Joy Warmington is Chief Executive Officer of brap, a National Equality and Human rights Charity. Amongst her other achievements, Joy elevated brap from a tiny single grant-dependent organisation to a national and highly respected human rights charity advising the Home Office, the NHS, the Performance Hub, and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission. She has advised national strategies in education and equalities and is an excellent business woman, mentor, a visionary and leader.
Joy has been a keen supporter of Shakti Women for many years.
“In order to grow your business you have to grow yourself,” says Joy.
I know that’s the cornerstone of the Shakti philosophy but we need a strong reminder from time to time that we need to work on US first and foremost.
No matter how well we vision, no matter how well we plan, no matter how well we strategise...if we have not invested in our personal development: our confidence, our strength, our tenacity, our focus, our well-being, our quest for knowledge and our happiness...we cannot deliver on our vision for our lives, professions, families or our businesses.
Joy believes that “each one of us has to stand for something, whether that ‘something’ is to make a change in the world, or to be the best at...”
Q. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES?
Some of the key challenges Joy highlighted through her own journey included:
•Resistance to sabotage – be prepared for the gremlins I say
•Standards – know what they are and put systems in place to ensure our standards are kept by whomsoever we work with - and in business, this means supervision, targets, time-keeping, time-management, team meetings
•Systems and processes – they have a purpose in ensuring our standards are met
•Leading by example – don’t expect anything from others that you are not prepared to do yourself and this may include: the standards you keep, the time you commit and the enthusiasm you bring to your business or project.
Q. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESS?
•Be a continuous learner
•Be open to new experiences – take risks
•Recognise that growth happens when we step outside of our comfort zone
•Be open to others – form winning partnerships and support networks
•Find someone in your life who can give you good critical feedback but who can also be great motivators because they understand your dream – (well, she couldn’t have plugged Shakti more)....
•The best teachers don’t always come in nice packages – so get over yourself
•Make mistakes but don’t make the same mistake twice.
•Know your values – when things seem OK but feel wrong its often because we are going against our core values so know when they are and build them into your business...
•Develop emotional resilience – if you can’t deal with failure well then you have no place in business because failure is a part of life – it is how we recover that counts!
•Develop self discipline and self mastery – it’s not always easy but success comes to those who can go the extra mile and perform even when they don’t really feel like it..
•Do not suffer fools – it’s not being nice to let stupid people take advantage of you – it’s simply stupid.
•Fake it till you make it – sometimes by believing in the dream we can deliver the dream
Finally Joy says: "You are only as good as the people that surround you!" so choose your associates well!
Thank you so much Joy Warmington