Not too many people would openly admit to making mistakes in their career journey. Moreso, not too many in highly esteemed corporate positions. But the bravest in corporate leadership have shown that mistakes can also be lessons that fuel careers and provide valued retrospection.

One of the most respected business leaders in the country is Stanbic Chief Executive Officer Dr. Joshua Oigara. In a recent media interview, Oigara shared some of the mistakes he has made in his career, and how some of them have turned out to be launching pads to greater opportunities.

“It is not just about making mistakes. We must be willing to learn from our mistakes as well. For instance, when I left PwC, I went to work with Vimal Shah, the CEO of Bidco Oil Refineries, and the team. Many people told me, ‘Josh, this is your greatest mistake, but you need courage.’,” he said in an interview with the Nation Media Group.

Mr. Oigara went on to share that he didn’t stay long at Bidco before  Mbuvi Ngunze asked him to join the cement industy.

“Although leaving PwC for Bidco was seen as a mistake, it was also an opportunity for me to catalyse the ambition of becoming a leader in future. People see mistakes as bad, but if we don’t give ourselves the courage to try new possibilities, we cannot grow,” said the Stanbic CEO.

According to Oigara, mistakes are not so much about failure as they are often made out to be. Instead, they are part of the journey, where one has the choice to either earn or learn.

“Even the greatest sports people, such as Serena Williams and Michael Jordan, had many start-stops. We only see the outcome rather than the effort. The culture about failing first forward is what we are constantly pushing for now. Today, I say, fail first, but fail cheaply. There is no point in failing and losing everything,” said Oigara.

Oigara however regreted announcing his net worth in public because of the ripple effect this announcement had.

“Declaring my wealth as a young CEO was a foolish thing to do. We agreed with many industry leaders to do it to enhance transparency, but in the end, it was just the late Safaricom chief executive officer Bob Collymore and I who did it,” he said.

Stanbic Bank under Joshua Oigara is now Kenya’s fastest growing bank

Although Oigara and Bob had hoped that their wealth declaration would have sparked a sense of value and transparency among corporate and general leadership in the country, their net worth figures became the talk of the town.

“Our net worth became the only stories about us, instead of the spirit of the exercise and the value we were building in the economy,” he said