International Women’s Day – For most women life has many hats and in our everyday life we juggle time to do the best job we can, but what drives us in our careers?
Some of the most successful and respected people that I know are able to succeed in all of the above in some shape or form. The one thing a successful woman has mastered is the art of juggling time!
Don’t get me wrong, things have to be prioritised and no doubt from time to time we neglect one thing because we know we simply cannot do everything all of the time.
Working yourself up the career ladder usually means you make pretty big sacrifices in your personal life and for those who crave success this usually results in too much focus on your job and not everything else that you are. My career at Roscom has spread over 30 years. Hard times, good times, lean times, rich times but all part of the journey to bring me where I am today.
I have been fortunate to work for a company that is focused on family values, understands that not every day can be ran a million miles an hour and moreover sometimes you need space to look after the pillars that support you as a woman. Family time, you time or just no stress that you need to take the morning out and make the time up for kid’s appointments. All these privileges de-stress our lives and make us better businesswomen.
I have watched many women in Roscom succeed. If anything, it is a company dominated by women in senior positions who continue to juggle their lives and progress in their career.
At 51 life has taught me you can’t win all the time and you certainly can’t do everything and there will be casualties. Any successful businesswoman will tell you the same but having a supportive company to work for that promotes work-life balance is so important and I thank Roscom for that and the journey so far.
It is amazing to see other women in Roscom continually be praised, promoted, and admired for their hard work, optimism, and determination. For me, this drives women in their careers, we all want to be told ‘good job’ or see great results. But by working in a flexible environment, supported by a business that recognises you are also a wife, a mum, a friend, and most of all a woman, this is the single most important factor I feel that has supported me and others in their career at Roscom.
It’s not easy, you have to learn not to be hard on yourself and always remember we are who’s around us and who supports us most. More businesses should recognise that women have a lot to juggle and should be allowed flexibility to manage their time to become better businesswomen. Roscom not only allows this but it is a core value and systemic across the senior management both male and female.
In support of ‘International Women’s Day’ I think we all could do with a few more Roscoms!
Mandy Blackburn
