Mentoring Matters @ WICT UK

An interview with Sarah Golley, our new Mentoring co-Chair on the WICT UK Board

Tell me about yourself

I have two teenage daughters that are my world, a gorgeous and sociable westie called Daisy and four amazing sisters - there are a lot of women in my family! I am lucky to live in a village north Hampshire that has a fantastic community. I also have a growing passion for golf… and the city of York.

I have changed my career a few times –?

I started out as a transport planner at Transport for London, working on the project that brought us electronic information at bus stops. It was high tech and very exciting at the time.

I stayed with project management, but switched from transport to telecoms and IT. I contracted for a number of telcos and settled at ntl:, which then became Virgin Media. I was promoted through the ranks to Director before I took a position at Liberty Global as Vice President.?

In the last couple of years, I have started my own coaching and training business. My work at Borderless Performance perfectly marries my passion for developing people and helping them grow. I am loving the creativity that having my own company brings.?

Why is mentoring important to you?

Mentoring connects two people in a confidential one to one relationship. It enables one person to support the other using the benefit of their knowledge and experience.?

I’ve had some strong mentors in my career, although I wish I’d had access to a mentor much earlier on. I look back on my mentors and am truly thankful for all their advice and the discussions we had, they showed me a different perspective and challenged my thinking. It’s great to have someone in your corner.

And now that I am a mentor, I am able to give something back. I am able to return the favour and pay it forward. I get a lot of satisfaction from that.

Do you have a mentor?

That’s a really good point – no I don’t! It’s a gap I know I have and something that I’m looking to address. I’ve actually just reached out to someone, so – watch this space!?

I do have a mentor to help me with my golf though – a wonderful woman with a lot of experience and a very good game of golf. She’s very encouraging and enthusiastic, and pushes me to achieve my goals.

What advice do you want to share with LinkedIn?

People often ask me about imposter syndrome, and they talk about it as if it’s a bad thing. I tell them that everyone has imposter syndrome at some point in their career, which seems to come as a surprise.?

I actually think imposter syndrome is a good thing, as long as you manage the feelings and don’t let it eat you up! It’s about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, stretching to achieve your goals and being in the learning zone. I find that normalising imposter syndrome helps people to realise that it’s ok and it’s not something negative.?

The real curiosity for me is if someone has never had imposter syndrome…

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given in your career?

I didn’t have big dreams when I was younger of becoming a Vice President, leading delivery teams of 500 people or owning my own business. I’m glad that others have had such confidence in me and they have helped to open my eyes to what is possible.?

The advice has been given to me by different people throughout my career, and there’s definitely a common theme running through that has stuck with me –?

You can be anything you want to be. Believe in yourself. Back yourself. Why not?