Optimising Potential

Imposter Syndrome: How do we combat it? Come join us on 16 January with A Mindful Lawyer and Maitland, to start the year by smashing your self-limiting beliefs. Deborah Glassbrook (aka the infamous Mama P - and my phenomenal business partner) and I are making a special dual appearance for AML! Our core purpose at Optimising Potential is to support people be the very best that they can be - and this can often be related to breaking down barriers formed by imposter syndrome. Deborah Glassbrook and I are excited to have been invited back by the wonderful Charlotte Hill and Maria Mulla, co-founders of AML, in the New Year to facilitate the seminar, kindly hosted by Maitland. Networking, drinks and nibbles will follow the educational session. As usual, there are limited spaces. Secure your spot through this link! --https://lnkd.in/epV5dAfg All genders, all seniorities, all specialities welcome. #impostersyndrome

I think about men a lot. Today, in particular, I am more so. I’m wearing this T-shirt to recognise International Men’s Day. 19 November every year, is a day to highlight the “positive value men bring to the world, their families and communities.” The purpose of IMD is to pinpoint positive role models and raise awareness of men’s well-being. IMD was launched in 1999 and is now celebrated in more than 80 countries worldwide. The founder, Dr Jerome Teelucksingh states that the concepts and themes around IMD are “to give hope to the depressed, faith to the lonely, comfort to the broken-hearted, transcend barriers, eliminate stereotypes and create a more caring humanity”. Men, too, face unique challenges which are often overlooked - focusing on these, doesn’t negate the issues that those who identify as female face, but enriches the dialogue for us all as people, trying to achieve equity and equality. Let’s celebrate the resilience, strength and impact that incredible men have across the world at the micro, meso and macro levels - friends, colleagues and impact leaders. Read more about IMD at internationalmensday.com

Ruxandra Murariu and I are privileged to be at the Tackling Economic Crime Awards (TECAs) tonight. I am a judge for the second year running, and The Female Fraud Forum is delighted to be a partner again. We are happy to represent the FFF, and I am hugely excited to be able to announcing the Outstanding Female Economic Crime Professional award later this evening. #femaleleadership #tecas

Monday muscling 💪 For your thoughts.. (or always DM if you want!): 💥 What do you think of these Cambridge dictionary definitions related to equity, equality and more? 💥 Would you have been able to match them up? (They are in the correct order currently) 💥 Do you agree with them? If not, how do you think they could be developed (I certainly know a couple that I would adapt!) 💥 Do you, and we live by them - micro/meso/macro levels? 💥 What are you doing to breakdown systemic inequalities? And do you know how? . . . . . . . Optimising Potential Women and Diversity in Law Awards - Open for Entries The Female City Supper Club The Female Fraud Forum Project UpLIFT

🌟 Join Us for an Inspiring Evening on Female Leadership! 🌟 We're excited to share that A Mindful Lawyer is hosting an educational event in collaboration with Optimising Potential. This event will delve into the impact of female leadership, exploring essential theories, traits, and tools that empower women to excel in leadership roles. 🗓 Date: 16 October 2024, 17:30 📍 Location: Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP, 125 Wood Street, London EC2V 7AW Our esteemed guest speaker, Phoebe W., a two-time winner of Management Today’s 35 Women Under 35 and a judge at the Women and Diversity in Law Awards, will share her insights and experiences. Phoebe’s extensive background in corporate investigation and her dedication to gender equality make her the perfect speaker for this event. Let’s come together to support and learn from each other, breaking down systemic inequalities and fostering a more inclusive future. Don’t miss out on this opportunity! Secure your spot now: https://lnkd.in/ePt7h-ax #FemaleLeadership #GenderEquality #Networking #ProfessionalDevelopment #WomenInLaw

Talentful is the original embedded recruitment partner, used by Microsoft, Google DeepMind, Monzo Bank, Pinterest and more. They’re also the only recruiter powered by purpose built Gen-AI. It was a real pleasure to facilitate a leadership session for them at their London Away Day this summer. A brilliant bunch of consultants, led by MD Alice Glen (née Roper). Alice is a truly phenomenal business professional, an amazing individual who was a winner alongside me in 2023 of Management Today’s 35 Women Under 35. Alice and Talentful are making waves in the recruitment space. Thank you to the Talentful team for inviting me into speak and for the levels of engagement and humour. It is brilliant to be expanding the sectors and industries in which I consult on leadership, learning from those that I meet in (hopefully..) equal measures. This one was great fun. Optimising Potential #leadership #equity #business

