The Career Confidence Podcast
The Career Confidence Podcast
71. Client Spotlight: Embracing Leadership with Helena Page
This episode is a unique one—a client spotlight—because I know how much my community loves hearing inspiring career journeys.
I've noticed that the episodes featuring career stories are the most popular, so I thought, why not invite my clients to share their transformation stories? You’ll love hearing my client’s story as we discuss how she navigated challenges and how we collaborated to design their careers.
Today’s guest is Helena Page, the sole legal counsel at Callaghan Innovation, a New Zealand government agency dedicated to accelerating innovation and helping businesses grow. Helena works with over 400 staff, including some of New Zealand’s top scientists, to support businesses on their innovation journeys. Before this role, she was a corporate commercial solicitor at MinterEllisonRuddWatts. In her spare time, Helena enjoys sewing and gardening.
Before joining my Unbound Lawyer Coaching Program, Helena experienced a significant business restructure that transitioned her from being part of a legal team to becoming the sole legal counsel. This brought numerous challenges, both in mindset and practicality.
In this episode, Helena shares how she navigated these challenges, the mindset shifts she needed to step into her leadership role, and how she dealt with imposter syndrome in her daily work.
Without further ado, let's dive into this episode and meet Helena Page.
Connect with our guest:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helena-page-a3236213b/
Connect with the host:
Website: https://marijaduka.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marija-duka/
Instagram: @marija.duka
Click HERE to sign up to the free 3 mindset shifting e-lessons.
Welcome to the Career Confidence Podcast, the podcast for driven lawyers wanting to step out of the traditional path and build fulfilling and purposeful careers. I'm your host, maria Dukar, legal counsel and career coach, helping you navigate your career with intention and confidence. In this podcast, we don't shy away from having real conversations about topics that matter to us. Driven AF go-getters From manifesting your dream career, negotiating the salary you deserve, creating your personal brand, knowing when it's time to pivot. We cover these topics and so much more. You ready, let's dive into today's episode. Hey, hey, welcome to another episode of the Career Confidence Podcast. I'm so excited to be bringing you a special episode today. So this episode is unlike others. It is a client spotlight, and I thought I would share this because I know how much my community gets inspired by career journeys. I've noticed that the podcast episodes where I share career journeys are the most listened to ones, and I thought what better way than to get my clients on to share their transformation stories, how they navigated through challenges, how they overcame them, how we work together in designing their career their way, so that you too can be inspired by their stories?
Speaker 1:Helena Page. Helena is the sole legal counsel at Callaghan Innovation in New Zealand. Callaghan Innovation is a New Zealand government agency that activates innovation and helps businesses grow faster for a better New Zealand. In her role, helena works with 1,400 plus staff, including some of New Zealand's top scientists, to help businesses throughout their innovation journey. Prior to this role, helena was a corporate commercial solicitor at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts. In her spare time, helena enjoys expanding her wardrobe through sewing and getting out in the garden.
Speaker 1:To give you context. Prior to Helena reaching out to work with me in the Unbound Lawyer Coaching Program, her business went through a significant restructure where she was part of a legal team to then being thrust into, to then being sole legal counsel. So, as you can imagine, this would have brought up so many challenges, both from a mindset perspective and practicality perspective for Helena. So we work together on this and she shares more about this in this episode. In this episode, helena and I talk about how she navigated the fears and challenges that came up with being the sole legal counsel, how she moved through these challenges, the biggest mindset upgrades that she had to make to step into her leadership role, and we also dive a bit deeper into imposter syndrome and how this showed up for Helena in her day-to-day work and also how she overcame this through our work together. Without further ado, let's dive into this episode and meet Helena Page. Welcome to the Career Confidence Podcast. How are you today?
Speaker 2:Good thank you. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:I'm so excited for our conversation today, to talk more about your career journey and things that have come up for you along the way, and all of that, and for my audience to get to know you. So let's just start. Would you please tell our listeners who Helena is and what is it that you do?
Speaker 2:Sure, I am a Senior Legal Counsel with Callaghan Innovation, so we're a New Zealand government agency and we help businesses with R&D and innovation so that they can grow faster for a better New Zealand. And I'm based in Christchurch, new Zealand, where I live with my fiance and a lot of plants.
Speaker 1:I love that, and before offline, we were talking about how you're into gardening and you do all of that on the weekend, which I love seeing in your Instagram stories.
