Key Facts
about me
I’m Lola Oguntokun, founder of A Human Perspective.
A Human Perspective began as articles on LinkedIn. I’ve always been told I have interesting insights, so over the pandemic, I decided to start writing… but this was a cop-out for what I actually wanted to do - podcasting. Now I do both! 😆
A Human Perspective has since evolved into a People Ops / HR Consulting & Career Coaching services company.
I have wanted to set up my own business for years. I would tell my friends this periodically and emphatically over lovely restaurant dinners, and they’d nod approvingly with more belief than I had in myself.
It’s taken me years to get here but I’m finally venturing out on my own. My original plan was to continue doing what I have always done, providing People Operations services to start-ups. I absolutely love working with start-ups.
However, talking to a friend made me realise there is something else I have been doing underneath it all. Coaching.
When I was working for a recruitment agency way back when, it wasn’t the money that drove me. It was the challenge of understanding not only what the company wanted, but more also what the individual wanted. I took the time to understand people and coached them into getting jobs that were aligned with their goals and led to fulfilling careers. This is what made me feel successful, not my position on the leaderboard… and I didn’t do too badly there either! 😉
Moving in-house into People and HR departments, mostly of tech start-ups, was certainly an eye-opener and a new challenge I threw myself into. Sometimes too literally and I got a few bumps, bruises and grazes along the way, but I enjoyed those experiences too!
I am not your typical HR or People person. I don’t believe in the robotic way HR has worked in the past, and I’m lucky enough to have had opportunities to work in spaces where I was able to be myself and make HR more human.
What I loved most about my work was connecting with people and listening. Whether that was understanding the needs of stakeholders or what could be holding team members back from realising their full potential, and I often found myself coaching. I didn’t realise what I was doing at the time, but now I look back I do feel it’s a calling.
I have spent the majority of my career helping companies grow. I now want to additionally focus on helping people grow. I want to empower the people I work with. 💪
So I am now a full-time People Operations Consultant, Job Search & Career Coach. Super long job title, right? 😂 I’ll keep it for now.