Workplace Multiplier by Tola Akinsulire

March 24, 2025

Welcome to the Workplace Multiplier newsletter. Published Monday to Friday, equipping you to achieve your professional goals faster and without burnout or overwhelm by leveraging The Triple Win Method.

"This" can Open Doors for you at Work

Howdy ,

Did you sign a bond with them?

That was a question I didn’t expect to be asked. I guess it never crossed my mind that this was necessary.

You are probably confused and wondering, “What’s he talking about?”

So, let me give you the context to the question.

Or rather, let me build a bigger path to the context so you get the full gist of it all.

In most of the roles I have taken in my career, I wasn’t the one who put myself up for it.

People would recommend me for the role. And voila, I was in the groove of things.

I was recommended for the role that would eventually have me working in Barcelona, Spain.

During my stay there, I lived as an expatriate. And you know what that means.

Yes, an expatriate African living in a European country.

I was having a conversation with this gentleman when he asked the question I started with.

“Did you sign a bond with them?”

To which I responded, “No”.

That was the shocker for him.

He couldn’t understand why an organisation would make that level of investment in staff and not have something to hold on to as a commitment to getting more value from the arrangement.

They already had something - it just was not documented.

My reputation and brand were the commitments they had.

No, I’m not tooting my horn.

I am hoping that this story will inspire you to have the kind of workplace brand and reputation that people will be willing to open doors for you.

Yes, it’s a lot easier for you if people open doors for you than you trying to crash open every door.

And it’s even easier for them to do that if they know you have a reputation and brand that can be trusted.

The first person to teach me about the value of a man’s word was the late Ed Cole in my teen years.

He made it clear that the only thing a woman holds on to before marrying a man and taking up his surname(unless, of course, she is Spanish—Spanish women don’t change surnames at marriage) is his word of promise that he will always be there.

If his word can’t be trusted, the man can’t be trusted and the woman shouldn’t be going into marriage with him.

He emphasizes it with the story of his daughter. A few weeks before her wedding, the groom calls to ask for a postponement.

Ed Cole tells his wife & daughter, “Don’t postpone it, cancel it.” According to him, if a man’s word can’t be believed before the wedding, don’t expect it to change after the wedding.

The guy promised to marry her on a particular date, if he changes his mind a few weeks before the wedding when they marry, he will not be committed to keeping his word.

It worked out well for his daughter. Years later, she married someone else. Both she and her husband were forever grateful for her father’s decision.

That story framed the value of my word which has fed into my reputation and brand.

How solid is your reputation and brand at work?

Can it be trusted to open doors for you?

The ball is in your court.

Fellow Workplace Multipliers,

As always, keep winning at work and in life.

Tola Akinsulire

Your Strategic Workplace Mentor

Ps: Look out tomorrow for thw email on how you can sign up for a free 30-minute one-on-one session with me next week

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Want to get in on some of the lessons I have picked up in my career? Get my eBook "21 Lessons I Learned in My Career - A Primer to Help You Become Better at Work". Get it here

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