the contract is signed, the money is wired, and the work begins, it’s just a possibility.

Not a promise.

The truth?

Whether you’re building a business or searching for your next role:

You’re going to lose things you thought were guaranteed.

The client who “verbally committed” but never returned your email.

The final-round interview that felt perfect, until they went with an internal candidate.

The partnership that seemed like destiny until they ghosted.

The job offer that was “almost yours” before the hiring freeze hit.

And you’ll grieve it like a breakup. That’s real. Feel it.

But here’s the shift that changes everything:

Don’t let what never materialized steal what’s still possible.

Because while you’re stuck replaying the “almost,” someone else is already on the next train.

The fastest way to stay stuck is obsessing over the one that got away.

The fastest way to win is showing up for the one that’s coming.

Let go of the “almost.” 

Your real opportunity is already on its way.

♻️ Repost for someone still waiting on the platform.

My client texted me yesterday:

I only signed one client last month. I feel like I’m failing.

One client = $11,000.

She made more in 30 days than most people make in two months at a job.

And she felt like she was failing.

I sat with that for a minute.

Because I’ve been there too.

You know why she felt that way?

Because she was measuring her beginning against someone else’s middle.

Scrolling LinkedIn seeing people post about their “best month ever.”

Watching consultants who are “fully booked.”

Comparing her ONE to someone else’s MANY.

And completely missing the miracle of what she’d actually done.

So here’s what I told her (and what I need you to hear):

Stop measuring your wins by someone else’s highlight reel.

That person posting about their 7-figure launch? You didn’t see the 3 years of silence before that.

The consultant booked out for months? They started with one client too.

Your progress is real even if it’s not viral.

Your growth counts even if no one’s applauding.

Your one client, your first sale, your quiet consistency, that’s not “just” anything.

That’s the foundation everything else is built on.

📌 Acknowledge what you HAVE accomplished.

Not what you didn’t.

Not what someone else did.

What YOU did.

Because I guarantee it’s more than you’re giving yourself credit for.

You’re not behind.

You’re building.

And that’s enough.

What’s one win from this week, big or small, that you’re claiming right now?

♻️ Repost for someone who’s been too hard on themselves lately.

I once worked with someone who was short-tempered, blunt, and always “too busy.”

At first, I labeled her: difficult.

But one day, I found out she was quietly caring for a special needs child.

Suddenly, her sharpness looked less like rudeness…and more like exhaustion in disguise.

Here’s the thing:

Most people don’t announce the invisible battles they’re fighting.

They just show up:
→ Tired
→ Distracted
→ Irritable

And hope no one notices.

That’s why kindness is not optional.

It’s not a “nice-to-have.”

It’s leadership.

It’s oxygen for humans who are quietly running out of air.

When in doubt, assume the person in front of you is carrying something heavy.

Because 9 times out of 10… they are.

Kindness doesn’t show up in dashboards.

It won’t win you awards.

But years from now, they won’t remember your title.

They’ll remember how you made them feel when they were at their lowest.

Let kindness be your legacy.

♻️ Repost if you believe kindness is most powerful leadership skill there is.

Image credit: Veronique Barrot

I teach, consult, coach, and facilitate using my JOY framework to drive growth and success. I Fractional Head of Learning I ExDell

Most leaders know employee happiness matters. Few know how to measure it—or prove its ROI.

I'm Dr. Zippy Abla, founder of Zippy Consulting Group and creator of The JOY Framework™. I help Fortune 500 companies, pharmaceutical executives, and government agencies turn happiness science into competitive advantage through measurable organizational transformation.

What I do:
I lead complex, multi-stakeholder programs that impact thousands of employees. My work combines rigorous data analysis (qualitative + quantitative) with evidence-based interventions in leadership development, team effectiveness, and culture change. I've managed initiatives spanning 10,000+ employees across multiple geographies, coordinating external contractors, internal teams, and C-suite stakeholders to deliver results that move the needle—often by 30% or more.

