Who are you and what is your purpose?

I’m the Executive Assistant to our amazing CEO, Charmaine, and Business Support Manager. My purpose is to support Charmaine and the wider business to ensure we are on track with our strategic objectives and to keep our business running like a well-oiled machine!

What has been your greatest achievement (personal or professional)?

My greatest personal achievement is tackling my mental health and making myself a priority. I’ve struggled with depression for most of my life, but I finally decided a few years ago that I wanted better for myself and started on a journey to better myself, get support and rediscover who I am.

I’m a work in progress, but I feel like I’m a totally different person now to who I was just a few years ago (hopefully in a positive way)!

What advice would you give other leaders out there?

Always seek to understand and approach conversations with compassion first. It’s so easy as a leader to think you have someone all figured out, but you really don’t know what anyone else is going through until you have a conversation with them. If you need to have a challenging conversation, by all means go ahead, but rather than going in guns blazing, try to find out what might be going on for that person (personally or professionally) and figure out how you can support them to get your desired outcome and make them feel motivated and supported at the same time.

Who inspires you? And why?

My mother was and is my biggest inspiration. She didn’t have a very easy life, but no matter what she always had a joy for life and encouraged me to be happy. She truly believed that happiness was a choice and instilled that in me. It’s easier said than done sometimes, but if she could keep smiling through everything she had been through, then surely so can I.

Favourite Food

I absolutely love Mexican food! I never get tired of it, I could eat it every day!

What’s your leadership superpower?

I can adapt to different personalities and working styles quickly. I understand that everyone is different and, in order to work effectively with people, you need to know how they like to work and what motivates them.