011 A role model of courageous leadership, vulnerability and compassion

Susan Brodie, Director of Talent and Development at the Global Investment Managers, Baillie Gifford shares the milestones and insights of her career journey. Susan shares her very personal story of dealing with the grief of the death of a close family member just before lockdown, at the same time journeying with the impact of significant news her daughter shares. The transformational impact of a mentor and the value of focusing on "Being not Doing". "Embrace everything about yourself ... the good and the bad". This is an episode of vulnerability and honesty, of truly being authentically human at work. I'm incredibly grateful to Susan for this truly insightful and heartfelt episode

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Vulnerability: Leaders go first

“... after the queen had just died and before her funeral, nobody was really talking about it, which I thought was really quite interesting .... it's okay to have those conversations. We all go through those feelings, those emotions. And maybe we must be brave enough to open it up ourselves, even though that makes you feel incredibly vulnerable. Because you don't quite know where your emotions are going to go when you start to talk and to have those kinds of conversations, but it's actually okay, and you making it okay for somebody else to share, what's going on for them”

Recalibrating traditional norms

“(so my daughter came out as a lesbian in November 19)... In society, I think we still have this strong belief that people will find a husband or a wife, and they will get married, have children, you'll have grandchildren. That's kind of the way things will play out in the world... I very quickly realised that of course, my daughter could still get married, she could still have babies, I could still be a granny..., I just had to recalibrate.”

Focus on being authentic

“....in my role as a learning professional I just want people to be their best. My role is to try and help that... it's actually just about... allowing people to be vulnerable, creating the space or the support for them to explore who they are and to be, you know, to be (themselves)

Emotional Intelligence – Know yourself well

“So my advice for the younger people is to take time really getting to know yourself, What are my passions, what are my talents? What do I feel strongly about? And then try to be true to that, because I think that's where you end up being your happiest, but also performing your best”

The benefit of flexible working

“I'm also in that sandwich generation where I have a teenage daughter and I've got elderly parents, who are all here, but all with significant health challenges... So visits to doctors, and various appointments have to come up. So flexible working really allows me to find that balance, to be able to meet everybody's needs. And also mine in the sense that I want to have a really fulfilling career, I want to add value to my team... having more flexibility allows me to do all those things. Which is great and I think we're still finding our way...”

Queen Elizabeth II as role model

‘... When we talk about leadership, (HM Queen Elizabeth II) has been quite rightly held up as a phenomenal leader. And, the stories that people are telling about Her are about her human connection (not her human doing). And I think that should be an inspiration for all of us.”

ABOUT SUSAN BRODIE

Having completed an MA in Psychology at Aberdeen University Susan’s career started in retail during which she held a variety of HR roles, starting off as a generalist then following her passion for learning into leadership and management development. In 2000 she started her own business providing consultancy and coaching initially on leadership and management development and latterly, business transformation and career transitions. She worked with a variety of organisations across a wide range of sectors around the UK until 2015 when she joined the HR team at Baillie Gifford.

Based in Edinburgh, Susan now leads the Talent & Development team whose role it is to ensure that there is a strong pipeline of talented individuals to ensure the firm’s continued success. She has responsibility for Talent Attraction and Acquisition, Leadership and Talent Development, Performance Management and Learning.

Outside work Susan’s time is spent juggling care for her 16 year old daughter and elderly parents, training (running after!) her new puppy and attempting to cook delicious things out of the Dishoom cookery book!

CONNECT WITH SUSAN BRODIE

https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-brodie-71210420/

ABOUT THE HOST – ALLI SPARGO

Alli is the mother of two daughters and a son, a wife, a daughter and a sister. She is also an executive leadership coach who passionately believes that every individual has the potential to be who they ...