"You could do my job one day"

It has been such a pleasure and a privilege to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day with some incredible women. From elite sportswomen at Wigan Athletic – Calisen’s local football club which we are proud to sponsor – to the elite women of the energy and infrastructure industry. Two seemingly disparate worlds of work and yet with much to share. I take my hat off to women like Sarah Guilfoyle who is a pioneer as a female Managing Director of a major football club. A club that supports and champions its whole community, not just manages the challenging day job of professional football. Women in our own business are innovating in some of the most complex and technical fields as the UK transitions its energy system to clean power. But they also find the time to support local charities like Wigan Youth Zone and lift each other up through our brilliant employee support networks.

Women showing up every day to move the dial, move things forwards, unpick knotty problems and – let’s not mince words – change the world, one step at a time. What can we learn from them? How do we change our fortunes and flip the odds?

Sarah Guilfoyle shared some winning advice on reframing the negative internal narratives we can have with ourselves and the difficult issue of burnout. She said on our panel that it would have been a boost to her own confidence to learn sooner that “you’re not the main character in other people’s stories”. Everyone is worrying about themselves as much as you are so you may as well ditch the worry and push on with your plans. Our grand master plans also suffer in an ‘always on’ world - we can’t “pour from an empty cup”. An urgent project might take two hours of tired brain power, or half an hour when you’re refreshed. It is not easy, but it is important we role model this as leaders.

Confidence and imposter syndrome are issues that are raised frequently as barriers to women making it to the top of the game. My own advice here is to befriend your imposter syndrome: own it, and know that absolutely everyone else feels the same way at some (or many) moments. This past week, sitting on stage and around tables with collections of brilliant women who so many people look up to, was a reminder of how much we all question ourselves. I was absolutely delighted when a woman attending one of these panel discussions said afterwards that it had helped her decide to take a brave career step that she’d been deliberating – because she’d heard that no one had ever felt quite ready for the next step.

What further lessons have I shared from my own story? They say it takes a village to raise us, and I feel enormously grateful for the mentors and sponsors throughout my career who have gone out of their way to guide me. From the quiet looks of support in the boardroom to active championing and risk taking from women (often) but also men. One male CEO said to me very early on in my working life that “you could do my job one day”. I thought this was nuts at the time, but it stuck with me – it gave me a vision, an idea, of the possible. This is an extremely powerful message for a young person.

But what has also become clear to me as I have moved along in my career is that this is not a one-way transaction – a continuous upward climb of a ladder. The reality is far more complex and interwoven. I am increasingly finding that there is nothing more joy-giving at work than sharing – knowledge, skills, laughs – and watching other people flourish. Even more so if it is something you have given and has helped someone along their way. Yes, be deliberate and thoughtful in asking for mentorship and sponsorship, but I would encourage you to get out there and be demanding because people want to help and get so much out of it themselves.

I have been really warmed by the generosity of my excellent colleagues at Calisen in helping one another – our own EmpowerHER network is a group of fabulously supportive women and amazing male allies. Our links with brilliant charities like the Wigan Youth Zone, lift women across the generations, no matter their own background or situation, and give them a vision of what their own futures might look like. It’s pride inducing stuff.

We can’t be naive or live in a bubble – there is still much to do to give women a fairer shot. And as one male colleague asked on our panel – how do we deal with the regression by some on the views of women in society? Our rights have been hard won and are not certain. I know there are difficult issues we must face into. But I do feel a renewed energy and – dare I say it – power to take on these challenges from the opportunities I have had in recent days to convene, learn and share with women and male allies alike.