My approach is different:
As a social scientist with a Doctorate in Leadership Studies and MBA, I translate positive psychology research into business strategy. I don't do "soft skills"—I do hard metrics that prove people investments pay off. My clients include Michigan first responders, Dell Technologies, and executives across biotech and pharmaceutical sectors.

Before we invest another dollar in engagement surveys, let's measure what matters.
I created a free assessment tool that helps leaders understand their happiness baseline. It takes 5 minutes and gives you immediate insights into where your culture stands.

→ Download the Inner Home for Happiness Self-Assessment: [https://subscribepage.io/2xs58P]

Currently:

Teaching Organizational Behavior at Cleary University
Launching The JOY Institute (January 2026)
Speaking on happiness as a leadership strategy
Building partnerships with organizations ready to prove ROI on their people investments

Let's connect if you're:
✓ Leading transformation initiatives that need measurable impact
✓ Managing complex programmes with multiple stakeholders
✓ Curious about the neuroscience behind high-performing teams
✓ Ready to stop treating happiness like a "nice-to-have"

Dr. Zippy Abla

90% of disease and illness is stress-related.

Read that again.

Not genetics. Not luck. Not random chance.

STRESS.

Your chronic stress isn't just making you tired or a little short-tempered with your team.

It's literally making you sick.

⚠️ It damages your cardiovascular system. 
⚠️ Weakens your immune function. 
⚠️ Disrupts your sleep. 
⚠️ Impairs your cognitive abilities. 
⚠️ Accelerates aging at the cellular level.

And yet, we wear stress like a badge of honor.

"I'm so busy." "I haven't slept in days." "I'll rest when I'm dead."

Here's the uncomfortable truth: If you keep running like this, that day comes sooner than it should.

But here's the empowering truth: You have FAR more control over this than you think.

Your body is designed to handle acute stress. It's brilliant at it.

What it CAN'T handle is chronic, relentless, never-ending stress with no recovery.

The fix isn't complicated: 
→ Prioritize sleep 
→ Move your body 
→ Eat real food 
→ Build in actual rest (not just scrolling)

Small shifts. Massive impact.

Because the goal isn't just to live longer.
It's to actually ENJOY the life you're working so hard to build.

⚡ What's one small thing you can do TODAY to reduce your stress load?

💡 Ready to break the stress cycle? 
The JOY Institute starts January 2026—6 weeks to transform how you lead and live. 
♻ Share this with someone whose stress level worries you. 
➕ Follow Dr. Zippy for the neuroscience of happiness applied to high-stakes leadership.

Happiness Consultant | I help HR leaders turn their PEOPLE investments into measurable ROI using science-backed happiness strategies. | 🎯 FREE Webinar Series Nov 18-Dec 11 (See Featured)

My leader once yelled at me in front of my team. I cried.

But that’s not why three of us quit.

We didn’t leave because of what he did in that moment.

We left because of what came after.

No apology. No ownership. Just “miscommunication.”

Top performers don’t quit hard conversations.

They quit when leaders model avoidance and ego.

When leaders deflect, teams go silent.

Mistakes get hidden. Risks disappear.

And smart people stop trying.

The best cultures aren’t built on perfection. They’re built on repair.

If this resonates, pass it on to someone leading people right now.

Follow me Dr. Zippy Abla, for science-backed strategies that help teams be happy at work.

Happiness Consultant | I help HR leaders turn their PEOPLE investments into measurable ROI using science-backed happiness strategies. | 🎯 FREE Webinar Series Nov 18-Dec 9 (See Featured)

🔟 Things that require Zero talent 

1️⃣Being on time
 Shows respect. Builds trust. Costs nothing.

2️⃣Following through
 The fastest way to stand out? Do what you said you would.

3️⃣Being coachable
 You don’t need to be the smartest. Just willing to learn.

4️⃣Taking ownership
 Blame is easy. Accountability is rare and respected.

5️⃣ Being kind
 Not soft. Not weak. Just powerful and uncommon.

