Why would a successful radio presenter and newsreader switch to a writing role? Nancy says executive storytelling offers endless depth, and she’s discovered a real passion for learning from leaders.
Nancy Wainaina, now senior writer at CHRO East Africa and CITO East Africa, was born in Marsabit, in the upper eastern region of Kenya, where her father, who worked in construction, was posted for a dam-building project. Her mother, a teacher, was born in western Kenya and her father was from central Kenya. The result is that little Nancy grew up with a multitude of linguistic influences: she can speak Kikuyu, Meru, “a bit of Borana”, Swahili, and English.
Nancy studied journalism in college and majored in broadcast journalism. From 2013, she worked as a news reporter, newsreader and radio presenter, and she enjoyed the job: “I felt as if radio was probably easier than writing, I could communicate in Swahili, and I had a passion for radio,” she says.
By 2021 Nancy has been offered a job for Radio Africa Group as a newsreader and news writer. “I went from community radio to mainstream media,” she explains. “It was different. The news items were short – often about 100 words – and I found I had so much material left over, for example when I did interviews. I was not exhausting the content I had. So I started writing up the rest for explainer articles which could be published in newspapers. I branched out – I started doing features, health content, writing about leadership. That’s when I fell in love with writing.”
She says that if she had known how she would come to feel about writing, she would have majored in print in college.
Storytelling taken seriously
After a spell as a freelance writer, Nancy spotted a job advert from Executive Communities. She says she was particularly attracted to the idea of being able to sit down with high-level executives for in-depth engagement, and she relished the idea of being able to pick their brains, figure out what made the executives tick, and then write about it.
“The job was not just about publishing [any old] content, but it was about having meaningful conversations and capturing insights that are actually meaningful to readers,” she says. “It was a place where storytelling was taken seriously. I was excited about the opportunity to go beyond the usual interview questions and to figure out how leaders think, how they approach challenges, and how that informs how they lead. Now that I am in this job, every interview I do yields something interesting.”
Nancy recalls, for instance, that one executive shared with her how the experience of raising a neurodivergent child had made her a more empathetic manager, who thought about the accommodations workplaces could make (such as noise-free spaces) in order ensure neurodivergent people can be assets in the workplace.
Another HR executive shared how her perspective was shaped by a deeply personal experience. When her sister fell ill in Sweden, she spent time abroad observing a system designed to accommodate life. Seeing firsthand the compassionate leave, flexibility, and support structures that allowed her sister to balance illness, motherhood, and work inspired her commitment to advocating for similar policies in Kenya.
Nancy particularly appreciates being able to see the human being behind the job title. Most people probably experience anxiety when being called to a conversation with HR – “you’re either getting a pay rise or fired,” she laughs – but what she encountered was people who think deeply about their roles and were willing to share the lessons they had learned too.
While she experiences particularly HR executives as “open and willing to share their personal stories”, Nancy reserves praise for IT leaders too.
“IT executives are not just managing systems. I learned that they are deeply involved in shaping business strategy. They are part of conversations around innovation and how organisations stay competitive, and without them we would not have half the innovations we have,” she says.
Lessons from leaders
What have all her conversations with high-level leaders taught her so far? Plenty.
“I learned that there is no single predictable path to leadership. Many people have taken different routes in their careers, some may have been planned, some not, but those experiences shaped how they approach their role. Really successful leaders seem to work constantly towards getting better and better at their jobs.”
She has also learnt about the importance of adaptability. “The environment in which executives do business is constantly changing, and those who succeed are not rigid, but are willing to adapt and learn new ways of doing things. Success is not just about your business strategy, but about resilience, consistency, and how you handle uncertainty. For instance, during Covid, successful leaders had to adjust how they would be able to deliver on their mandate or goal.
Finally, Nancy says, she learnt about the importance of people. “Even in highly technical roles, there is a clear understanding among top leaders of how success is tied to how you treat your team. You have to treat your people well because it is through them that you achieve.”
Nancy feels that she works in an organisation that has internalised these leadership lessons. “I appreciate the level of access and trust that Executive Communities has given me. I’ve not experienced policing: you are given the freedom to do your work and deliver. I don’t feel like an employee but as part of a team that is growing together. And If I am going through a challenge I am very comfortable to reach out to my boss and together we come up with a solution.”
And after a day of teamwork, Nancy enjoys coming home to her daughter, who is almost four. They bake together – another big passion of Nancy’s – and share the spoils with her neighbours, and they sing together, “no particular genre, as long as the beat is good”.
Nancy is the perfect example of how, once you’ve found your beat, there is no stopping you.
