What is your current role and what are your responsibilities?
I'm the External Communications Specialist for the NCI Agency and my role is to manage all of our external channels. Together with our Communications Assistant and Intern, I produce all the content for our website and social media. We are also in charge of developing external campaigns throughout the year and thinking of new, creative ways to communicate to our external stakeholders and audiences, including people who are considering applying to NATO.
A major part of my role is also to engage with other NATO bodies, stakeholders, media and journalists. I organize press events and tours, train Agency personnel for engagements with media and ensure that the Agency is always well represented. This role requires constant coordination and every day looks slightly different, and I love that about my job. At the moment, we don't have a Communications Manager so I've assumed some of the responsibilities of that role as well.
What is the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce?
I think diversity is crucial for any company to function properly. If you have one hundred people with the exact same background, who think the same way, odds are, they will all try to solve a problem the same way. One of the main benefits of diversity in a workplace is that it provides different ways of thinking and perspectives. You might approach a task in a specific way, while someone else of a different age, race or nationality might look at it through a completely different lens. I think it is essential to have diversity on all levels because everyone brings something unique to the table. I believe being in a team of people that think differently can only strengthen an organization.
As a mentor, what do you feel are the benefits of mentorship and reverse mentorship?
I'm really glad the Diversity and Inclusion Office of NATO HQ started this programme and that I was chosen as a mentor. Mentorship is very important because it's a great way to connect and learn from others. Everyone has something to offer or teach, and being a mentor or a mentee allows you to benefit from that unique knowledge. The organizers of the programme wanted the mentorship to go both ways: they wanted senior staff who had been at NATO for 20+ years to also learn from their younger colleagues. I commend that because I believe no one is ever done learning.
I felt a lot of pressure at first because I was the only mentor who was younger than their mentee, and I couldn't imagine what I would possibly be able to teach this person who had more life and career experience than I do. But we have had a fruitful partnership where I have been able to help her in many ways with her career, and I have also learned a lot from her in return. We use this programme as a two-way street and that's the beauty of this mentorship dynamic. You should always have someone who is willing to learn as much from you as you are learning from them. That is a true mentoring relationship.
What is a female leadership story that inspires you?
For me, it is a person rather than a story. I have been really lucky to work under Virginie Viscardy, the Head of my department. She is incredible, always open to helping everyone, happy to mentor and provide a listening ear. She does all of these things because she genuinely wants the best for everyone around her and wants to see people succeed. She has fostered an open environment that allows for a mutual flow of communication, meaning that we feel comfortable speaking to her about anything and vice versa.
Viscardy is also very good at not keeping her team in a box and allowing us to be creative. This translates to us being free to try things that are unconventional and most times they work! And when they don't, we know that we are in a secure environment where the failure won't be held against us. She knows that whatever we are working on, we are giving it our best because we care about it and want to be innovative and creative. It's really great to work under this type of leadership as you thrive when someone trusts you and your abilities completely. It makes you want to push yourself even further and deliver the best at every turn.
Who do you want to be when you grow up and why?
I don't
have a specific idea of who I want to be when I grow up. Mostly, I want to be happy and fulfilled and I don't want to have any regrets. I want to be able to look back and see that I lived my life to the fullest and this includes my career and my personal relationships. The most important thing my parents taught me when I was young, which still resonates with me today, is to treat others the way I want to be treated, and that's how I want to continue being as I grow older. It is not about being the most successful person or being at the top of my career. I want to make sure I treat everyone fairly along the way and that my success isn't in detriment of others.