Speaker 2:It's so wholesome, so that's awesome yeah the classic approaching 30s and how being in like cottagecore life.
Speaker 1:It's funny how life changes.
Speaker 1:Like between 20s and 30s you start getting interested in, like, yeah, homely stuff, interior stuff, and before that you just, yeah, wanted to go out with your friends and that's it yeah but you've had like a yeah, really, uh, wonderful career in terms of how you've pivoted from private practice to in-house, and that's something that a lot of our audience love to hear in terms of that journey process and what you went through in all of that. So could you please walk us through your career journey to date, essentially what got you to where you are today?
Speaker 2:yeah, sure so I did. It was quite the classic route. I started off during uni. I got a summer clerkship to one of the big firms in New Zealand and Trails and Robots and then that went really well and I was lucky enough to get a law clerk grant position with them. So, yeah, I was there for about four years in the corporate commercial team, learned a lot, got that really good kind of technical development that set me off really well. But during my time there I'd done a few secondments to various roles or businesses and really enjoyed those and really enjoyed the one right before I made the move to Callaghan, which actually was with Callaghan.
Speaker 2:So I got a really good insight into what in-house was like and really enjoyed kind of the fast-paced nature of it and getting across like lots of different manners and working directly with clients. I always found when you're in a firm you'd like hand over a piece of work and you'd, you know, spend many hours on it and then you never really found out what the end of the story was. You never got to see it in action or find out how it went or how it landed. Yeah, in-house really resonated with me because you were with your clients every step of the way, and to launch something and then see it in public or even just in the business was really rewarding. When a position came up, I made the jump in-house and haven't looked back since. Been really good. I think in-house really suits my personality type. I'm quite like a big picture thinker and I like to get stuck into various areas and yeah so, yeah, it's been good.
Speaker 1:I love that. I love that you said that it suits your personality type and I think that's something really important for the audience to know if they're looking at moving in-house, because sometimes it's not necessarily just making that jump to in-house that might make your life completely better and all of that and be that transformation you're looking for. It really is looking into what is required in-house and what type of environment it is, and does that suit your personality? Because for some people they might make that leap and then they might go back to private practice, feeling better in private practice too, because there is always this argument like private practice versus in-house, and I think it's more about knowing who you are as a person and, I guess, designing a career around that and what suits you, and it seems like you really yeah, know yourself really well and made that jump a nice intentional one yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think if you like structured, kind of ordered, every day similar, or you know what you're in for, then private patches is probably more for you or at least I found that whereas, yeah, in-house it's like every day different and, you know, sometimes it's a bit chaotic, but I kind of thrive in it.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, it's different strokes for different folks, I think yeah, you're so right, and some people do like thrive in that structure and they seek comfort in that being in that law firm environment, like having other lawyers to bounce off you know whereas, yeah, in-house requires, I guess, a different type of skill set and where different type of people will thrive in. So, yeah, I'm really glad that we touched on that.
Speaker 1:So in terms of your current role and to give the audience context. And we've worked together me as your coach, and we'll go into that in a moment but this is why, obviously, I know a bit more about your role and what it entails. But yeah, to give the audience some context, your business went through a recent restructure and you went from being part of a team so, yeah, you had a general counsel, like you were part of a bigger team to stepping into a sole legal counsel role. Now I've got a few questions that I wanted to follow up from you, because there's a lot to unpack here. That's not something that anyone would just take lightly and kind of just jump into. You jumped into it both feet and you've done extremely well. Firstly, what fears and challenges initially came up for you as you went into a Soul Council role? Like when you found out like you're going to be the Soul Council, like what came up for you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, a lot of things. I definitely had to take a personal day but it kind of reset and be like, oh my god, what's happening. So, yeah, it was pretty overwhelming. The first kind of few weeks a month in the move I was feeling pretty, pretty unsettled, pretty overwhelmed as well and pretty like unsettled and like I wasn't sure what was going on and whether I was capable of, yeah, stepping into this new role. So, yeah, it was a lot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and how did you move through those challenges? Like what did you seek support, you know, through others, like I know, obviously we yeah, we worked together around that time. But I guess initially like yeah, how did you move through that challenge from feeling overwhelmed Because in that moment you could have easily been like no, this isn't for me. I'm going to find something else to, I guess, sticking it out and giving yourself an opportunity there, like what went through your mind there?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I definitely had the moment where I was like, okay, this is enough, I'll find another role. But I've got quite a determined attitude and I don't like giving up really easily. So I was like, no, we'll stick it out, I'll give it a few months. If it's still really chaotic and I'm hating it, then I'll make a change.
