I'm really excited to tell you this story, and I'm also a little nervous because everyone who knows me knows I love public speaking. I enjoy it. I usually talk about business outcomes, measurement, transformation, and Agile. But today, I’m sharing a very personal story—one that I’ve been going through over the last year.
What I hope you take from this is a reflection on yourself as a change leader and what you are truly capable of. Without realizing it, we often put ourselves in a box. Who here is in the IT transformation box? Raise your hand if you've been transforming IT for the past year. Who is in the "I am transforming the business side" box? And who focuses on leadership development?
We categorize ourselves, but I want to challenge you to think bigger. As business agility change leaders, we have skills—the ability to listen, pivot, learn, inspect, adapt, and test. These skills are universal, and I want us to think beyond our current roles.
My Journey and the Skills I Bring
This is my beautiful family. I am the CEO of Agility Health, and I have been in this space for a while, focusing on Agile and transformation. We recently changed the name of our company from "Agile Transformation" to "Agility Health" because we believe it's beyond Agile now—it’s about enterprise agility.
Reflecting on my own skills, I know I’m good at vision and strategy. I know I can teach, educate, and evangelize an idea. I also know that I can be authentic, speak from the heart, and be vulnerable—just like I am today.
Now, I want you to think about the skills you bring to the table.
What It Takes to Lead Change
Take out your phone and go to slido.com. Enter event code 450 and answer this question: What traits and beliefs are needed to lead a big change?
Let’s see some of the responses:
- Caring about people
- Courage
- Passion
- Hope
- Vision
- Transparency
- Empathy
- Integrity
- Clarity
- Vulnerability
- Growth mindset
- Bravery
- Grit
- Faith
- Thick skin
Do we need these every day as business agility leaders? Absolutely.
Be Bold, Be Real, and Lead with Love
For the last two years, I’ve done a presentation called "Be Bold, Be Real, and Lead with Love." Evan Leybourne told me that should be the title of my first book. It truly represents my leadership style—I dream big, take action, and lead from the heart.
In my first session, my mother was in the audience. She had no idea I would call her out, but I told everyone that behind every strong woman is a stronger woman. She raised me to be fearless, to take chances, and to try new things.
But last year, everything I had preached about was put to the test. I faced a massive challenge that I didn’t feel equipped to handle. I had to ask myself: Am I going to walk the walk or just talk the talk?
The Sudan Crisis
Let me tell you about Sudan. In 1989, Omar al-Bashir took power. The second day after his coup, he executed 28 military generals. Two were missing that day—one of them was my father.
My father narrowly escaped execution and became one of the first opposition leaders against the government. That’s why I have such a deep connection to Sudan.
In 1993, Sudan was added to the State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) list. This is the worst list to be on. It isolates a country economically—no one wants to do business with you except maybe Russia and China. Sudan was completely cut off.
Then came Darfur. Hundreds of thousands of people were massacred. The International Criminal Court (ICC) charged Bashir with genocide, but he remained in power.
Then, on December 19, 2018, the people had enough. 60% of Sudan’s population is under 25. It’s a young nation, and they wanted change. They took to the streets, chanting: Freedom, Justice, and Peace.
Millions of people protested in a massive sit-in at military compounds, demanding Bashir step down. It wasn’t about oil, bread, or gas anymore—they simply wanted their dictator gone.
Then, the military attacked. They massacred peaceful protesters. And because of WhatsApp and social media, I saw it all live. Imagine the horror, watching it in real-time.
Stepping Up to Help
My father passed away in February 2019, and Sudan was in crisis. I knew I had to help.
What do transformation leaders do when faced with a problem? We act.
Here’s what I did:
- I created a video explaining how Sudan needed its experts to return.
- The video went viral, and we created a Facebook page that grew to 100,000 followers.
- I set up a Google Form to collect names of experts willing to help.
- We registered a nonprofit organization called Sudan NextGen.
- I traveled to Congress and gave a speech that went viral with 1.2 million views.
- I was invited to Al Jazeera to speak about why Sudan had to change.
I kept asking myself, "What am I doing? I’m not an activist." But I just took it one step at a time.
Building Sudan NextGen
We built an online platform to connect Sudanese experts worldwide.
- 475 experts have registered to help Sudan.
- We created pages for government ministries to list their priorities.
- We launched 137 transformation projects.
One challenge? Funding. Being on the SST list means countries hesitate to invest.
But we push forward. In December, 50 experts returned to Sudan to train 1,400 people in conflict resolution, leadership, and—of course—Agile.
Why Agile in Sudan?
Sudan is in chaos. It needs structure. Agile gives teams the tools to collaborate, self-organize, and move forward despite uncertainty.
We taught Scrum, stand-ups, OKRs, and Trello. We even created an e-learning platform with recorded sessions.
Meeting the Prime Minister
In Washington, D.C., I met Sudan’s new Prime Minister. I facilitated meetings between him and major NGOs. Soon, I’ll return to Sudan to teach leadership agility to the entire cabinet.
The Moral of the Story
My bracelet says: She believed she could, so she did.
Sometimes, the impossible is possible if you just believe. Your skills as a change leader are transferable.
My final message to you: Be bold. Be real. Lead with love.
Thank you for hearing my story.