Know your worth and practise mindfulness: 7 powerful career lessons from Melanie Eusebe

melanie

To say 2014 was a big year for everywomanClub member Melanie Eusebe is putting it mildly.

Two years on from founding her management consultancy The Fresh Ideas Company, she delivered on her biggest project to date – the Black British Business Awards. The culmination of the programme – in a glamorous London ceremony celebrating the achievements of black people in business – was the realisation of a lifelong dream for Melanie.

‘It’s been the best year of my life,’ says Melanie, who in 2014 also added ‘Professor’ to her list of merits, following acceptance of a lectureship role at Hult International School Of Business. ‘Not because of all the external accolades, but because of the internal work I’ve had to do throughout the year.’

As Melanie reflects on the last twelve months, she shares with everywoman the lessons she’s learned along the way, and the career rules she swears by.

Lesson #1: Successful goal setting is a three-step process

Since I was a child I started each year by creating a set of goals for the year, or even the next five years. In 2014 I’ve either achieved or am on track to achieve all of the goals I set out in 2013, in large part because I’ve become better at managing the process. The first stage in my goal-setting is to ensure every goal is really important to me on a very personal level; I know that when the going gets tough, I’ll need to remind myself why I wanted this in the first place. The second stage is to break down every goal into manageable chunks; by defining the small steps I’ll take along the way, I’m much more likely to succeed. The final step is to continually review my goals. I do this monthly, examining whether or not the goal is still relevant, or if it’s evolved and I need to rethink its parameters. Taking this approach ensures I stay accountable.

Lesson #2: Know what you bring to the table and respect your worth.

In my previous role in the corporate worlds of IBM and Ernst & Young, the measures of my success boiled down to the output of the hours I put in. Creating the Black British Business Awards was like starting up a business; the endeavour was so much more personal. I hadn’t anticipated how much of myself I’d have to put in – my personal time, my energy, my network. If I’d known at the start what I know now I’d have put in place some clear expectations around how much I would give of myself and demand of others. But the most amazing thing about the journey has been how much I’ve come to realise my own value and what I bring to the table.

Lesson #3: We don’t need one or two role models to look up to in business; we need an entire portfolio!

We’re all a melange of different abilities, characteristics, dreams, hopes and backgrounds. There are things we can learn from everybody around us and so to choose for ourselves just one or two role models is incredibly limiting. This year I have been surrounded by excellent people, and every single one has given me something to think about. Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock [Space Scientist, University College London, who won STEM leader of the year at the Black British Business Awards] is so incredibly intelligent, but doesn’t feel the need to prove it to anyone, and so when she speaks she’s so genuine and authentic; I love how in her acceptance speech she said that ‘everyone has sparkly bits and the world deserves to see them’. My founding partner of the BBBAs, Sophie Chandauka has been another big – if not the biggest – influence on me this year; she’s taught me so much about staying true to the vision, knowing what value we bring to the table, and taking a moment to be proud of what we’ve achieved.

Lesson #4: We all have our weaknesses but we really do have to stop being so humble!

Meeting the candidates for the Black British Business Awards really opened my eyes to the collective Impostor Syndrome that women especially suffer from. We’re so good at advocating for others and defending their rights, but when it comes to singing our own praises, we are so reluctant. After the BBBAs my profile gathered press attention, and I was asked to speak on live television. A voice inside my head kept telling me I should be in the audience listening to the wisdom coming from the panel, rather than having a place on it. When you put yourself on a platform you have to be prepared to take arrows, and this year I’ve realised that in the pursuit of our dreams, we have to grab opportunities with both hands, despite our imperfections and feelings of unworthiness. And even if the boots are too big in the beginning, I know that I will grow into them.

Lesson #5: Excellence is the enemy of execution

The idea of excellence has always been a driver for me; I chose to work for companies like IBM and Ernst & Young because of their reputation for excellence in the industry. When we embarked on the BBBAs, I felt that nothing short of excellence would do for the ceremony. But you have to be really careful with excellence; sometimes you want to be so perfect that you forget to actually try. None of us came out of the womb walking or able to tie our own shoelaces; we have to start somewhere and it’s important to get the right balance between perfectionism and just getting on with it. Collaboration is so important too; being excellent doesn’t mean doing everything yourself – it means finding people who practice excellence so that the effect is multiplied.

Lesson #6: Some people are born leaders, but it’s also a craft you can develop

Leadership has been in my DNA since I was in the playground, but it took me a while to give myself permission to behave like and be seen as a leader. As I’ve coached and met emerging business leaders over the course of this year, I’ve seen a shift in how they’re perceived by themselves and others. Yes, some leaders are born that way. But great leaders often become so through an evolutionary process. Some of the best I’ve encountered train themselves in leadership – they read about it; they observe in others what makes a great or ineffective leader. It’s also important to remember that leadership isn’t always about walking into a room with presence and charisma, or giving a motivating speech; leadership comes in many guises. It may shine through in a quiet ability to get others to buy into your vision.

Lesson #7: When work becomes all consuming, think like a dog!

Once upon a time in the corporate world, I had no work-life balance to speak of. I travelled globally, worked crazy hours and barely had a social life. When we launched the Awards, I made the mistake of treating the project like a part of my life rather than of my work. I’d always seen making a contribution to my community as a personal commitment, so evenings, weekends, even dreams (and the occasional nightmare!) were quickly consumed by the Awards. That was when my goals came in handy. When I thought about why the BBBAs really mattered to me, of course their place in my life wasn’t supposed to be to the detriment of all else. I started taking time for other priorities. One of them was to get a dog, and as well as the benefits of the physical fitness from all the walking, it’s taught me to be more in the moment. When dogs are sleeping, they’re sleeping. When they’re chasing a ball, they’re chasing a ball. Overcoming stress is all about dealing with what’s in front of you right here, right now.

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