Speaker 2:But I was fortunate enough to have some support from both the exec lead that I was now reporting to and also from an external contractor that we had in our team and she was there and she stayed on after the transition to kind of help me and be like no, it's okay, you've got this.
Speaker 2:You know the organisation really well, you know how this works. Just like, I'm here to support you, I'll do all the work and give you some breathing space so you can look at the legal function and how you want it to operate. And yeah, she was a really good mentor at the time to be like it's okay, we'll work through this together, I'm here to support you, you've got this. Like, let's just figure it out together. So that was massively helpful. Um, yeah, I don't know if I could have done it without that support. But also the broader business was really really good, so they knew I was going through a really unsettling time, so they were very like gentle with me and were kind of like checking in and also not too hard on the work front.
Speaker 2:Um.
Speaker 1:So yeah, that was really nice as well yeah, I think that's really important, having that support, especially if you're going through a lot of change and challenges in one go.
Speaker 1:I think it's so important for the people around you to understand that, versus like a business that just throws you in the deep end, doesn't give you any support, expects you to, like hit the ground running straight away. That could have probably ended up in a different decision for you in terms of potentially leaving, but it's great that you had that support around you and you also had that determination within you to give yourself a go. And now, obviously, there's like a lot of mindset upgrades that come with stepping into a leadership role. Because you stepped into a leadership role, essentially like you, like we're sole counsel. You are sole counsel of where you work and from going to a team to no team to relying on yourself and, yes, you have the support around you but at the end of the day, you are in charge of that legal function. So what's the biggest mindset upgrade that you had to make to step into your leadership role? To fully, I guess, own that role as as a leader.
Speaker 2:I think the first thing was actually realising that I was a leader, and you actually helped me a lot with that, because until we started speaking, I was just like no, I'm just like a sole counsel, I'm just responsible for the legal function. That's kind of it. And then you were like no, no, like, even though you're not you don't have like team members that you're looking after you're still a leader, and that actually hadn't clicked in my head until we started working together. But that was kind of the first thing was actually changing my mindset of how I'm perceived in the organisation, and then it was really just having the confidence to change my perceptions of both, like having a manager, my previous manager, the general counsel.
Speaker 2:She was so, so good, so supportive, knew exactly what was going on in my life, which is great, but changing almost to like a reporting line. You are essentially a reporting line when you get up to that level. So it took a lot of okay, these people don't have very much time. What are the like five things I really need to get across and I've only got five minutes to do it. So if I go into this conversation, I have to be really intentional about what I need and what I, yeah, want to get out of that so that I'm not wasting anyone's time, and it's actually valuable for me, so that I had to learn that quite quickly. But, yeah, that was quite an important one for me that's huge.
Speaker 1:That's a huge shift to make in a short period of time and you made that really quickly and I saw that change within you.
Speaker 1:Like the pace that you went was like incredible.
Speaker 1:Like I just couldn't believe, yeah, how fast you just took it on board in terms of adopting that leadership mindset and just putting yourself out there.
Speaker 1:That's something that I really loved in terms of working with you that you just took things on board and you just ran with it and you weren't afraid to, I guess, give things a go and make mistakes along the way, as we all do, because you're dealing with, like executives and all kinds of like so many people in the organization and you just got to kind of just jump in. You don't really have a choice. So, yeah, I love that you also made that shift around like okay, I've got to really get things across to them quickly and bite-sized forms they understand. So it's valuable for them and me and my role is I can also then move on to the next thing and, yeah, that's a huge shift that you made because you might for you probably like just came naturally, naturally, but for other people and like being on the outside like that could take a long time for someone to develop that skill set yeah, especially when you, yeah, have in the past kind of had your manager as almost like a buffer for that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:So you, I'd go to her and I'd be like, oh, this person's being really annoying, well, this piece of work's really frustrating and I can't figure out how to navigate it. And instead of now, and then she'd pass that on to whoever it was and then report back and now it's like, okay, no, I'm the person that has to have the tough conversations and I need to front up and make sure I'm doing it in a respectful and like a productive way. So, yeah, that was quite hard. It's a skill, like and I hadn't done that skill before because I'd always had the kind of buffer of my manager in place.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, that was definitely something I had to quickly kind of recalibrate in my brain about how to do that yeah, I feel like when you have that buffer removed, it almost like gives you that confidence even more to just do it, to just step up right like I don't know.