6️⃣ Listening without interrupting
 People don’t remember who spoke the most. They remember who made them feel heard.

7️⃣ Having a positive attitude
 Your energy is contagious. What are you spreading?

8️⃣Being prepared
 You can’t control outcomes, but you can control how you show up.

9️⃣Giving credit
 Want loyalty? Start by spotlighting others before yourself.

🔟 Respecting everyone, no matter their title
 Character isn’t revealed in big moments. It shows in how you treat the “invisible.”

Which of these has nothing to do with talent…
 …and everything to do with leadership?

➕ Follow me for content that puts character back at the center of culture.

Chief Happiness Consultant & Program Director | Proving ROI on Joy for Fortune 500s & Government Agencies | FREE Assessment Below ↓

Trust isn’t a soft skill. It’s your company’s most undervalued growth metric.

 (And it’s quietly killing 41% of your innovation pipeline.)

👇 Here’s what 200+ teams revealed:
✅ Companies with high interpersonal trust outperform peers by up to 400% in innovation outcomes.

That’s not a vibe. 
That’s financial data your CFO needs to see.

Here’s what happens in low-trust cultures:

✅ The brain goes into survival mode
✅ Amygdala fires
✅ Cortisol spikes
✅ Innovation centers shut down

🧠 Your team literally can’t innovate in fear.

What the data confirms:
 ✅ 79% of employees who trust leadership are more loyal
 ✅ Teams with psychological safety are 35% more likely to generate breakthroughs
 ✅ Trust-rich teams recover from failure 56% faster

But here’s where most exec teams get it wrong:
They treat trust like a personality trait, not a measurable capability.

The JOY Framework™ fixes that.

It operationalizes trust using 3 neuroscience-based protocols:
📊Neural Mapping
📊Safety Protocols
📊Trust Metrics

A 500-person health tech org used it last quarter.
Result?
 ⚡ 43% increase in innovation velocity
 ⚡ Time-to-solution dropped 37%
 ⚡ Idea implementation rate doubled

👉 Your next breakthrough isn’t stuck behind budget or bandwidth.

It’s buried under low-trust dynamics no one’s measuring.

Want to quantify what low trust is costing your org?
Comment/DM “INNOVATE” and I’ll send you our Trust-to-Innovation audit tool.

I used to believe I was just one promotion away from happiness.
✨More money.
✨More recognition.
✨More joy... right?

But the season I earned the most…
I also cried in my car the most.

Then I read this:
👉 Research from Oxford found that sleep quality has twice the impact on your happiness than income or relationship status.

Why?
Because when you’re sleep-deprived:
➟ Your amygdala goes into overdrive (hello, emotional spirals)
➟ Your prefrontal cortex shuts down (bye, judgment and calm)

The result?
➟ Overthinking
➟ Reactivity
➟ Emotional burnout

Sleep isn’t rest.
 ✅It’s resilience.
 ✅It’s joy maintenance in disguise.

Want to lead better?
Start by protecting your sleep time like it’s your most important meeting of the day.
Because it is.

I am hosting a Free webinar on Happiness on today at 1pm EST. Register here to learn the one Leadership skill technology cant replace. https://lnkd.in/gubHkyac
Follow me Dr. Zippy Abla for more science-backed strategies on leadership, joy, and performance.

I used to think leadership was about being the smartest person in the room.

The most prepared.
The most respected.
The most liked.

So when someone challenged me, I’d get defensive.
When someone dismissed me, I’d shut down.
When someone rejected an idea I worked hard on, I’d spiral for days.

Not outwardly.
But in my head.
And in my body.

Then one day, a mentor said something that flipped everything:

“The people who trigger you the most are your greatest teachers.”

At first, I rolled my eyes.
Then I started listening.
And everything changed.

Follow me to learn how I turned triggers into leadership tools—
It’s the foundation of what we’re building inside The JOY Institute, launching January 2026.

Who's triggered you lately? 👇

Most leadership programs teach how to manage people.

