To support each other – we need each other.
Last month marked a special event in the life of Sophie Hayes Foundation as we hosted our first CREW event with a panel of inspirational women leading in different business sectors. The theme of the event was ‘Having a Growth Mindset’ and our three panellists were Vyla Rollins (Executive Director, London Business School Leadership Institute). Louise Hulland (Radio Presenter - Friday & Sunday Breakfast at BBC) and Shona Mitchell Beats (Non Executive Director and Coach)
Hearing from Louise, Shona, and Vyla was an absolute pleasure. Each woman blew us away with their wisdom and life stories. We became aware of the combined years, it took each guest to learn some of the lessons they were graciously passing along to us in a single hour.
This is the gift of learning and the aim of our "Inspirational Women " series. Whilst it was thrilling and an honour to drive the bus (as Red our CEO would say) during this event, our gratitude is in having the opportunity to be students amongst our peers. This event has revitalised our passion to further create events that may be as revelatory and inspiring as this one has been.
If you couldn’t be there, or you were but would like your memory refreshed we’ve put together our four top insights below. These aren’t direct quotes but wisdom we learned from our panellists:
SELF CARE
A very important part of the day emphasised how important self-care is in moving forward towards our futures. Self-care is an investment in who we are and to have a growth mindset is to look after ourselves; to speak positively to and about ourselves.
KEEP GOING!
There will be setbacks, disappointments and hard days but don’t be scared to keep moving. Take a break when you need to but keep facing forward, don’t get stuck. It’s not a race and we’re not in competition with each other, take the time you need but keep moving forward one step at a time.
KEEP LEARNING
We will always be inexperienced because we’re always moving forward to places we haven’t been and there will always be new things to learn and discover. This is not something to be scared of, or to stop us. No one knows everything, not even CEOs! As we keep trying and learning we gain new experiences and skills – it’s the only way! This is how we continue to grow!
COLLABORATION
It’s important to surround ourselves with the right people. We can have an impact on the world as an individual, but in collaboration with others we can help more people to flourish so that, as Vyla says ‘we have power through people as opposed to over people’. In this way, when we are part of a team, or group, it is so much better to work together. To support each other – we need each other.
As you can tell, we loved this event! We learnt from 3 very successful women and as they shared their own stories, it made us realise that life happens to everyone – the good and the bad. It can take time to reach our goals but it’s important that we do all we can to look after our mental health and well-being so we can keep moving forward.
As CREW, we have in our name that we are Creative, Resilient, Empowered Women and we want to remind you all that that is who you are! We are strong. We are unique. Keep growing! Keep learning! Keep moving! And we hope to see you at our next event!
The CREW Committee.
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