Secure your spot now for The Impact of Female Leadership: Theories, Traits & Tools! 📢 A major hurdle that we need to overcome as a global society (on all micro, meso and macro levels) in order to achieve gender equality, according to UN Women, is the "lack of women in leadership" (2023). 📣 Leadership has long been associated with masculinity, with men being perceived as more effective leaders, even by women (Biddle, 2018). More resilient and effective workplaces and societies necessitate a better balance between traditionally masculine and feminine leadership traits. So, what are those feminine leadership traits? And what is 'feminist leadership'? What are other relevant leadership theories that need to be considered? And what tools can woman use to become the very best leaders they can be, with organisations adapting to facilitate such? Join Charlotte Hill (夏 洛特), Maria Mulla and me at an A Mindful Lawyer event on 16 October, kindly hosted at Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP - 'The Impact of Female Leadership: Theories, Traits & Tools'. Secure your exclusive spot at the seminar here: https://lnkd.in/e9KpXKSa Some further reasons why you ought to attend..?! The 2024 World Economic Forum 'Global Gender Gap Report' has confirmed: 😱 The global gender gap in 2024 is 68.5% meaning 31.5% of the gap remains unaddressed. At the current rate, it will take 134 years to reach gender parity globally. Women account for less than a quarter of C-suite roles globally - and this has dropped to 36.4% of 'leadership' roles globally, from 37.5% in 2023. According to LinkedIn data - men have not only larger, but stronger networks than women online. There is a gender gap in perceived opportunities to acquire the skills of the future. ♀ Let's support breaking down systemic inequalities together. Optimising Potential #FemaleLeadership #GenderEquality #GenderEquity #OptimisingPotential #AMindfulLawyer #PMC

SLOTH. I get asked a lot from those around me "how do you have the time to do it all?" - I am never quite sure what the actual answer is to this, so for a while now, I have been digging deeper into the burden of busyness (which of course affects all genders) and specifically the impact that it has on women. And indeed, how we as women are not helping ourselves in being so damn busy. And then I took a break. My first proper break in 2 years... a length of time of which I am not proud. A brilliant source on the perpetual and dangerous cycle of the busyness of women was Elise Loehnen's book 'On Our Best Behaviour', within which she writes "we need to recognise that we're confusing peace with security, believing that by ensuring the latter through unyielding effort we will arrive at the former. This is a fallacy." I admit that I have fallen foul of this in the past - and I am also of a generation where throughout my career, those around me (particularly those who identify as female) have worn exhaustion as a badge of honour: this is absolutely not healthy. It is not new to call out those who are proud of burnout, but we are still very much not putting into practice tools and strategies to protect each other from this. A lot of us are addicted to work and it often comes from a place of thinking if we are not doing enough, then we simply are not enough. We use 'effort' as a self-protection method, a metric which we over-utilise to convince ourselves that everything is going to be okay. Celeste Headlee opines that "we have been deluded by the forces of economics... to believe that the purpose of life is hard work." I think it is really important to separate the passion and enjoyment we get from the work that we love, and the perhaps obsession that we have to 'climb the mountain' - a record of our productivity. The burden of busyness affects all genders, but more so for women and minority groups. There are a phenomenal amount of nuances related to motherhood and intersectionality around this - a lot of it coming down to always having had to prove our worth that bit more than those around us. And busyness affecting the system that breeds this habit of overworking itself?: There is an "insidious consequence of the hamster wheel women find themselves on: Because we're so consumed by our busyness, because so much of our attention is trained on living up to society's expectations for survival, it's impossible to find the space to think and plan our way out of these inequities. We're too overwhelmed... We don't have time to expand." I am not suggesting that serious graft is not needed to achieve great things, and that an unbelievable amount of effort is required to effect long lasting and positive change - but, REST also. Rest and reflect. Let's remember to celebrate the stillness, as much as we celebrate the busyness. We need to accept sloth as essential. #FemaleLeadership #GenderEquality

📢 A major hurdle that we need to overcome as a global society (on all micro, meso and macro levels) in order to achieve gender equality, according to UN Women, is the "lack of women in leadership" (2023). 📣 Leadership has long been associated with masculinity, with men being perceived as more effective leaders, even by women (Biddle, 2018). More resilient and effective workplaces and societies necessitate a better balance between traditionally masculine and feminine leadership traits. So, what are those feminine leadership traits? And what is 'feminist leadership'? What are other relevant leadership theories that need to be considered? And what tools can woman use to become the very best leaders they can be, with organisations adapting to facilitate such? Join Charlotte Hill (夏 洛特), Maria Mulla and me at an A Mindful Lawyer event on 16 October, kindly hosted at Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP - 'The Impact of Female Leadership: Theories, Traits & Tools'. Secure your exclusive spot at the seminar here: https://lnkd.in/e9KpXKSa Some further reasons why you ought to attend..?! The 2024 World Economic Forum 'Global Gender Gap Report' has confirmed: 😱 The global gender gap in 2024 is 68.5% meaning 31.5% of the gap remains unaddressed. At the current rate, it will take 134 years to reach gender parity globally. Women account for less than a quarter of C-suite roles globally - and this has dropped to 36.4% of 'leadership' roles globally, from 37.5% in 2023. According to LinkedIn data - men have not only larger, but stronger networks than women online. There is a gender gap in perceived opportunities to acquire the skills of the future. ♀ Let's support breaking down systemic inequalities together. #FemaleLeadership #GenderEquality #GenderEquity #OptimisingPotential #AMindfulLawyer #PMC

We’re delighted to welcome Phoebe W., Former Female Fraud Forum Chair, Project UpLIFT Vice Chair, and Founder and Director Optimising Potential, to the WDLA 2025 jury. Phoebe joins our diverse panel of judges, who are recognised experts, campaigners, and leaders. You can view the complete list of judges here https://lnkd.in/egPe3zNm Nominate yourself, your team, or your organisation and recognise their outstanding contributions and achievements in helping make the legal sector more diverse and inclusive in the past year. The deadline for nominations is 12 September. Find out how to nominate here https://lnkd.in/eJA8Zk47 #womeninlaw #diversity #mentalhealth #LGBT+ #diversityequityinclusion