Speaker 1:I feel like, because you have that kind of sense of responsibility, like it stops with me like I need to step up here. I think I guess in a way, it's like sink or swim when you don't have that protection, that protection layer you're, you're just like well, if I don't do it or if I don't have that conversation, no one will. So it's gonna be hard. And that's another thing you had to do as part of this role and I'm sure that you still do, because this is a part of any leader's role is having hard conversations that will eventually benefit the person and the business as a whole. Like it's not about having hard conversations for the sake of having hard conversations, but it's like having it intentionally, with purpose and with respect. And I feel like you navigated a couple of situations like really well with that as well. Yeah, but I feel like you navigated a couple of situations like really well with that as well yeah, but, yeah, definitely something you have to practice, like it doesn't just come naturally.
Speaker 2:You have to be quite intentional about it again and really think about how you're, yeah, approaching those situations. But, yeah, I kind of same as I've adopted the whole kind of restructure, I was like I could just be like, oh, this is too hard and give up, or I could approach it as there's so many things that I noticed when I was just a legal counsel of like things in the legal function that were working, how I would like them to work or common queries we were getting that I was like, oh, this could just be solved so simply if we had some more guidance and things like that.
Speaker 2:so I kind of used it as an opportunity to be like how am I going to make my life easier and redesign the legal function to how I want it? And I think having again that kind of purpose made me really intentional about how I was approaching things as well and getting what I wanted, because I was like this is going to be really impactful for the business. Also helped me a lot in allocating my time and now I'm not going to have as much of it and, yeah, really solved some bugbears that I had.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I'm glad you just mentioned that because I think that's something that's really important, because there will be people listening as well that may have just stepped into a sole counsel role or are sole counsels, and I'd love to just dive into that just a little bit deeper in terms of, like, how did you navigate through some of the changes? Like, I guess, like spotting first, like okay, there's a gap here, I could solve this by X, y and Z, and then going to the executives and pitching the idea. So then the transformation itself itself like, how did you manage that process, especially with having to implement or getting people on board to implement this change?
Speaker 2:I think I broke it down a lot into kind of bite-sized chunks. So I'd start off with okay, what's something that's a query that I get all the time that takes me away from like the really impactful, like big strategy work that I want to be doing and like how can I is it something, is it a quick one that I can quickly like address and then move on to the next thing? So one of those things was NDAs. We get so many NDAs. We're working with scientists and clients, businesses that obviously share their valuable IP when they want to work with us and solve a problem. So a lot of NDAs, very common queries of okay, well, can we use their template? No, we have our own template and it's already been pre-approved and if you want it to get it reviewed quickly, then use our template. You know, like all those kind of time-saving things who can sign it, all the common stuff.
Speaker 2:But it was taking so much time and it was something that I was seeing that was a repeat query. So I was like, put a pace and process, get that signed off and then move on to the next thing, and so, yeah, simple things like that, but you never really get the time to actually address them, or the buy-in, because you know you have to go to your manager first and then get it signed off. So I was like, okay, you've given me this opportunity to fix the things I want to fix. These are what they are, can I get signed off? And then most of the time they were like yep, go for it. Like this is awesome, you're making progress. Like this is great.
Speaker 2:And I also took the time to really take the exec through through the business as I saw it and kind of form up a legal operating model, so all their sections of the business. How much time, on a sliding scale, is legal spending with them? What are we spending it on? Like is it contract, commercial, is it privacy, is it health and safety? And like broke it down into the overall legal type or like sector that it is.
Speaker 2:And at the end of that they were like this is so helpful. No one's actually ever broken this down in such like a easy to digest manner. We can see it on a page and see where you're like spending your most time, so where you need the most resource. And they were just like this is so valuable. And I was like, oh, like it's not actually like groundbreaking stuff. You don't have to be like the smartest person in the room. You just have to break it down into easy, understandable, like a way to communicate to the exec, and then you can often get the things you want out of that. So, yeah, that was like a real big win for me to yeah give myself more confidence, to be like, okay, I actually can do this. I think I know what I'm doing. Yeah, that was awesome.