Very few teach how to manage yourself in the moments that matter most.

🌀The colleague who shoots down your ideas.
🌀The team member who resists everything.
🌀The client who’s never satisfied.
🌀They're not always the problem.

Sometimes... they’re the mirror.

This carousel breaks down the 4 most common leadership triggers and what they’re actually trying to teach you.

Because emotional maturity isn’t about avoiding difficult people.

 It’s about understanding the parts of you they activate.
👇 Swipe through, reflect, and tell me—
 Which one hit hardest?

(P.S. This is the kind of work we’re doing inside The JOY Institute, launching January 2026.)

What Your Triggers Are Trying to Teach You

My whole life, I was the person holding everyone's bags.

While others screamed with joy on roller coasters, I waved from the sidelines.
Safe. Scared. Supporting everyone else's adventures.

And you know what happened? 
My kids inherited my fear.
We all became the bag holders.

Something shifted when I turned 50.
I looked at my life and realized I was living it from the bench.
Watching. Waiting. Supporting.

But never truly LIVING.

Last week, I went to Universal Studios and SeaWorld.

At Universal Studios, I walked up to my first roller coaster.
My hands were shaking.
My heart was pounding.
But I got on anyway.

Then another.
Then another.

When my family wouldn't join me, a group of teenage boys adopted me for the day.
We rode everything together, laughing until our sides hurt.
I felt more alive than I had in years.

Day three at SeaWorld, same thing.
More rides. More freedom. More of who I really was.

Then my daughter said something that broke me wide open:

"Mama... I think I'd like to try a ride with you."

My kid, who had inherited my fear, was ready to be brave.

We climbed into that seat together.
She screamed with pure joy the entire time.
When we got off, she was glowing.

I stood there, tears streaming down my face.
Not from fear.
From gratitude.

Because I finally understood:
When you step into your own life, you give others permission to do the same.

Your courage becomes their courage.
Your joy becomes their possibility.

I spend my days as a happiness consultant helping others live fully.
But that day, I learned the most important lesson:
You can't guide others to a life you're not willing to live yourself.

What's the one thing you've been too scared to try? Drop it in the comments.

Only 5% of high school seniors have high self-esteem.

In first grade, it's 80%.
By fifth grade, it drops to 20%.
By the end of high school? Just 1 in 20.

Somewhere between finger painting and final exams, confidence erodes.
And 2 out of 3 adults are still carrying that weight—silently struggling with low self-worth.

It doesn't matter how many degrees they collect or how high their title climbs.
Inside, they're still asking:

Am I enough?

That's not a mindset issue.
That's a system failure.

And it's exactly why I do this work at the JOY Culture Lab—helping people rebuild the self-trust that school systems slowly dismantled.

Because self-worth shouldn't expire at 8 years old.

If you're leading teams, raising kids, or building companies—ask yourself:
Are you protecting their confidence, or quietly eroding it?


Follow me Dr. Zippy Abla for more on rebuilding self-trust in workplaces, schools, and homes.

People think lifting others makes them smaller.

That's what I believed too.

Until I watched a leader I was coaching face a decision:

Take credit for a big win…
Or give it to the three people on her team who did the heavy lifting.

She chose the second option.
Six months later, those same team members became her fiercest advocates.

They pushed harder.
They innovated faster.
And when she needed support on her next initiative, they moved mountains.

That's when I stopped seeing leadership as individual achievement…
And started seeing it as collective elevation.

Because when you invest in others, here's what actually happens:

People stop guarding ideas and start sharing them

The quiet ones suddenly feel safe to lead

The mentee becomes your most trusted partner

You stop carrying everything alone — and go further because of it

Here's the part most leaders get wrong:

They believe lifting others means dimming their own light.

But look at the image in this post.
The person at the bottom isn't smaller.
They're stronger. They're foundational.

They're building something bigger than themselves.

That's not sacrifice.
That's legacy.

Your turn
Who lifted you when you needed it most?
And who are you lifting now?

