In the just-released third installation of the SITE Women IN Leadership podcast series, in partnership with Prevue, Holly Mills of Eventful Limited and Pamela Shepherd, CITP, CIS, of Global Events share their inspiring personal stories about how they tapped into their inner strength and re-evaluated their priorities when they found themselves unemployed during COVID.
Episode 3 of the 20 Minutes Of Women IN Leadership podcast features Holly Mills, CITP, head of Incentives for UK based Eventful Limited, and Pamela Shepherd, CITP, CIS, and Global Sales Director for Global Events Team, for a discussion about their network, their friends and, most important, how they drew from their well of inner strength during this trying time. The series is moderated Barbara Scofidio, editor of Prevue magazine.
Following is just a snippet from the 30-minute podcast:
Barbara Scofidio: So share with us how you stayed strong during this time? What did you turn to that helped you the most?
Pamela Shepherd: On a personal level, there were many things that kept me going. One, as silly as it might sound, was my dog. I now had enough time and slowed down enough to realize that this actually was a creature who needed me, and I think I had forgotten how much I needed him. So every day we’d wake up and I’d say, like a child, it’s time to take care of him and go for a walk. I could take the time to take care of someone else instead of constantly taking care of my office and my work priorities.
As turned inward I realized that, for me, fitness is a real priority. And so I made sure that I took the time to get away from worrying about the job situation and the finances and just worry about me and my health. There is research that says that physical wellbeing helps mental wellbeing. I would take a good amount of my time every day to do something physical, even if it was just a walk. I’m very active with my gym so I made sure I got back to that set of friends and peers who could give me another perspective while we were working out and doing things that were good for ourselves.
Holly Mills: The very nature of our industry makes us very purpose-driven people and that certainly was the case for me. Suddenly facing unemployment, I realized I needed to repurpose my purpose. So I really enjoyed turning my hand to my charity work at a food bank. I found myself, rather than serving champagne receptions at the top of the Alps for a client’s incentive trip, making cups of tea for the homeless. It was not only really humbling, it made me realize that there really is very little difference between the two. I was still working in hospitality—just in a very different way.
Hear more about their networks, LinkedIn and more, on the new podcast.
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