Letters to My Younger Self: Robinah Siima — “Success Is Quieter, But Richer”

The FINCA Uganda CFO on self-worth, balance, courage, and the quiet strength of purposeful leadership

In this instalment of our Letters to My Younger Self series, Robinah Siima, Chief Financial Officer at FINCA Uganda, reflects on the lessons, pressures, and defining moments that shaped her into one of the country’s most grounded and values-centred financial leaders.

With an MBA, FCCA, CPA(U), and FMVA, and a career spanning audit, financial management, regulatory oversight, reporting, and CFO leadership, Robinah embodies a rare blend of technical mastery and emotional intelligence.

Her work today touches every corner of FINCA’s financial ecosystem. From treasury and budgeting to enterprise strategy and governance, all while nurturing a high-performance finance team and strengthening institutional transparency.  

Achievements

Her excellence has been recognised both nationally and internationally. In the last five years, she has earned three significant awards. There was the ACCA Africa Young CFO Award 2025 in Mombasa, which honoured her as a rising continental financial leader.

Then there was Uganda’s Young CFO of the Year 2025, celebrating her transformational work at FINCA. Plus FINCA’s institutional win at the 2024 FiRe Awards (MDI Category). These are a testament to her stewardship of financial reporting quality and governance.

These achievements mark her out as a next-generation CFO redefining what leadership in finance looks like: ethical, strategic, transparent, and deeply human.

But behind the clarity she now carries was a younger Robinah who pushed too hard, said “yes” too often, and mistook exhaustion for excellence. Her journey cuts across demanding environments such as Ernst & Young, the Electricity Regulatory Authority, and FINCA. Each have left her with not just technical skill, but an evolving understanding of self-worth, balance, and courage.

Her letter is a candid reflection on the discipline it takes to build a career in finance, and the emotional maturity required to sustain it. That is coupled with the quiet strength needed to protect one’s voice in rooms that reward certainty.

And yet, the journey to this point was anything but effortless. Behind every financial turnaround, every board-level decision, and even the awards that now sit on her shelf were seasons of self-doubt, overcommitment, and the silent pressure to appear unfaltering in high-stakes spaces.

There were moments when the applause from accolades could not drown out the fatigue, and when saying “yes” felt safer than protecting her time or her well-being.

Robinah writes from that deeper place, from understanding the cost of being perpetually available. It is also from the strength it takes to pause, and the wisdom she found in learning that true leadership is not about carrying everything. Rather, it is about carrying only what matters.

It is from this place of clarity and humility that she speaks to her younger self.

Mistakes to avoid: “No title is worth sacrificing your well-being.”

Robinah begins by addressing one of her earliest patterns: the belief that saying yes to everything signaled competence.

“You believed that saying ‘yes’ to everything proved your capability.”

“You overcommitted, stretched yourself thin, and thought sheer hard work would carry you.”

With time, she learned that discernment matters more than constant effort.

“True impact lies not in doing everything, but in doing the right things well.”

She also speaks candidly about neglecting her own well-being.

“Deadlines mattered more than rest, and work took priority over health.”

“No title, no achievement, is worth sacrificing your well-being.”

Her voice to her younger self is firm, compassionate and grounding: “A balanced life is not indulgence; it is the foundation on which everything else stands.”

On risks: the ones she took and the ones she postponed

Robinah remembers the times she allowed self-doubt to soften her voice.

“You hesitated in rooms where you felt too young or too inexperienced.”

“You swallowed ideas that could have sparked innovation.”

Her advice today?

“Speak up. The diversity of thought you bring is not weakness; it is power.”

She also reflects on delaying further education.

“You convinced yourself that experience was sufficient.”

“If you had pursued it earlier, doors might have opened sooner.”

Yet, she does not frame this as failure — but as clarity earned over time.

“Education and experience are not rivals; they are allies.”

Self-worth, burnout, resilience & ambition

Much of Robinah’s wisdom centers on identity and emotional health.

“Do not look outward for all your validation.”

“Your worth does not depend on recognition from others.”

“It resides in your contribution, your effort, your growth.”

She is unflinchingly honest about burnout.

“Learn to rest before you are forced to.”

“No outcome is worth the emptiness that follows exhaustion.”

And she challenges the common misconception that resilience means suffering in silence.

“Ask for help without shame… Strength is not only in endurance but also in knowing your limits.”

Her counsel on ambition is equally profound:

“Keep your ambition, but shape it.”

“Let it be guided by purpose, not by the restless pursuit of applause.”

“True ambition seeks to leave behind something greater than oneself.”

The meaning of success: “then vs. now”

When she was younger, Robinah equated success with visibility.

“Success was the applause of others: the promotions, the awards, the invitations into rooms that seemed important.”

But her definition has changed dramatically.

“Now you know better. Success is quieter, but richer.”

She finds fulfilment in growth she enables, not just outcomes she delivers.

“Success lies in catalysing the growth of others.”

“In the excellence of a team working well together.”

“In maintaining your integrity while also protecting your joy.”

And she reminds her younger self: “Success is not just about achievement — it is about balance, impact, and peace.”

On leadership — “It is not command; it is empowerment.”

Robinah once believed leadership required dominance and certainty.

“You thought leadership was about proving yourself, taking charge, carrying the load alone.”

But experience humbled and widened her understanding.

“Leadership is not command; it is empowerment.”

“It is listening, fostering collaboration, and unlocking the potential in others.”

Her definition of leadership is now deeply relational.

“The measure of a leader is not in their individual accomplishments, but in the strength, growth, and integrity of those they serve.”

Regrets, redirections & revelations

If she has any regrets, they centre on the support she didn’t seek sooner.

“You underestimated the value of mentors and networks.”

“You tried to forge your path alone.”

Yet, even closed doors became teachers.

“Redirections became revelations.”

“Opportunities that did not materialise forced you to pivot, and in those pivots, you discovered new ways to contribute.”

Her final revelation is one of the most elegant in the entire series:

“Humility is not the opposite of expertise but its companion.”

“It is humility that deepened your leadership and widened your influence.”