Tuesday’s training Vs £15 millions loss in one afternoon
Interview by Dr Marina Nani
We recentelly witnessed the Coffee chain Starbucks coming very close to a meltdown. About 175,000 emplyees are taking part to a ‘racial bias’ training and the giant company had to shut all 8,000 company-owned branches in the US for an afternoon of learning.
Facing a loss in sale of £15 millions in one single afternoon, the question is:
What are the skills we need to develop as a manager and how much more there is to learn to master your managerial skills?
Dr Neslyn Watson Druee reached out to Rashina Khan who has a solid background in consulting and shared her story with us
What inspired you to create your business?
I had been working for other people for over 27 years and something just did not feel right anymore. I began to dread Monday mornings and felt that life was passing me by. Don’t get me wrong I loved my job and the work that I did so it was not just a matter of finding a new job. It was more about my life being dictated by other people telling me what to do, when to do it, when I could take time off my energy and motivation was being drained out of me. I would look at other people going away not having to worry about how many days annual leave they had left. Then one day I just thought I am taking control back I only have one life to live and I am going to live it the way I want to and the rest is history.
What is your solution for reinventing skills and Lifelong learning?
The key to my life has been learning and relearning this is something I absolutely thrive on. We never know everything there is so much out there to learn and so many skills to master.
It is important to look around and learn from people’s successes and mistakes as well as our own. Learning is not just about sitting in a classroom or signing up for a course. Learning is around us everyday we just need to open our eyes to see what is going on and start listening to what people are saying. Skills are easy to pick up as long as we allow ourselves to be open and set our intention to learn and pick up skills everyday
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome to arrive where you are in your life?
Having the confidence and self-belief in my ability to take the first step and know that it will all work out. This included going from a well-paid career to something new with no guaranteed income. Having to put myself out there to promote and market my business. I think it is easier when you have an item to sell but when you are your product it is more challenging. I know I am good at what I do and it would be great if had a list of clients in front of me so all I had to do was coach but it does not work that way. I had to go out there and tell people that I existed and this was the difficult bit for me I have overcome hiding away and pushed outside of my comfort zone by putting myself in front of people.
What changes need to happen in your local community so women feel empowered and do things they want to do, by themselves?
Women need to stop thinking that they need permission to have a voice. The only permission needed is your own. Women are their own movement not victims of a culture or society. Women need to get together and form their own support groups and I don’t mean victim support groups that are all framed with negative associations. Let’s form empowerment support groups better still get rid of the name support and just call these empowerment groups. Let’s stop talking about all the things holding us back let’s start talking and shouting about what is possible. Together we can make things better for our daughters and granddaughters by changing stereotypical mind-sets.
What changes need to happen in our society so women feel empowered and able to do things they want to do, by themselves?
Successes need to be celebrated and these need to become a norm and not labelled as a woman did this but as this person did this! We need to shout more so that society begins to see and hear about what we are capable of. We as women need to become fearless and believe in ourselves. When a woman gains power we judge her role in the family but not when a man gains power. Equality is the key things are getting better but more needs to happen let’s start with us to make a change at a bigger level in the words of Michael Jackson ‘I’m starting with the man in the mirror’ in our case let’s start with the woman in the mirror!
