Women Power ... how do they do it?

As a lifetime skeptic of women's only groups and indeed one of those 'busy' people who never has a spare moment, I surprised myself today by accepting an invitation to a Women's Initiative Network lunch at my place of employ.

It was a GOOD decision.

'Me' time with like-minded colleagues. A moment to unwind, to socialise, to connect with my peers, to listen to their stories, to tell my own and to realise that we're all busy, we all have personal pressures, we all have doubts and at the same time we are all so incredibly strong.

Today I met my colleagues and found out so much about them ... and me ... the marathon running and skydiving in their spare time, their desire to find out how those in senior positions have managed the climb up the ladder, how everyone is searching for that work/life balance whilst juggling the personal and professional and that some of us find groups of this nature daunting and a little scary. It was refreshingly open, incredibly therapeutic and really enjoyable.

At a time when health and wellbeing are a focus of the nation, this has proved a great investment of my time and I aim to encourage double the attendance at our next session in May.

My takeaways personally are comprehensive: make time to invest in yourself, take a moment to find out more about the people around you, take a break from your task list and you'll find yourself increasingly productive on your return.

Diversity plays a part too. Our little group today, although we were but one gender, we managed an interesting breadth of ages, sizes, tenure, seniority, roles and most of all ... opinions and points of view. To sit back and consider things from the other end of the spectrum is really potent and very enlightening.

Don't let yourself resist new things, new ideas and new situations. I feel certain my involvement will make me a better person and help me be better at my job. Thank you to my fellow WIN participants and here's to all of you who have yet to join.