How do you feel your confidence has changed over the past 10 years?

My confidence has certainly grown hugely over the last 10 years.

Why do you think that is?

Actively saying yes to things which take me outside of my comfort zone and then doing them again and more regularly – practicing what makes you feel uncomfortable, eventually becomes more comfortable.

Do you feel invisible in some aspects of your life? How does that show up?

I feel visible in nearly every aspect of my life to be honest.  However, I have suffered from being invisible to senior leadership from time to time and actively worked on managing my visibility in more senior circles to rectify that.

Tell me about a woman who is older than you, inspires you and why? Describe how she makes you feel.

I am quite old myself but one woman who inspires me (and I don’t know how old she is likely similar age to me) is Colette Cohen, who recently stepped down as CEO of the Net Zero Technology Centre.  She was the first woman to encourage me to get involved in setting up a Women’s Network in an oil and gas production business.  Thanks to her encouragement and support, I eventually made a change of career to focus on Diversity & Inclusion fulltime.

What worries you about ageing?

I worry about being unable to do the same activities which I did when I was younger!

What excites you about ageing?

I love that I know myself well and am comfortable with who I am and how I show up.

What advice would you give your 15-year-old self?

There is no need to be shy because you knew the answers to difficult problems but were too shy and timid to speak up – this was not a wise thing to do with hindsight!

And finally, a question from Anne.

What would you say is your personal moto?

My personal motto has always been – Never Give Up – and the reason for this is that if you give up, you are accepting failure and not learning.  If you never give up and keep going, trying different ways of achieving things then you learn from your mistakes and set backs and come back stronger.  Never let yourself be defeated!