Tell us a bit about yourself, background, and your current role.

I’ve worked for BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) for 20 years as a reporter, journalist and presenter. It’s a job that’s taken me all over the world reporting on Defence news and human interest stories across the armed forces. I live with my partner soon to be husband (we got to that late!) and our three children in London. I grew up in Edinburgh and enjoy going home to visit family and friends in Scotland. I’ve been lucky enough to travel around the world with work and in my own time, something I still enjoy. Despite thinking there was nothing so boring as helping my mum on her allotment as a teenager, I have recently taken on one of my own!

Who are some of your female role models and why?

I feel like there are loads of inspiring and incredible women I admire, but I have been struggled to call them to mind for this interview, however here are a couple of amazing and inspiring women…

I was fortunate to meet and interview Susan Pollack, the incredible Hungarian Holocaust survivor who told me her story of losing 50 members of her family to the Nazis, surviving Auschwitz, being regularly examined by the notorious Doctor Mengele and being forced on a death march to Bergen Belsen. When she finally collapsed with illness, hunger and exhaustion Susan was literally pulled to safety by what she describes as the “gentle hands” of one of the British soldiers who liberated the camp in 1945. Susan gave evidence in court against an SS Camp guard and now in her 90s only recently retired from touring schools and libraries to bear witness to the Holocaust. Despite her experiences she is not bitter but committed to preserving the memory of her family and to encouraging all she meets to strive for the kindness she values above all else.

BBC Today Programme presenter and interviewer Mishal Hussein is a professional inspiration. I admire her calm, intelligent but insistent style. She always gets the answers you want to hear from politicians and leaders and never appears at all ruffled or put on the backfoot by difficult guests.

Achievements?

I have recently been working on a new project away from news, which has challenged and developed my skills in making long-form content. I’m proud of single-handedly negotiating access to a leading military institution for a behind-the-scenes report, keeping this project on track throughout the three month filming period and currently taking it through the editing process. It’s been exciting and rewarding so far and I’m looking forward to sharing more about this soon.

I also loved the opportunity to travel to Berlin with a group of former Cold War spies from the UK, the US and Russia. Recording their memories and experiences for a documentary about a little known British Military intelligence unit. Again this was an idea I developed myself and secured access for filming with international contributors, on location.

Going further back I’ve experienced multiple trips to Iraq and Afghanistan as a reporter covering British Forces stationed there, travelling around these interesting and formidable countries and covering turbulent events for British Forces News over the last two decades. I have also developed links with the community of Afghan interpreters who served on the frontline with British forces and who’s lives are now in deep peril under Taliban rule. I have worked hard to help keep this important story in the news.

Have you been confronted with gender-related roadblocks in your career?

I certainly feel most of us do experience gender-related roadblocks in our careers. I remember when I was starting out in television production, there was a new trend to move away from specialist camera operators and get regular production staff, reporters or producers, to have a go at filming – something which is very commonplace now. I noticed even then that in a field where the majority had little or no experience, male colleagues would be rushing to volunteer for filming roles and saw themselves as well qualified despite minimal experience, whereas female colleagues would be scrupulously honest about not having much experience but emphasise their willingness to study and learn the skills on the job, time after time the opportunity would go to the man.

I believe it’s often the case key gender-related issues don’t crop up unless and until a woman chooses to have children, at which time different expectations and caring responsibilities can play a part in limiting career and promotion options. I remember one time when a new boss started and decided they wanted to shake up the on-screen roster, which meant all existing presenters of which I was one, had to re-screentest for their role. This process began while I was pregnant with my third child and, rightly or wrongly I didn’t feel able to share this fact with my then boss until the audition process was over, by which time I was 5 months due and visibly showing.

Do you ever feel that work-life balance is an unattainable goal? If so, how do you deal with that feeling day by day, week by week, month by month and year by year?

Imperfectly is the short answer. Balancing work and family is very challenging, especially post Covid when many women are working harder than ever in the workplace, but have dropped the childcare they used to have to support them. As costs rise there doesn’t even seen to be a financial dividend for reducing the childcare but it certainly impacts on your headspace and ability to concentrate, in my case this often means work is more likely to creep into the evening and take up more personal time. and most commonly often find myself trying to and now try to combine the amount of input they had into homelife

But having children has also taught me positive things about capacity. When I had two young children and a demanding job, I felt all my available time was accounted for and I couldn’t possibly take on anything else. Turns out that when people’s lives depend on you finding the time to feed and clothe them, you find the time! But that experience of finding time when you thought it didn’t exist has also really informed my work and wider personal life and encourages me to take on new projects and demanding options even at busy times.

What do you think is the most important piece of advice for women who want to pursue a career as a leader?

Believe in yourself: if you want more pay or you want to expand your role and you believe you deserve it or would bring value: ask for it. I don’t find this easy, but I do think it’s important. Make a plan for how you might go about this, discuss it with people you trust and respect, and make your pitch. If people say no, ask again, there’s no shame in persistence when you believe you’re right or the situation merits a different response. I find if you are someone who struggles with this, even if you don’t feel comfortable or fluent asking for this, the fact of asking can make a difference and be enough to achieve what you are looking for.

Don’t act in haste. Take your time, re-read that email, take the language down a notch or two. It’s never good to respond to something in the heat of the moment, Where possible take time to reflect on a situation and fully absorb your own feelings about it and the implications of possible action and inaction. I also try and make a point of really removing unnecessary emotive language in verbal interactions, but I think this is even more important in written communications where there is no mitigating tone of voice or body language to dilute any harsh or personal-sounding phrases. And sometimes, occasionally things you are really worried about, and can’t quite think what to do, resolve themselves..

What do you think is the most important characteristic of an effective leader?

I would say integrity and kindness should be at the heart of a good leader. I think we all strive for integrity and do our best to stay true to our core beliefs, but standing up for these in situations when they are at odds with other pressures and objectives, can be a real challenge.

In the last few years there’s been increasing talk about kindness in the workplace, a new and very welcome development, but I feel sometimes there is not enough thought or effort put in to actually  putting this into practise. Incorporating kindness into strategy  and policy makes a huge difference in any workplace.

What are the best qualities of an effective leader

I think clarity, creativity, vision and nous. It’s so important to have a clear vision of where you want your company or project to go, and to be able to express this clearly to those working for and with you. Listening to those around you and having the creativity to think of solutions to unforeseen problems, and deliver fascinating, engaging and unusual, programming in my field but whatever it might be in other fields, that’s what makes an inspiring and effective leader in my opinion.

What potential personal or professional barriers do you feel might be impacting women from reaching the highest levels of leadership?

I do think it remains the case that more women take on more caring responsibilities and while many workplaces are starting to catch up in terms of provision, support and flexibility to accommodate these, that is not universally the case with employers. I also think some male0-dominated work environments suffer from unconscious bias around women and their abilities and can fall victim to some kind of “gut” feeling that a female candidate is unsuitable or not up to a given position simply because they inherently look or sound different in a predominantly male environment.  I also think less women are as confident in their own abilities as male colleagues, that’s not a criticism of male colleagues but I do think more women should look at themselves and try and appraise and value themselves in the same way many men do.

Do you have any final advice for people who want to become better leaders themselves?

I think it helps to work in a field you are passionate about because devoting yourself to mastering the detail and history of any brief you are given or want to pitch for, always pays off so if that’s also something you love, enjoy and understand this will be a more natural process. Listening to colleagues and thinking hard about how your words and behaviour will impact them ahead of delivery, but also having the confidence to steer your project and workforce in the way you believe is right, are crucial leadership behaviours.