How I Became a Leader when I was just 28 years old

I started as an Administrative assistant at just 22 years old,  in an office where there hadn't been a recruitment for around 7 years prior to me being recruited. It's fair to say the opportunities to progress were of very slim picking. 

I remember being really eager to get started and had an extensive training package to go through and I wasn't allowed to see the public until I had undertaken my safety training. This seemed to take forever! 

There used to be a lady called Carol, who was in charge of the security into the building and monitored access to the IT systems, and she told me to look after my security pass, better than my bank card. It's fair to say, she scared the life out of me and I never let that security pass out my site! I kept it away from the girls too, as kids are well known for hiding the most important things when you need them! 

I was like a keen little puppy who was interested in everything that was going on and I just wanted to get stuck into the job. 

8 months passed before I was asked by my line manager to book annual leave, I'd not even thought about it, the time absolutely flew by. In that time I had passed my probation 6 months in, I'd passed all my training and I was seeing the public. 

I was really enjoying my role, getting stuck in and feeling like I was making a real impact to the customers I was serving. 

The managers (that's what their title was at the time) introduced a new way of working, where each Assistant Adviser had to be buddied with a 'mentor' from the grade above, these were known as 'pods'. I was introduced to this lady who I hadn't met or worked with before, and I think I was a bit too much for her. I got the impression that she just wanted to get on with her job and not have to 'babysit' a junior, but I didn't let this faze me. My 'puppy' like personality remained in full swing and I took the opportunity to watch and learn from her. She had been here for years after all. 

I came into work one day, and I was advised that my mentor was becoming my new line manager. This was a bit of a shock, as I felt like she didn't like me much, but I was able to express how I was feeling to my current line manager and she always reassured me that I was doing well. So I was naturally nervous. A line manager can make or break your working day, and I was loving my job, so I was apprehensive to say the least. 

I had my first 121 with her and she asked me to tell her about about myself. My home life, what I had done before, where I'd worked etc... and we ended up having a general 'getting to know you' chat. It was quite pleasant. It was different from the performance and behaviour chats I'd had with my previous line manager. I asked her about her work history and was amazed at how much experience she had! I could learn a lot from her and this might actually b a great relationship in the making. 

Months passed by, and we were getting on like a house on fire. I was the youngest member of staff in the office  with an age gap of 8 years between myself and the next person closest my age! After that, they were in their late 30's into 40's and so on. 

I was told regularly by my new line manager that I was a breath of fresh air, and I had a great personality. She was in awe of my enthusiasm to want to try new things and was really impressed with my desire to keep doing more. 

We became unstoppable! She taught me so much and we often ended up having a laugh, but smashing the targets together as a dynamic duo! 

There were aspects of my job that I couldn't do, and had to hand over to her to complete the task. It was all to do with pay grades. But I felt so helpless starting a task, but not being able to finish it, so I asked her if she would teach me how to follow through with the process. She was more than happy to, as she felt I was more than ready to do it.

This was a game changer for us and our little 'pod'. We produced so much work and our results were unreal!

The management team started asking questions around how we were managing to do so well in comparison to other teams... I was scared that they would find out that I was working above my pay grade, and that I might be disciplined for it. But it was quite the opposite. They couldn't believe I was doing just that, completely voluntary.  

For years, people had refused to work 'above their pay grade' as it 'wasn't their job', but I couldn't sit and watch my team  mate struggle with the workload whilst I was sat waiting for the next piece of work to land in my lap. I had to help out! 

People then started to pay an interest in me. 'Who is she?', 'what's she trying to do?', 'she's going to create us more work'... But none of that was true. I just needed to keep my mind active and help out my colleague with her workload. 

Fast forward 6 years, if you read my 'About Me' page, you'll understand why I moved not just my house, but also the girls school and my work 40 miles away. 

This is what catapulted my career! 

So how did I become a leader at just 28 years old? 

I was determined to learn. I listened to what I was being told, and I asked questions when I wasn't sure. I made mistakes, but I made sure I learned from them. I didn't just listen, I 'heard' and acted on feedback- I didn't take offence, I took it as advice. I maximised my Personal Development Plan (PDP) to help me strengthen my skills and build on what I was lacking. I have created a PPD for you to use on my home page. 

I absorbed my learning and put it into practice. I allowed myself to be me, but learned to 'read the room' when I needed to be quiet, and when it was a good time to speak. I started to read people and their body language, including micro behaviours. I soon became aware of my social setting and took an interest in reading people's behaviour.

I learned more about me, what my strengths are, what I need to improve on, and what I am not so good at, and i leveraged these skills to benefit me. I learned it was ok to say 'I'm not sure, but I can find out for you'.