Speaker 1:I really like that how you broke down like where you spend most time on like it. It sounds so simple, but it is, in a way, revolutionary stuff at the same time, because everyone is too busy to go back and look at the data. I guess where you are actually spending the most time putting that in an easy digestible way, and it makes sense to present it in that way, and then you do get the results that you want. That will help you in your role too, because then the execs will understand, like with hardcore data essentially in front of them, yeah, you know where, where the time is going, where more resources are needed. So I feel like that is like a great thing that you did and a wonderful tip for the audience that might be going through the same thing that they could implement. Right, that's what it's all about, like. I guess I guess that knowledge sharing, but yeah, I love how, like from wanting to make your job easier, you've implemented all of these things that made everyone else's life easier too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, started off selfishly, but there was a big picture.
Speaker 1:But it was necessity too, though, because you're only one person, so you literally did not have any choice other than to simplify, and if you did, then you'd just be drowning in work and working all hours of the day. Yeah, and that's not what you want, and that's not great for the business either, because they're not going to get the best out of you either in that way. So, yeah, might have started off selfishly, but I think it's selfless in in that sense that yeah, everybody, yeah, yeah you've got to do otherwise you just get so overwhelmed.
Speaker 2:But definitely breaking it down into bite-sized things but the, the quick ones and the like biggest pain points for you is like a really good way, I think, of yeah, navigating it.
Speaker 1:I found they're really good tips. Love that. Let's dive a little bit deeper into imposter syndrome, because I know it's a common thing that comes up for all of us, like no matter what stage we are in our career. Like thoughts do come up like this in terms of imposter. What are some thoughts that you've had and how did these present themselves at work for you and how did you navigate through these thoughts as well?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think imposter syndrome is just self-doubt and everyone has it. So I think it presented itself for me in a lot of interactions that I was having that I hadn't been exposed to before. So, at exec level and at board level speaking of, yeah, members of the board, where I just felt so inadequate, I was like, oh, I shouldn't be here, I'm not qualified enough. And a lot of, yeah, external people would say, oh, wow, like how many years PQEU again? And you're, oh, you're sole counsel now. And I was like, yep, yeah, I am, and I'm making the best of it, we are persevering, yeah. So a lot of those thoughts, thoughts the way I overcame them. I mean, obviously it's a work in progress, I still have them. For some weeks you're like I've got this, I'm nailing this, and other weeks you're like, oh, that was really crap week or I didn't handle that very well and, yeah, again shouldn't be here.
Speaker 2:I think the biggest thing for me has been first kind of like acknowledging that it's okay, like everyone gets these feelings, it's fine, but not letting it paralyze you from making change or like actually doing things. And I think when we worked together you were really good at kind of being giving me that confidence to be like no, you're, you've been invited into the room for a reason. Just kind of back yourself again to like, yeah, know that you're there for a reason and know that what you're bringing to the table is is valuable and that's why you're being asked to be there. And also trust that, like, you wouldn't be in this role if the exec and the business didn't think you were actually capable of doing it, because otherwise, yeah, you wouldn't be in that role.
Speaker 2:So I think, yeah, giving myself those mantras has been quite helpful, and also my fiance. He's incredibly supportive and he's like you've got this, like you're owning this, blah, blah, blah. But you also sometimes need someone independent, because obviously you'd hope that your partner is always your biggest supporter, but sometimes I don't believe him. So, having also, yeah, like a coach or someone else in the profession, I think giving, being like no, you've got this, like you're doing really well. I'm super impressed by that. Again, probably stroking my ego a little bit too, but that kind of external validation definitely helps as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, absolutely I think. Yeah, like I saw you navigate through imposter syndrome and I know that like that qualified enough and that kind of age side of things did come up for you, which comes up for a lot of us in the profession particularly. It's more common with women. I guess we get more questioned around this kind of stuff. But like it's exactly right if you would not have been invited into room and you wouldn't be in that role if you know you were not capable. So I think it's just like that simple reminder that anyone could just remind themselves to just kind of then get through that challenging, tricky spot that you're in.
Speaker 2:yeah, like I say, it's like some days it's really good and other days it's not, and then, yeah, sometimes you just need to remind yourself like you've got this okay, yeah, exactly right, and it passes that day.
Speaker 1:you know, bad days pass and then it becomes better. And then you're like okay, I got through that challenging day and I'm all good, and you learn something new, so nothing stays stagnant. So I guess that's also another reminder, too, that things are always changing. Yeah, not to. I guess that saying goes don't quit on a bad day. It's so true because it's so easy to do like, yeah, I just want to leave all of this behind me, but you're not thinking straight, because when you're not, when you haven't had the best day, of course, you're not going to think straight or rationally. Yeah, now, we've obviously mentioned that we've worked together recently. So for those people in the audience that may have never worked with the coach before, what was your trigger point? To get support from a coach Like to, I guess, be like, yes, yes, I really do need that external support yeah.