👇 Follow me if you believe leadership is less about control — and more about multiplying impact.

Stop trying to achieve work-life balance.

It doesn't exist.

And chasing it is making you miserable.

Here's why:
The "balance" model assumes work and life are separate entities on opposite sides of a scale. 
When one goes up, the other goes down.

It creates a false choice: 
→ Be a great leader OR be present at home 
→ Advance your career OR take care of yourself 
→ Achieve success OR maintain relationships
It's exhausting. And it doesn't work.

What DOES work? Integration.
You are ONE person.
Not a work version and a home version. 
Not a professional self and a personal self.

ONE integrated human being trying to navigate all the parts of a full life.

When you're stressed at work, you bring it home. 
When you're struggling at home, you bring it to work. 
When you're exhausted, EVERYTHING suffers. 
When you're energized, EVERYTHING improves.

The question isn't "How do I balance these competing priorities?"
The question is "How do I take care of myself so I can show up WELL everywhere?"

That means: 
✅ Sleep that supports your brain function (at work AND at home) 
✅ Nutrition that fuels your body (for meetings AND family time) 
✅ Movement that reduces stress (before big presentations AND tough conversations) 
✅ Purpose that grounds you (in the boardroom AND the living room)

When you're operating from a place of sustainable performance, everything flows better.

You're not trying to divide yourself into pieces.
You're showing up WHOLE.

🌊 Where are you trying to "balance" instead of integrate?

💡 Learn the integration framework. 
The JOY Institute opens January 2026—for leaders ready to show up whole. ♻ Send this to someone who's exhausted from trying to "balance it all." 
➕ Follow Dr. Zippy Abla for whole-person leadership strategies that actually work.

Today everyone posts about gratitude. Tomorrow, most of us forget.

Gratitude isn’t just a feel-good ritual.
It’s a neurological power tool.

Your brain releases dopamine and serotonin when you practice it—
The same chemicals expensive wellness programs try to replicate.

But gratitude is free. Immediate. Sustainable.
And teams that use it perform better. Period.

It calms the amygdala (less stress).
Activates the prefrontal cortex (better decisions).
Boosts oxytocin (stronger relationships).

Grateful teams innovate more.
Take more creative risks.
And recover faster from setbacks.

So, this Thanksgiving—
Write down three wins you’re genuinely grateful for.
Then drop one in the comments.

Let’s train our brains to notice what’s working.

The quality of your sleep last night matters more than the size of your paycheck.

Let that sink in.

We've been taught to chase the next raise, the next role, the next achievement. 
But if you're exhausted, none of it lands. 
Joy doesn't stick. Motivation fades. 
Leadership becomes reaction, not intention.

Sleep is not a luxury. It's a biological foundation.

🧠It regulates your mood. 
💡It sharpens your thinking. 
⚖️It buffers stress. 
❤️It amplifies empathy and emotional capacity.

And without it? Even the most talented, driven, high-achieving professionals will hit a wall.

This isn't about "work-life balance." It's about biological reality.

Rest isn't the reward. It's the requirement.

At The JOY Institute, we teach leaders how to build lives that don't require burnout to feel meaningful.

Because what's the point of success if you're too tired to enjoy it?

What does real rest look like for you lately?

---

💡The JOY Institute launches January 2026—6 weeks to master sustainable high performance without burning out.

♻ Share this with a leader who's running on fumes right now.
➕Follow Dr. Zippy Abla. Zippy for science-backed strategies on sustainable leadership.

"You cannot pour from an empty cup."

You've seen it on coffee mugs. Heard it in wellness workshops. Maybe even posted it yourself.

But have you actually STOPPED trying to pour from empty?

Most leaders I work with are running on: 
→ 5-6 hours of sleep 
→ Coffee for breakfast 
→ Meetings through lunch 
→ Stress eating by 3 PM 
→ Collapse by evening 
→ Repeat tomorrow

And they wonder why they're irritable. 
Why decisions feel harder. 
Why they're getting sick more often. 
Why that promotion they worked so hard for doesn't feel as good as they thought it would.

