Can you tell me one lesson you learned in the last year?

I've learned to always take advantage of every opportunity and to always be true to yourself. Take the time to assess every situation and never rush into things.

For example, I was invited to take part in a Sprint project to assess and rewrite our customer communications. This was an exciting developmental opportunity I couldn't refuse but I took the time to assess my existing workload and prioritise what I needed, in order to be able to take part in the project. This enabled me to fully dedicate my time to focus and deliver successful change as part of the project.

One lesson I've learnt in the last year is people are available to help and support in your career development no matter how busy they seem, you only need to ask. When drafting my PhD proposal it became apparent that I will need the input of some key stakeholders. I discussed it with our General Counsel who connected me to other colleagues who he thought would be a good fit to help. In the end I secured a potential industry supervisor to support me in the course of the PhD which was a better outcome than someone just looking over the proposal. Never shy away from asking for support.