Speaker 2:So I was two of the leaders that I report to or did report to both said during this change. They were like we really want to support you, we think this would be a good opportunity to get a coach. And at the time I kind of was like, ah, there's so else going on. I don't know if I can kind of take on another thing, but I sat with it for a bit and I was like no, like I think they're offering me all the support they want me to like succeed, and this would be a really good way to, yeah, have that soundboard and actually navigate this change. And then I'd been, I think, around the same time. I'd found you on LinkedIn and I'd been looking at your post and something you posted I actually can't remember what it was now, but really resonated with me and I was like, oh, okay, I'm taking this as a sign. I think I just need to do this and there's no harm in reaching out and I've got the full support of the business.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, just went for it amazing, yeah, because it can be hard sometimes, like recognizing when you need that support, and it's nice that you have that support from your team saying we really want you to succeed. So, yeah, like this is our recommendation and you know. Good on you, I guess, for taking that on board as well, because it's easy to be like, oh, I'm too busy, I can't. Yeah, take on another thing. Yeah, but it does actually simplify everything else, right, in terms of the growth and the like, being able to move into that leadership role more seamlessly. What do you feel like shifted for you the most after our time together?
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely confidence. So I noticed into my partner again and other people. They could see that I'd become a lot more confident in my decisions, like at work. So I feel like, yeah, gaining confidence was really really helpful and just like having you there as like a soundboard an independent kind of external soundboard was really really helpful, but also someone that gets it like is in the profession so understands kind of what I'm going through.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was really really helpful to change my mindset, I think, and get that confidence and then also just clarity of like what I want, and like both what I want in this role and what I would look for in future opportunities. Like taking the time to actually go through, figure out what I like doing, what I don't like doing, yeah, what I value in work and life. I think that was super, super valuable and something that I'll like take forward for future roles. So, yeah, that career clarity has just been awesome for me and it now means I'm way more intentional as well. Even going into meetings or work, I'm like this is something I really value doing or enjoy doing. Do I find it stimulating? If it's not, I might outsource it or I might delegate it or just push back and say sorry, I'm not going to do that. So, yeah, that clarity has also given me confidence to be more intentional, I think, about how I approach work and life, which is awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that and it's it's so true, like, unless you spend that time, like I guess, asking yourself those questions and reflecting and knowing what it is that you like, don't like it, it then how can you possibly make those decisions right, you just get caught up in life and you are on that hamster wheel. You just kind of are in that reactive mode every day. But, yeah, you can walk into meetings feeling more confident around what you can and can't take on or what you can outsource. That will also help again you and the business too in on or what you can outsource. That will also help again you and the business too, in terms of being able to outsource some things that might not land in your area of expertise or interest as well. Since working together because it's been a while now what has changed for you and how do you implement what you've learnt in the program in your work now?
Speaker 2:So reflecting, I guess, back, I mean, we worked through a lot of like documents and things. When I was going through, I spoke about some of the processes earlier that I implemented or was, yeah thinking about implementing. So those have kind of been implemented and are working really well, which is awesome. And then I think, yeah, again, just approaching conversations in a really intentional manner has definitely been a result of the work that we've done together. Yeah, taking that career confidence and approaching conversations, yeah, without with less of an imposter syndrome that I had before, has been really good.
Speaker 1:So yeah, amazing, I'm happy to hear that. And what was your favorite part about the Unbound Lawyer program?
Speaker 2:oh, there's so many things. I think having the push to like sit down and actually look at what you want and doing the workbooks with you was really helpful, because I I would probably have put it off or just like not done things like that, like updating CV and all the practical things as well, even though it probably wasn't enjoyable at the time. Oh, there's another thing that I have to do and I don't um, it was super valuable and I got a lot out of it. And then I think just having like a regular touch point with you was really great, like it seems like throughout the week there would be one week I would have a tricky situation or something would come up at work and just having, yeah, sounding bored, to bump ideas off or seek advice about how I could approach a situation. It seems like, yeah, every week I kind of had something new, so we always had something to talk about, which was really nice.
