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Dr Olayemi Dawodu, the Managing Director/CEO of Cerba-Lancet Laboratories Nigeria in this revealing interview with CHIOMA UMEHA underscores that competence, resilience and measurable results—not gender—define leadership excellence. The accomplished Anatomic, Molecular Pathologist and a laboratory physician shares her journey of unexpected career evolution and the demands of leading a multinational diagnostic healthcare organisation to repeated recognition with five Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Awards (NHEA). Excerpts:
Given international testimonials validating Nigerian diagnostic results, how significant is accuracy in establishing trust and credibility both locally and abroad?
Accuracy is the pillar of everything. It is achieved through processes, procedures, the proficiency of personnel, the infrastructure deployed, and the quality management system implemented in every aspect of operations. This ethos is affirmed by ISO accreditation sustained for over a decade, audited by SANAS, MLSCN, and NINAS.
Accurate test results define best practice. They enable individuals to know their numbers, prompting lifestyle modifications that prevent diseases. For those with non‑communicable conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, or elevated lipid levels, they provide the basis for effective management. Physicians rely on them to prescribe the right treatment, monitor progress, and prevent complications that would otherwise burden the healthcare system.
Testimonials from patients re‑ turning from the UK, US, and Cana‑ da confirm parity with international standards. The reproducibility of results establishes credibility, ensuring proper disease management, reducing complications, and positively impacting lives across Nigeria and beyond.
Looking back, what experiences shaped the leader you are today in diagnostic healthcare?
That’s an interesting question. Usually, I would go as far back as my childhood. So, I am a third child in the midst of five children. And so, I am the middle child. And honestly, from when I was a very young age, I was saddled with the responsibility of having to navigate and take responsibility early. Because my older ones were significantly older than I was with six and eight years.
And then I had two younger ones who were closer in age. And it kind of always put me in a position where I took on responsibility quite early. So, for me, I would say leading was quite natural.
Whether it was at home, like I said, and even in school, I participated in quite a bit of sports. And it might sound not connected, but those things all play up together. I mean, for sports, you needed to learn to be a team player.
You needed to learn perseverance and resilience as a sports person. Also, I had leadership roles in primary school, secondary school. Primary school, I was the class captain.
And in secondary school, I was the health prefect in my secondary school. And going on to my residency training, I was the chief resident in my pro‑ gramme. And the chief resident is saddled with the responsibility of looking after the interests of the residents, as well as managing the consultants and professors in the department.
And it had me in a position where I had to liaise with the management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, where I trained to take part in administrative meetings. I think full circle. I’ve been exposed to quite a lot of opportunities to express or imbibe leadership traits that honestly do play out in how I lead currently.
Did you always envision yourself leading a multinational healthcare organisation? Or did your career evolve in unexpected ways?
The honest truth is my career absolutely evolved in an unexpected way. I referenced that I had leadership roles, but I was also very set as to where my career was going to be, which was to lecture at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, I’ll be specific, and to also be a consultant at Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
I didn’t have it as part of my career path to kind of pivot into the private sector and to lead in that sector and to lead in the public sector, absolutely. I try to ensure anything I embark upon, I do that to the best of my ability and I deploy excellence. But, I would say my role at Cerba Lancet evolved. Absolutely.
What has been your experience leading a multinational healthcare organisation in an environment where female leadership is still the exception?
Honestly, my experience has been shaped by the thoughts around leadership, not being defined by gender, but being defined by competence, vision, resilience, and results. That is being result-orientated, so I never re‑ ally looked at it as, oh, I am a woman. Competence was paramount. The demand was to upskill comprehensively, acquire all necessary expertise, and execute the responsibilities with excellence and resilience.
So, what are some of the biggest leadership challenges that you have encountered since you assumed this role?
I think a very big one that also still always exists is managing people. Managing people and their diversity, getting their buy-in into your vision and what you are required to do. It takes a lot of navigating, a lot of wisdom, and, also a lot of unlearning and learning new skills to ensure that you accommodate everyone’s diversity, but also keep us all focused on the objective of why we are here. So, if you ask me, the biggest challenge is managing people.
Winning the Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Award five times is a rare feat. How do you view the significance of this accolade in shaping your leadership legacy?
The recognition personally for me validates the work that we do at Cerba Lancet every day. The pillars that we rest on – innovation, quality assurance and being patient centred. For me, it makes me personally happy that in our sector and beyond, that is acknowledged. And it also places a sense of responsibility to ensure that we continue to improve and up‑ hold the trust that has been placed in us at Cerba Lancet. I think it is a testament to the great work that the team and all the staff at Cerba Lancet are doing every day to ensure that we are giving out reliable and quality results that are providing the correct management and positively impacting the lives of the citizens in Nigeria that we serve.
When people are celebrating this achievement, what do you hope they understand about the work that goes on behind the scenes?
I hope that they acknowledge and, as I said, also celebrate each and every staff that contributes to the kind of operations, the quality and the results that they receive that impacts their lives.
Therefore, basically acknowledgement of each and every staff that takes part in us being able to deliver on our mandate of quality results coming out of the organisation. I hope they also are able to acknowledge our systems, our processes, our protocols that are in place that ensures that we are able to repeatedly reproduce accurate re‑ sults coming out of the organisation and that they know that we are operating this organisation to the highest standard, the international standards that we use in carrying out our services at Cerba Lancet n Nigeria. Those are things that are very important that they are able to acknowledge as well.
How would you define success beyond awards and recognitions?
Also, I would define success as having more impact to a larger population of Nigerians’ lives, preventing complications from non-communicable diseases where we play a very big role with our clients that come in to check their numbers, to know their numbers. Impact is also helping even organisations to have full awareness about the medical status or the health status of their staff so that they can modify their policies to get more productivity from them. Additionally, that the nation acknowledges the information and the data and knowledge that we contribute to the body of knowledge and the help that we provide in planning for healthcare in Nigeria.
What qualities do you believe women naturally bring to leadership? And what stereotypes about women in leadership do you hope your journey helps to challenge?
What do we bring as women? Natural maternal instinct. God has blessed us with that, so it is not something that we need to cultivate. We were blessed with it from birth. And healthcare is a place that needs that nurturing, the care and the compassion that a woman brings to the table. Which, honestly, you cannot compare to our male counterparts. Those are the things I think that we bring to the table.
What I would hope that my journey shows is that you can and you must do it afraid. Again, with a caveat of course, not without ensuring that there is some competence to be able to take on that opportunity or the task that has been given to you. And honestly, learning must be a lifelong desire and skill for any woman that wants to lead.
You must keep learning, unlearning, and improving yourself daily, no matter the challenge, task, or position.
