We rise by lifting others

Writing yesterday about my fear of getting sacked remained on my mind throughout the day … especially after a very robust discussion with my boss.

The last few years have been empowering on that front. It has felt like a safe environment to express my views, feel that I am heard and engage in healthy debate.

My two most recent bosses have rebuilt my confidence after it was battered by a string of (unfortunately) female bosses.

I found it so bewildering that my experience and the contribution it made were not valued.

That said, there have been a lot of awesome female bosses in my career, women who lifted me up and encouraged me to reach my potential.

I haven’t had many male bosses, aside from my current one. He shows remarkable patience when I get fired up, but he started his career in UK newspapers and I imagine they’re a challenging training ground.

Maybe if I’d had more male bosses over the years, I would find they are a similar mix of great and terrible.

I am now in an interesting phase of my career, as it enters its twilight years. I’m less than two years off turning 60 – the decade that I will retire. I’m not super interested in “personal development opportunities”, but I have loved learning new things in my latest role.

I like flexing my writing and editing skills on media releases and video scripts and annual reports. I love coming up with ideas for media releases. I relish when new sets of data are released for me to explore.

But most of all I like feeling that my work and opinions are appreciated. It’s such a relief not to constantly fear that the slightest deviation from towing the line will end my employment.

Pre-pandemic, my working life was dogged by bullying and a culture of fear that demanded compliance.

That is never the way to get the best out of people.

And much like my confusion over the boss who hated the Instagram posts that followers loved, or the one who picked apart my newsletters that attracted 50% open rates … I will never understand why I was attacked when I was doing good work.

What was that all about? Was it my otherness?

Whether I am leading or following, I want the best for the organisation or company that I work for. It doesn’t matter to me whether I like or dislike someone; whether they are neurotypical or neurodivergent; the politics or the challenges.

Incompetence, inequity and inflexibility infuriate me, but I don’t feel threatened by the skills or success of others.

My priorities are being kind, collaborating and achieving the best results.

We rise by lifting others.

PS My inspiring bosses have included former ACP Magazines publisher Pat Ingram, former ACP Singapore Managing Director Julie Sherborn, the retired CEO of The Drinks Association, Sandra Przbilla (pictured main) and the woman who hired my for my current role, Rachael Hayes. Thank you to them all for believing in me and championing my career.

Song of the day: Daryl Braithwaite “Rise”