Here's what I learned the hard way:
Your energy isn't infinite. 
Your body isn't a machine. 
And sustainable high performance requires you to actually SUSTAIN yourself.

The Big 3 non-negotiables: 
✅ Sleep (7-9 hours, ideally during healing hours) 
✅ Nutrition (real food, not just fuel) 
✅ Movement (even 10 minutes counts)

Not someday. Not when things slow down. Not after this project.

Now.

Because the leader your team needs isn't the exhausted version of you pushing through.

It's the rested, energized, clear-headed version who can think strategically, lead with patience, and make decisions from wisdom instead of survival mode.

🫖 How full is your cup right now, honestly?
💡 Learn to fill your cup without sacrificing performance. 

The JOY Institute launches January 2026—applications open now. 
♻ Send this to a leader who's overdue for a refill. 
➕ Follow Dr. Zippy Abla for practical strategies on leading from fullness, not fumes.

I challenged a room full of high-performing leaders to go to bed by 10 PM for just 3 nights.

You should have seen the faces. 😅

"Impossible." 
"I have too much to do." 
"That's when I finally get quiet time."

I get it. I really do.

But here's what I know from the research AND from working with hundreds of leaders:

The hours between 10 PM and 2 AM are your body's healing hours.

Miss them, and you're running on stress hormones instead of real energy.

You get that "second wind" that feels productive—but it's just cortisol and adrenaline keeping you upright.

The cost? 
→ Worse decisions by afternoon 
→ Shorter patience with your team 
→ Compromised immune function 
→ Cognitive performance equivalent to being legally drunk

You wouldn't show up to lead your team drunk. 
So why show up sleep-deprived?

Here's my invitation: 
→Pick 3 nights this week. Any 3. 
→Be in bed, lights off, by 10 PM. 
→Notice how you feel on day 4.
You'll be shocked at the difference.

And if you're thinking "I don't have time for this," I promise, you don't have time NOT to.

💤 Who's willing to try the 10 PM experiment with me?
💡 Want the full framework? The JOY Institute opens in January 2026 with accountability, coaching, and proven strategies for sustainable performance. 
♻ Tag someone who needs to see this (especially that leader who brags about running on 4 hours of sleep). 
➕ Follow Dr. Zippy Abla. for the science of happiness translated into leadership strategy.

The $2.7M mistake leaders don’t see?

An 18-point psychological safety gap.

📊 2025 research shows:

87% of executives say their org is psychologically safe.
Only 69% of frontline employees agree.

This isn’t a soft issue.

This is a performance leak that’s costing millions.

Here’s how it shows up:

🔇 Missed insights — frontline sees problems execs never will

🧠 Bottlenecked ideas — innovation dies before it reaches leadership

💸 Turnover — $21K per person when employees don’t feel heard

The neuroscience explains it:

When safety is low, the brain enters threat mode, shutting down the circuits for creativity, collaboration, and insight.

And execs rarely notice.

Why? Because their safety creates a blind spot, their brains filter out threat signals entirely.

That’s where the JOY Framework comes in:

🧬 Neural Reset Protocol – restores safety across hierarchy

🤝 Oxytocin Feedback Loops – builds biological trust

🧠 Strategic Gratitude Circuits – reactivates innovation pathways

One healthcare org closed this safety gap by 15 points in 90 days.

The result? $2.7M unlocked from frontline suggestions that were previously never shared.

Because the most expensive innovation...

is the one your team never tells you about.

👇 Comment “MEASURE” for access to our Neural Safety Assessment.

👀 Follow me, Dr. Zippy Abla, for science-backed strategies to build happier, higher-performing workplaces because when you solve for happiness, you unlock retention, innovation, and results.

AI can write your emails.
It can code your apps.
It can analyze your data.

But it can’t create what makes people stay.

