Maxine Room— Profiles in Spotlight Series
Profile in Spotlight — This is a series spotlighting women who are part of the LMF network or have participated in the LMF mentoring program.
Maxine Room lives in the UK and works as an Associate Director at a Consultancy.
Her day-to-day revolves around leading coaching, mentoring and leadership programmes for black staff, their allies and advocates. She wanted to be a teacher when she grew up, and in many ways, she is doing exactly that; teaching via her mentoring and coaching role. Her dream day involves starting the day with tennis, then having breakfast, followed by some interesting DEI work in sunny Spain.
We asked her about her experiences, learnings and top tips, among many other things. Her responses are as inspiring as her portfolio. Read below to find out more.
If you’re someone who has experienced failure or is currently going through a rough patch, Maxine’s top tip for overcoming failure will inspire you to get back up. She says to view failure as learning. She was initially not very successful in designing public sector strategy. She realized that this was because she wasn’t consulting. According to her, listening to people is paramount to designing new systems and processes. By implementing this approach, she was able to improve her work and achieve success.
Like most people today, she also suffered from imposter syndrome when she didn’t find a voice as a black woman for the longest time and thought she would never be heard. She overcame that by learning assertive strategies but always staying humble. Living these core values helped her break through and be heard.
Reflecting on her experiences, she recalls she felt most empowered every time she learned something that helped her be more effective in her work. This is a feeling we’re all too familiar with, especially those of us working in mentoring and coaching roles. Being more effective in our jobs means that we’re able to have a meaningful impact on our peers, helping them improve in their own roles and responsibilities.
A key piece of advice she would share with her younger self is to never give up. This rings true for all those people who are struggling in their current roles, looking for a new role or are confused about their career trajectory. While these challenges can take a toll, and it’s often hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s important to remember that hard work always bears fruit.
What is the best piece of advice that she has ever received? Don’t take a CEO job just because it is a CEO job. We couldn’t agree more — CEO or otherwise unless you think you’re ready for the job and you can do justice to it, don’t take it just because it’s something you want to check off a list.
These everyday challenges can take a toll on your confidence, among other things. Maxine suggests getting a coach or a mentor in a formal or informal capacity to help you build your confidence. Building a network is another way you can find your strengths and weaknesses, work with the former and improve the latter to become your most confident self. If you’re interested in finding out more about coaching, its impact or working with a mentor, you can connect with us at LMF.
When asked about confidence, Maxine believes that while it can be natural, in most of us, it must be nurtured. That’s a comforting thought, right? Even if you think you’re not the most confident person, you can learn skills to help you improve your confidence and succeed in life. Putting in hard work consistently can bear remarkable results.
Since March is Women’s History Month and we recently celebrated International Women’s Day, we asked Maxine what this day means to her. For her, it’s an opportunity to celebrate the uniqueness of women in making a better world. This is what we do here at LMF every day, by working with women to empower, uplift and upskill them so they can reach their true potential and overcome the obstacles in their way.
While gender inequality is more prevalent in some industries than others, it is found in most workplaces. Maxine has been actively working with women, recruiting and promoting them in an attempt to support women since they are at a disadvantage owing to gender inequality and gender bias. Building and upskilling strong, confident women means that we’re correcting the balance one day at a time.
Lastly, her message for international women’s day 2023 is that everything is a learning experience. By teaching and helping others, we can make a real difference.
If you’re looking for a mentor to work with or would like to make a difference via coaching, you can join our mentoring programs. Reach out to us at hello@lmfnetwork.com for more information.
This blog contribution was made by Aleena Ahmad.
Aleena is a graduate in Electrical Engineering and currently working as a Product Manager. She loves to
read books; is obsessed with political non-fiction, finds baking therapeutic, and likes to start her day
with yoga. Aleena believes writing is the best way to articulate one’s thoughts and start a conversation.
She feels passionately about women empowerment initiatives and is always looking for opportunities to
contribute.
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What is LMF Network?
The LMF Network is an education careers platform bridging skills and the gender gap. We know that it will take 257 years to achieve gender parity, but that’s too long. Our community trust us to support their development needs, build their confidence and align ourselves with trusted, inclusive partners who can nurture and grow talent to progress in their careers. We’ve upskilled 20,000 people in 3 years — we know what we are fighting for and need your help in creating true equitable change.
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