‘Who is your role model?’…The question was asked as the opening icebreaker to Young MCA’s ‘Forging Your Own Path’ event, hosted by member firm Vendigital and led by Business Psychologist Helen Frewin on Tuesday 10th March. In a room amongst dozens of young aspiring consultants, we all thought deep and hard about who it is and what it is that really inspires us. We engaged in reflective conversations about when we most feel in tune with who we are as individuals, and more importantly, how we can feed this into where we see ourselves and our careers heading in the future.
From the infamous works of motivational speakers and authors, we learned that creating our personal brand is not only the way we want to make an impact on other people, but it is also the precise manner we communicate our knowledge, passion and purpose externally. We learned about the science behind how our brains respond in key situations and were given helpful tips on how to channel this energy in networking sessions as well as how to mitigate unhelpful thoughts that often prop up during moments of our early careers.
Several analogies were also highlighted in conversation that fueled concepts of ‘trusting the process’ and ‘looking at things in perspective’. ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’; a question we need to be asking ourselves when we feel like we don’t have enough knowledge or experience. Answers to these questions can help us leave a lasting impression and significantly impact our image; it is something we must work on every day if we want to project authenticity in the way make an impact. Confidence, uniqueness, proactivity and intelligence, were just some of the examples shared on how we would like people to describe us when we’re not in the room.
So, remember, ask yourself: ‘What impact do I want to have?’ and if you’re afraid of what that might be, then ask yourself again: ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’. Thanks to the Young MCA and Helen Frewin for helping us understand more about ourselves, where we want to be and how to get there. I look forward to ‘forging my career path’.
Words by Paniz Mojahedi, Management Consultant at Chaucer