Here are 9 human capabilities that build true loyalty at work:
1) Reading the room – noticing when someone’s off, even if they won’t say it
2) Building bridges – connecting people and ideas that others keep siloed
3) Holding space – letting someone process hard news without rushing to fix it
4) Translating vision – turning abstract strategy into meaningful work
5) Spotting potential – seeing leadership in the quiet ones who go unnoticed
6) Managing conflict – handling tough conversations without creating casualties
7) Creating safety – making it okay to speak up, mess up, and ask for help
8) Inspiring belief – helping people see the purpose in their role
9) Celebrating wins – marking progress in ways that build momentum

These aren’t “soft skills.”

They’re the skillset that turns obligation into ownership.

Work into belonging.

Because people don’t stay where they’re just paid.
They stay where they’re seen. 👀

Follow me for bold takes on leadership, culture, and the real reasons people stay (or leave) their jobs.
Because surveys give you data, but I’ll help you read the room.

Executives obsess over revenue, productivity, and retention.

Here's what they miss:

Those metrics are all downstream of how people feel.

When employees feel chronically undervalued, 
😰They make defensive decisions. 
🔒They hoard information. 
⚠️ They optimize for survival, not excellence.

When they feel genuinely valued? 
✅Better risk assessment. 
⚡Faster problem-solving. 
💡Creativity under pressure.

Every "hard" business problem is a people problem in disguise.
⚠️Slow decision-making? That's fear of failure.
⚠️Siloed departments? That's lack of trust.
⚠️Customer churn? Your team stopped caring before your customers did.

Happy employees outsell peers by 37%, stay 6x longer, and drive 4x the profit. (Gallup, MIT Sloan)

I've watched companies cut turnover by 60% by changing one thing: how managers give recognition.

While your competitors chase engagement surveys, you could build emotional infrastructure that moves your Q1 numbers.

What's one "soft" investment you could make this week that shows up in next quarter's financials?

💡 The JOY Institute launches January 2026—where happiness science meets business strategy. 
♻ Share this with an executive who treats culture like it's separate from revenue. 
➕ Follow Dr. Zippy for science-backed strategies that turn workplace happiness into competitive advantage.

Last week, my 11-year-old came home with tears in her eyes.

She had given her lunch to a classmate who forgot theirs.
They mocked her African stew in front of everyone.

“I don’t want to help people anymore, Mama. It just makes me feel stupid.”

That broke me.

But it also hit me like lightning:
 This is how culture dies—at school or at work.
→ One teammate gets punished for going above and beyond
 → One idea gets laughed at in front of others
 → One leader extends trust and gets burned

So, everyone retreats.
And innovation dies in silence.

As a Happiness Consultant, I’ve seen this across every industry:
Integrity isn’t soft. It’s the hardest thing to scale.

💬 When did integrity change everything on your team?
➕ Follow me for happiness science that turns culture into a competitive advantage.

She didn’t think leadership could feel joyful.

Now she’s rebuilding her team culture from the inside out.

When Kara, a senior HR leader at a fast-growing tech company, first reached out, she was exhausted.

Her leaders were technically brilliant but emotionally unavailable.

Engagement scores were dropping. 
Turnover was rising.

And she felt like the “culture police” instead of a true People Partner.

We started working together through The JOY-Driven Culture Lab™.

 She learned how to coach her leaders on emotional intelligence,
 build psychological safety into team norms,
 and shift from reactive HR to proactive culture strategy.

6 weeks later, she presented a full JOY Audit to the executive team
 and got buy-in to roll it out org-wide.

Today?

Kara’s not just in the room.
She’s driving the conversation.

Because when people-first leaders are empowered with real frameworks,
 they stop chasing culture… and start building it.

DM me if you want to know more about The JOY-Driven Culture Lab™
 and how it can shift your team from burnout to belonging.

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Dr. Zippy Abla

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The Battle

Erhi Ojoboh MBA, PMP®, SAFe®

Dr. Zippy Abla

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Erhi Ojoboh MBA, PMP®, SAFe®'s LinkedIn Performance

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