Who Are You Without Your Work?

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the work, achievement or identity you have built your life around is suddenly taken away? In this episode of Leadership in Africa Redefined, Taaka Awori speaks with Farida Bedwei, software engineer, disability rights advocate and entrepreneur, about the deeper questions of worth, identity and purpose that emerge when achievement is no longer enough. Farida shares the deeply personal moment when a health condition left her paralysed from the waist down, and how sitting behind her laptop, unable to hold her mouse, forced her to confront just how much of her identity and worth she had tied to her work. The conversation goes beyond career success to explore what it means to give yourself permission to slow down, redefine achievement, and listen to what you truly need. They explore: • What happens when we tie our worth to what we achieve • Why you don't always have to be at the top of your game • Knowing when to push yourself, and when to give yourself a break • The inner voices that ask, "Do I really deserve to be here?" • How faith can shape your sense of purpose and leadership • Why leaders need permission to ask, "What will happen if I don't do this?" • The importance of having people who keep you grounded and accountable • What it means to live and lead as a light A powerful conversation about leading from within, and remembering that who you are is bigger than what you do. 👥 About Our Guest: Farida Bedwei Farida Bedwei is a software engineer, disability rights advocate and entrepreneur with extensive experience in tech, microfinance, and digital innovation. She currently serves as a Platform Product Consultant at Digital Opportunity Trust and previously worked as a Principal Software Engineer at Microsoft. She is the founder and host of Demystifying Disabilities and has served on the board of Share Ghana since 2013. In 2016, she was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Go deeper: Join Rogue Leadership, the exclusive community built around the inner work of leadership: rogueunion.org/courses/rogue-leadership 🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss the rest of the season.