Inspiring future female leaders
The Becoming programme was created to encourage women with leadership potential at DE&S to develop their skills to become leaders. It encourages participants to bring their personal perspectives while being their authentic selves, developing skills through a structured programme. It offers the support of senior leaders too, who are guest speakers on the programme, talking about topics like dealing with imposter syndrome, normalising those feelings, and providing the tools to help overcome them. It was really re-affirming, motivating and powerful.
Developing my skills and confidence
For me, I’m a mum, a carer, a partner and an immigrant – and I’m not always comfortable with who I am and everything I have to balance. I thought the programme sounded like something I could bring my whole self to. It’s about growing in who you are and building your confidence and skills to bring that leadership perspective.
“I thought the programme sounded like something I could bring my whole self to. It’s about growing in who you are and building your confidence and skills to bring that leadership perspective.”
– Ebi, DE&S Chief of Staff, Logistics Services
Being the CEO of your own life
Having completed the programme, I feel more empowered to step forward, seize opportunities, set boundaries, and take on bigger responsibilities. We did one session about having your own personal ‘boardroom’ and the importance of surrounding yourself with the people who are going to help you succeed. You’re the CEO of your own life and it’s up to you to determine your direction, what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it. I learnt that I can’t keep waiting for someone else to ‘steer my boat’.
The programme also helped me identify the things that hold me back. Identifying these, knowing your inner critic, and developing your inner mentor is so important, because it makes decision-making so much easier.
Meeting others and developing a sisterhood
The women I met on the programme had such an impact on me – they were just amazing. Sharing our vulnerabilities in a room of people we hadn’t met before, where no one had all the answers, really created a sisterhood. We were all there for each other and it made such a difference knowing I wasn’t in it alone. Since completing the programme, we’ve kept in touch and have coffee once a month. We celebrate our successes together, commiserate our failures, and share brilliant ideas and resources – and it’s great.
“You could visibly see the changes in the women coming off the programme too: they were going into the workforce more confident and ready to be the change they wanted to see.”
Becoming an ambassador for the programme
It was such an innovative programme that we quickly became ambassadors for it. Our passion for the pilot programme was proof enough that it was something worth continuing. You could visibly see the changes in the women coming off the programme too: they were going into the workforce more confident and ready to be the change they wanted to see. We’ve now had more than 10 cohorts of women join this programme, with more to follow!
The Becoming programme inspired me to feel comfortable with balancing all the different aspects of who I am. I’d definitely recommend it to other women in our organisation, especially if you have a lot going on personally and want to develop the confidence to bring your whole self to work.
Top tip for aspiring leaders
One of the speakers who stood out to me most on the programme shared a YouTube video called ‘Leadership Lessons from a Dancing Guy’. I would recommend watching it to anyone that has three minutes to spare. It changed my perspective on leadership and helped me understand how leaders and early adopters should be.
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