International Women’s Day: Thoughts and reflections from a woman in leadership

Reflecting on today

I’m going to start at the end and work backwards. Because I genuinely feel blessed in that, while I have not been unaware of the disparities and discrimination that women face, I have always felt pretty well equipped to deal with it – in the most part.

And that takes me back to the start.

I am an only child to a fiercely independent mum who is one of six girls. They all do different things, take different viewpoints, but they are all incredibly strong women. So, I was dealt a decent starting point in life.

I felt secure and loved and safe. And they are the fundamentals that you need to be confident in who you are and recognise that you are enough.

I went to what would be described as a rough school in Hull – I wasn’t cognisant of that at the time, but I am now. But what I was cognisant of was those other people who had difficult circumstances and lives – and that’s what equipped me really well to do the work that I have chosen to do.

I most became aware of gender disparity as I progressed in my career. 76% of the NHS’ workforce is women, but when I got to middle management level is when I started to realise that 76% of us there weren’t women.

That’s why I started to get more interested in inclusion in a systemic sense and what prevents there from being more women in some of those roles. It’s all a work in progress – and we are making strives.

Liberate yourself

When you think about the roles of Rosa Parks and Emmeline Pankhurst and their huge contribution, it wasn’t that long ago. And we can still point to some things that don’t make a huge amount of sense, but I never felt that I couldn’t contribute the way I wanted to.

So if I’ve learned anything along my journey to leadership that I can offer as advice, it would be twofold.

The first seems simple enough but is difficult – be yourself. Trying to be someone you’re not is a false game. And we’ve all done it at points, we’ve all said ‘To get this job or do this task, I’m going to have be more of this or that’. But it is exhausting.

What people respond best to in leadership is those who are authentic. If in doubt, think ‘Is how I would describe myself the same as what other people would say about me when I leave the room’.

Be yourself, be authentic. It’s liberating.

If you can understand yourself, you will know what drives you, know what really matters and know that your contribution is of value. And I promise you will be much more likely to do the things that make you happy.

My second piece of advice is to make sure you have a circle of people around you who are like-minded, but also those who are different, who challenge you to be the best you can be. Those are the people who will help you progress.

You are always surrounded by talent in the NHS – use it.

Final thoughts

Ultimately, if you ask me how I ended up in this job… I don’t know. But I’ve always been a people person and that was my driver. I never had a grand plan, I just recognised when I was enjoying myself and when I needed something different to keep me stimulated.

But the thing is, my experience in life, in work, is no more inspirational than anyone else’s. Everyone has a different set of experiences and there’s value in bringing that discourse to the table. Please do. And please support those around you to do the same.