For Lucy Quist, leadership is not about gender—it is about responsibility, performance, and belief.
In her conversation with Just4WomenAfrica, the former CEO and author reflects on what it truly means to lead as a woman in spaces where women have historically been absent.
Having led major global institutions and becoming the first Ghanaian woman to head a multinational telecoms company in Ghana, Quist is clear-eyed about the realities of leadership.
“No one gives you a pass because you’re a woman,” she says. “You still have to understand the rules of engagement and deliver on expectations.”
One of the biggest challenges she faced was not only turning around a struggling business but also convincing people—many of whom had never seen a woman in such a role—to believe in her leadership. Yet she refused to define herself primarily by gender.
“I don’t walk into a leadership role thinking, ‘I am a woman.’ I walk in thinking, ‘What needs to be done to succeed?’ Intelligence and capability are not gendered.”
Quist traces much of her confidence to how she was raised. She was never socialised to think there were limits to what she could do because she was a girl. That early conditioning, she says, made all the difference.
“We need to stop socialising girls to believe they are less than. By the time young women realise society has limitations for them, their mindset should already be set.”
Her message to women is powerful and direct: leadership is earned through competence and consistency. Equality will not come from lowered expectations, but from equal preparation and opportunity.
Watch the full interview in our YouTube channel.