Speaker 2:I also really enjoyed I'd never worked with a coach before and I thought I was like a little bit nervous about it, obviously, but I feel like from the first kind of kickoff meeting, we had a real good energy and I like really loved. We were just like bouncing off each other and I was like this is so cool that you can get this from a career coach. It's like not something I'd really considered before. So, yeah, I really enjoyed getting to know you and working with you like on a personal level as well, so that was probably the most valuable thing actually.
Speaker 1:Likewise, I think that positive energy exchange is really important for me as a coach too, because I don't want to just coach anyone Like. I want to be able to have that, yeah, positive energy exchange, that relationship with my clients, and that was so evident from the very beginning, from first discovery call. It was just like we were vibing and and, yeah, it was like a really perfect match and like working with you was an absolute joy for me too. I really loved it, it was fun for me. I loved all the questions that you brought along to every catch-up session. I loved like workshopping with you and that's what coaching is all about Like working together, collaboratively with your client. You know it's not like this. You know me sitting on my pedestal telling you what to do and like that kind of vibe. It's not for me at all and I don't think that works for clients well either.
Speaker 1:And it really is that yeah, collaborative, strategic approach, like working together with your client to, you know, help them succeed in their role and in their career and to help them move forward as well, even after coaching with you, to be able to have the tools to come back to, to implement it daily, because this isn't a one set and forget kind of program. It's all. It's all about them being able to take what you learn and for you to be empowered every day in what you do in your role. Yeah, so yeah, loved it, loved working with you. It was lots of fun. And, helena, what do you love doing outside of work that fills up your cup, because obviously you've got a busy role. Yeah, what do you do that? Yeah, I guess inspires you, fills up your cup outside of work that, yeah, I guess, inspires you.
Speaker 2:It feels like you're a cup outside of work, lots of things. So I'm big into sewing and creating. I like tapping into the kind of creative side of my brain and when I'm not at work it really helps me like de-stress. So I'm actually sitting in my sewing room at the moment with all my half-made creations around me and then, when I'm not inside, sewing outside in the garden we spoke about before, decided I've got a green thumb and I'm gonna make a veggie garden and plant pretty flowers. So working through that at the moment and it's a bit of an experiment but it seems to be going pretty well. I got some broccoli start of the week, so that was good, yeah. And then we moved down to Christchurch about a year ago from North and Wellington and Christchurch is kind of like the center point for all things adventure in the South Island. So we've got season passes for the local ski field and so we're getting very excited to go down and do some skiing this winter. So so, yeah, the first time I'm excited about winter, I love it.
Speaker 1:Well, you've got to make it exciting right by doing activities like that. Otherwise, like yeah, you're just at home and yeah, kind of just cold under your blanket. Yeah drinking wine. Yeah, I love it. I love it. Something that I ask every guest that comes on the show is what does career confidence mean to you? Something that I ask every guest that comes on the show is what does career confidence mean to you and what's one practical tip you can offer the audience to build their confidence in their career?
Speaker 2:Career confidence to me means in general self-confidence, but also kind of choosing to adopt a growth mindset. So I found, like particularly throughout my career journey today, today, like it would be so easy to just be like, oh, it's too hard, I'm not going to do this, I'll just find another role. But I think I was quite intentional about making the most of an opportunity, figuring out all those quick wins that I can make and like shaping the legal function to how I wanted to operate and I would. I could only do that if I had a growth mindset and didn't like shut that down. So I think, yeah, career confidence comes from having a really strong growth mindset and kind of tackling things head-on and being really intentional as well about opportunities and, yeah, every day when you're kind of going into meetings or going into situations, just being really intentional about what you want from them.
Speaker 1:Love that. That's a really good one. Now, where can my audience find you to connect with you and get to know you more?
Speaker 2:I am on LinkedIn. I'm not super active with it at the moment, but trying to be a bit better. Yeah, that's probably the best way, awesome.
Speaker 1:Amazing Love this conversation with you. Thanks for sharing about your career journey, about the challenges that you face, how you've overcame them and, yeah, it's been an absolute joy for me to reconnect with you today.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you too. It's been so fun catching up again.
Speaker 1:Thanks for tuning into the Career Confidence Podcast Like what you learned today. Why not share this episode with your work, bestie, and leave us a five-star review on? Wherever you listen to your podcasts on, we'd absolutely love to get into more ears and help more women, just like you, build fulfilling and thriving careers. Until next time,
