Written by What a fantastic start to the 2nd Annual Women in IQPC Meeting – our ‘deconstructed panel’ allowed our talented audience to share their experiences on overcoming challenges in their careers. This exercise, along with our audience’s willingness to share with such detail and openness, led to the audience receiving hugely valuable insights and advice.
Here are a few of our favourite quotes…
On finding your voice:
“Don’t be scared to speak your mind or give your opinion – you likely surprise yourself and more often than not, know more than someone else in the room!”
“You don’t need to be a manager to be heard. Everyone has a valuable opinion, share it!”
On management styles & and building your brand:
“My management style is unique to me, and yes I do lead differently from my male counterparts. But that’s fine as different styles shine differently. Always be true to your values.”
On balancing parenting/other responsibilities:
“Set boundaries and empower your people, it’s ok to delegate and ask your team for support.”
On receiving negative feedback:
“Try to strip back the emotion and understand the feedback from the other person’s point of view. While you may not necessarily agree, with reflection, there is always something to learn.”
On building confidence and resilience:
“Accept you are not going to be confident every day. Build a personal board of allies and mentors to help you banish negative self-talk. Grab and see every opportunity as a learning experience.”
General career advice:
“Don’t give up – imagine yourself in 3-5 years. And in those tough moments ask yourself, will this matter in 5 years? Because if it doesn’t matter in 5 years, it doesn’t matter!”‘
Many thanks to the session organisers who created a safe space to discuss these topics, and for sharing their own experiences – Esther Smith, Hope Bloxham and Cathy Gu.
And a huge thanks to everyone who contributed: Emily Fernandez Birchwood, Olivia Timmins, Nicole Abbott, Sabrina Tang, Nicole Smith, Maria Anna Pittaouli
And thank you to Hilton London Olympia for hosting this event.
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