Akua Mensah, Senior Director of Process Engineering & Business Enablement at CIBC, joins host Mudassar Malik on this episode to explore the real drivers of transformation—and why soft skills aren’t just a “nice to have,” but a strategic necessity. Drawing from her work leading process design, service improvement, and enterprise change across banking and consulting, Akua brings a grounded perspective on how large organizations actually move forward.

The conversation begins with how Akua’s team centres the customer’s “why” in service design, data, and Lean Six Sigma programs across the bank. She shares how transformation work must balance operational logic with human insight—and how resilience, adaptability, and diplomacy serve as the glue that holds major initiatives together. 

From there, Akua shares why communication is still the top failure point in large-scale projects—impacting timelines, budgets, and trust. She explains how leaders can set the tone through clarity, active listening, and confidence built through competence. The discussion also dives into conflict resolution, creative problem solving, and the importance of coaching that goes beyond instruction to true development.

The episode closes with Akua outlining the human success factors she sees as non-negotiable for the post-AGI enterprise: communication, coaching, problem-solving, meta-learning, and confidence built on real competence. For leaders navigating change, it’s a clear call to invest in what really drives outcomes—your people.

Akua explores topics like:
- Why poor communication still breaks projects 
- Handling conflict in high-stakes teams 
- Leading with customer-first design thinking 
- Coaching beyond performance reviews 
- Building confidence through competence 

Akua's website: www.akuamensah.com

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