Diversity and inclusion

Leadership and inspiration come in all forms – surround yourself with people with qualities you admire. That’s why I think it’s important that we need to visibly see different forms of leadership – you can’t be what you can’t see.

If I could give my younger self advice, I would first tell her that we are blessed and have so many opportunities. You should always step out of your comfort zone to learn and explore, and know that even if you make mistakes, it’s more important that you learn from them. Be positive and work smart. Be kind and help others when you can.

Confidence is something that many women struggle with – a lot of us suffer from imposter syndrome. At the end of the day, the things we can depend on are our skill, knowledge, and compassion.

I try to surround myself with good people that can nurture my personal and professional growth. It’s their support and encouragement that makes me want to be better every day – for myself, my work and my patients. My advice to my younger self is that it is OK to ask for help. You don’t have to be everything for everyone all of the time.

I think of leadership as the management of a team that results in the accomplishment of a shared goal. A successful and effective leader is someone who can utilise different leadership styles, show empathy towards others, and who is an active mentor or sponsor.

If I could speak to a younger version of myself I would tell them to be true to yourself and live your most authentic life.

I have grown more resilient over my career by keeping sight of the bigger picture. Sometimes to feel more confident in my decisions, I just have to do something as small as remember that the challenges of today will likely become a long-forgotten memory.

Leaders should be kind, compassionate, curious, and facilitate good career progression and job satisfaction for their team members.

Leadership is always underscored by strong confidence, but should be balanced by compassion, authenticity and the bravery to face challenges and admit to mistakes. These are all traits that engender trust and loyalty.

Leadership is about ensuring the people in your team are successful and fulfilled. Leaders need to be adaptable and understand that different approaches work for different people.

I had a phenomenal mentor and friend tell me I had potential, which improved my confidence and highlighted how we can build momentum within others by recognising their value. With time I have adopted a stronger mind-set for growth, but advice that has helped build resilience is to ignore the naysayers.

Leadership starts with modelling the behaviour you want to see, not asking or expecting others to do things you would not do yourself. People should always feel comfortable coming to you when they have made an error, or need help, knowing they won’t be judged.

Leadership is not a role – it’s about how you act in your role. Confidence and resilience come from asking questions. Once you’re OK admitting that you don’t know something, half the battle is over (and most people are usually waiting for someone else to ask). If I could give a younger me some advice I would tell her that mistakes are OK and an important way to learn, it’s dwelling on mistakes that is the problem.

Nobody will judge you poorly for saying yes to opportunities or trying new things. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I’ve found that people and things seem far more imposing from the outside and have been fortunate enough to have had extremely generous female mentors who supported me to build knowledge and expertise.

People who embody good leadership are those with great interpersonal and communication skills, who exemplify good cultural practices for the organisation, bring expertise to their role, and recognise and work to address deficits that create inequity and inequality.