Siobhan Finn from Cork Innovates

 

Don't let self-doubt or fear define you.

 

My guest on this podcast is Siobhan Finn, Project Director for Cork Innovates.

It is still possible to achieve impossible things, even though you don't feel 100% certain that you have all the answers. Siobhan says she feels self-doubt "every hour of every day", and still, I have seen her do incredible things. 

She organises events that sweep a whole city off its feet, and on the day of the event, she can be found cool, calm and collected, chatting to participants and making sure everybody is happy - she is not rushing around the place in a last-minute panic. 

In Siobhan's own words: "I know where I want to get to, I don't always know how I'm going to get there, but I know what the end goal looks like. You don't have to have all the answers: you need to adapt as you go along."

Your life purpose: where do you find it, what gets you up in the morning?

 

Siobhan shares her own journey: a few years ago, what kept her going was knowing that the future had to be better, that the only way was up. Now every time she delivers on a project, she knows she can do better next time.

Finding your life purpose requires self-awareness and a willingness to dig deep. Ultimately for Siobhan, in that difficult time the question was "What kind of role model do I want to be for my daughter?"

 

"How can we be what we cannot see?"

 

Siobhan shares a quote that has remained with her every since she heard it: if you can't identify with available role models because they don't look anything like you, how will you believe that you can achieve more, that you can be up there with them? 

This means two things: one, "What am I not seeing that I want to be?" Siobhan says she has been asking herself that question ever since. And two, "What are other people seeing in me?" You can be a role model yourself: don't underestimate the impact that you have on the people around you every day.

 

Money can't buy experience, and experience is the source of learning

 

Siobhan talks very knowledgeably about self awareness, soft skills, how to have the wisdom to step back and handle difficult situations in a very professional and more productive way. Self awareness and self development are not "fluffy" or "selfish": they are about understanding that everybody is different, they are about remembering that "you don't know what happens behind closed doors".

You don't develop that sense overnight. That ability to step back and have the maturity to adopt the perspective of the other stakeholders in a situation is what experience is all about. You can't fake it, you can't buy it, and there are no shortcuts.

 

The Savvy Women Podcast is now on iTunes! Subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode.

 

Resources 

 

IIBN, the Irish International Business Network

My TEDxBelfastWomen talk on confidence and experience

The #SavvyTeenAcademy, focusing on careers, communication and confidence, gives teenagers the tools to improve their soft skills.

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