What should you look for in a guru? As she leaves the Arts Marketing Association, Julie Aldridge reveals who has helped and guided her career – and how.
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Who inspires you? Who drives your thinking forwards? There are so many people who have enriched, challenged and supported me in my career so far, that it’s hard to know where to begin (and apologies for all the great people I’m missing out.).
When I became a CEO, over a decade ago, I would look at charismatic leaders and feel inadequate. I was an introverted young woman with a lot of creative ideas and a lack of confidence in my ability to get them across to others. I’d walk into a room with potential sponsors or partners and couldn’t understand why they would take me seriously. I knew my stuff, don’t get me wrong, I’d worked hard and was confident in my plans about how to transform the organisation, but how to convince others that that was the case?!
This is when I appointed the amazing Mel Larsen as a coach. My time with her was so valuable. She made me realise that I didn’t need to adopt a stereotypical, autocratic leadership style, I could be powerful in my own way. I continue to hear her voice in my head as I challenge myself to achieve on my own terms.
