You take the lead
When I was just 24, I got promoted to the coveted editorship of the business magazine that had employed me as a junior reporter fresh out of journalism school. Unsurprisingly, although fizzy with ambition, I felt scared, overwhelmed and ill-equipped to take on such a high-profile role.
Sensing this, my publisher sent me for management training, an innovative move in journalism at that time. Alas, the leadership guru took one look at me and shook her head. ‘No, no, no,’ she declared. ‘This simply will not do.’
“The very word ‘ambition’ conjures up an image of those shrill candidates on The Apprentice”
Bewildered, and also baffled because I had yet to open my mouth, I couldn’t fathom what she meant. She seemed to be referring to my appearance, but how could that be? I was wearing my new power suit with sharp shoulder pads and matching thigh-high mini skirt. The finishing flourish was a large jazz-themed brooch on my lapel. ‘You look like a strumpet with a trumpet,’ said the coach. ‘All of it has got to go.’
For the next hour, she interrogated me about my ‘management style’. I’d been promoted from within, and that could be a poisoned chalice, she warned. Did I socialise with my colleagues? Did IFab-style champagne breakfasts!
