Earlier this year, EG’s second cohort of Future Female Leaders set off on their journey to become confident, engaging and inspirational public speakers. They were to partake in EG’s award-winning programme that would see them put through a robust, intense and sometimes terrifying public speaking training course, run by EG partner Ginger Public Speaking. The course began well. The women met up and prepared to create a bond so strong that no matter what the Ginger trainers made them do in front of each other in the pursuit of being confident communicators, they would have each others’ backs.
But then Covid struck and the whole world went virtual. The women have continued their training online and – vaccine and eased restrictions allowing – will be back in real life training in 2021. But this year has been different for them. They have had to find new ways of leading and new ways of inspiring. Here, a handful of the women share their biggest lessons from 2020 and give us an insight into their lockdown future female leader lives.
Sarah Bissessar, senior estimator, Willmott Dixon Interiors
“My key word for 2020 has to be ‘adaptability’ and rolling with the unexpected challenges and blessings that life can bring. Who knew this time last year what 2020 would bring. FFL was a great addition to my 40th year but Covid and all the implications of it was much less so. Volunteering and then being on furlough for five months felt a little like an unexpected additional maternity leave, providing precious time with my children and new skills through homeschooling (and no, I’m not about to retrain; huge respect to the teachers out there!).
“But I came back off furlough to a work setting very different to the one I left. Everyone was fully sorted with ‘Teams’ and ‘Zoom’ and I was playing catch-up with this new way of working and connecting with both colleagues and our customers.
“Like many I have missed physically seeing people this year and connecting with and managing teams has been very different over the last few months; some good aspects making increased use of technology and some challenges where we miss out on the unconscious and ad hoc but crucial information sharing with not being in the office together. Being adaptable to the changing landscape has been key, but also being real and admitting when things are tough as well as celebrating successes and blessings as they come along.
“One of my unexpected blessings is these beautiful Art Deco windows, pictured in our new house, which bring joy each time I see them and will for many years to come. A house move definitely wasn’t on the cards this time last year but, as for many, 2020 has changed priorities and made us rethink things… so here we are.”
Zoe Sharpe, senior development manager, Dandara
“Throwing myself into unknown situations is fairly usual for me but normally involves running shoes or a road bike. 2020 has been a year of continual and challenging unknowns for all of us. Luckily, I managed to choose one of those unknowns. Meet Flynn – my four-month old black Labrador puppy. Flynn inspires me to play every day, to overcome fear with love, not to hold grudges, to be loyal and dependable, to jump for joy when happy and to enjoy the journey. He has reminded me to live for the present. The past is gone. The future is unknown. The only thing our little team can enjoy and affect is the present.
“The biggest revelation, however, is how he appreciates others (dog or human!) all the time. And how he stops and listens (almost) all the time. I certainly strive to do the same in my working life, but he has reminded me of the importance of doing so. The timing of this reminder is perfect given my recent promotion, our business expansion plans and our growing team.
“I might, just for a short moment, step out of the present and look to the future with hope.”
Katie Jacobson, partner, DLA Piper
“This year has taught me that I can translate my experiences with my family to positively lead my team and personalise my style of leadership. Historically, I have attempted to hide my alter ego as a pretty good wife and mother.
“I had subconsciously assumed that having a successful career meant only being present at home for the bigger ticket events, forgoing the little family events. 2020 has taught me, among other things, that it’s actually the little things in life that are most important to me, not the big events or life markers.
“Being visible and present is one of the keys to leading a happy ship and this transcends work and home life. Leading with a real voice in today’s age involves being there for the smaller worries and the little wins and gone are the days when my profile picture has to be a staged photo of me in a dull suit.”
Lucy Whitfield, associate, residential valuation, Cluttons
“My biggest personal revelation this year has been just how resilient we are. It’s amazing to see how people have carried on and adapted to this new way of life. We’ve recently seen our graduates sit their APCs, which is already an incredibly stressful time, so to see them go through this process given the circumstances has been really impressive. This just demonstrates how important it is to provide encouragement, to collaborate and ultimately be supportive. Although we may work in our individual silos, our work is a team effort.”
Natasha Trathen, senior associate, global product and solutions, Nuveen Real Estate
“I’m one of the lucky ones who got a puppy during lockdown, so we’ve been spending a lot of time training him. That first time letting him off the lead and believing that he will come back to his name was pretty scary, but it taught me to trust in his training and that he would come back. And that has taught me to delegate more.”
The second cohort of Future Female Leaders are scheduled to deliver their stand-out TedX style talks in April 2021. EG will be revealing more details of the event, which promises to be even more of an inspiration than the first award-winning Future Female Leaders symposium, in the new year. Keep your eyes peeled for how to get involved.
To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @estatesgazette
