Workplace Multiplier by Tola Akinsulire

September 15, 2026

Welcome to the Workplace Multiplier newsletter. Published Monday to Friday, equipping you to achieve your professional goals faster and without burnout or overwhelm.

How YOU can get trusted with bigger things

Howdy ,

In 2025, Aliko Dangote appointed David Bird as CEO of Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Think about what that means.

This is one of Africa's most consequential industrial assets. Billions of dollars invested. Huge expectations. Governments, investors and competitors watching. And Dangote's name is on the door.

So what kind of person do you put in charge of something like that?

Before joining Dangote, Bird had led OQ8's Duqm Refinery in Oman through start-up into sustained production. The refinery completed key reliability tests and eventually operated above its original nameplate capacity.

Whatever else went into his appointment, Bird arrived with something every professional should be building:

Evidence. Not just experience. Evidence that when something important is placed in your hands, you can be trusted with it.

That made me think about a few questions worth asking ourselves.

When I give my word, what does it mean to the people around me?

If I say Friday, does Friday mean Friday? If something changes, do I communicate early, or do people have to chase me?

Trust is built in small moments long before the big opportunity arrives.

Do people associate me with completion?

Some people are impressive in meetings. They have ideas. They volunteer. They speak confidently.

Then everyone waits.

The professionals who get trusted with bigger responsibilities are often the ones whose names become associated with movement.

When they take ownership, things move.

 Who do I become when things go wrong?

Pressure tells people a lot. Do I disappear? Do I become defensive? Do I spend my energy explaining why the problem belongs to someone else?

Or do I become calmer, clearer and more useful?

How you handle today's pressure is quietly shaping whether someone will trust you with tomorrow's responsibility.

Does the quality of my work depend on how closely someone is watching me?

This is where many capable people hit a ceiling. Their leader knows they can do the job. But their leader also knows they need to keep checking, correcting and reminding.

The work gets done, but the leader still carries it mentally.

Which brings me to perhaps the most important question:

Can someone give me something important and stop thinking about it?

Your boss already has enough things occupying their mind. Delegation should create capacity.

But sometimes the task leaves the desk without leaving the head.

Has he done it? Should I check? Will this come back to me at the last minute?

That is not full trust. The opposite is very different.

There are people you give something to and almost immediately experience peace.

You know they will either deliver or tell you early enough if something has changed. That is the kind of professional who gets trusted with bigger things.

So perhaps the question this week isn't: "Why aren't they giving me more responsibility?"

A better question may be: "What evidence have I given them that they can?"

And one more: Where does my leader still feel the need to check behind me?

That may be showing you exactly where your next level of growth is.

Keep winning at work and in life,

Tola Akinsulire
Your Strategic Workplace Mentor