This is such a strong and clear philosophy that shines through the latest podcast conversation with Amanda McInery who is Head of Marketing at @Homely.com. ‘I actively sought out ways to better myself at every opportunity’, says Amanda. Amanda created a roadmap of roles she’d like and identified the skills and knowledge that she needed to learn, and has actively pursued learning in every role she has had. ‘If there was something I didn’t know, I immediately applied myself - empowered myself - to learn about it.’ She says she identified the mentors that she wanted to surround herself with to help her build up the skills that she lacked. ‘I have a drive to always be better, and to better myself and learn all the time.’ She says she’s both impatient to achieve her goals, and enjoys the learning journey. She relates a recent experience where she was catapulted into a more senior role and describes it as creating a seismic shift in her career. It was incredibly terrifying as well as empowering, and while it also took a lot of hard work, she felt hugely supported and trusted by stakeholders around her. She had the empowerment and support to do really well. We also talk about the value of working in a scale-up environment and where and why an MBA has fitted into her development planning. It’s fitting that we end our conversation with some suggestions for developing your leadership capability: Surround yourself with inspiration – there is something to learn from everyone around you Ask for help and advice from others – people love be asked to help Find role models and seek to emulate them Support people to be their best and do their best – and don’t expect to be praised for it! Be real with yourself about what you can achieve – whether it’s a weakness or an opportunity, be honest, take the ego out of it – actively, honestly focus on it and practice. It’s just like learning to run a marathon, it takes practice.