In this episode of our Learn Better Podcast host, Stuart Pedley Smith, Head of Learning at Kaplan, looks at how the people you are surrounded by, your values and your morals can help you to access opportunities.
Fatima (Baig) Hassan is our guest for this episode. She heads up the Finance Strategy and Development team and delivers people initiatives for the finance community at Network Rail. Fatima is also a Trustee Director of the Railways Pension Scheme, and in the past was responsible for the finance graduates. But these are only job titles, Fatima shows how her job titles only tell part of her story, and her values and beliefs are what have helped shape her career so far.
Key topics
Fatima’s role at Network Rail
Fatima discusses what her role entails. As a CIMA-qualified people-person, her role is focused on the development of people while drawing upon her finance knowledge to assess what competencies the business is looking for from finance professionals. For example, she works to train and develop people in the business, while managing a team of people who look after early career starters. Alongside this, she also looks at ways to retain and develop talent.
Personal brand
Developing and knowing your personal brand is a theme that features throughout the episode. Fatima emphasises how your brand can include having strong core values that can help you navigate your professional and personal life, and help you understand who you are within an organisation.
Reflecting on a job interview where Fatima was asked to create a statement to describe her personal brand in just 15 - 20 minutes, she explains that the three sentences that she wrote down are something that she still carries with her today.
Find your inner self. Go on a journey of exploration and find what matters to you.
Asking questions
Fatima’s ability to ask questions or comment on things that she admires about people is one way that has helped her develop as a person and open up many opportunities. She mentions that it’s the people she meets that drive her skills and experience, as opposed to books and theories.
During this discussion, Fatima shares tips and examples of how she confronts people when she finds qualities that she admires, and how this can lead to personal growth and development.
Beliefs and values
Stuart asks about Fatima’s beliefs and values and how they can be used interchangeably. Fatima relays beliefs and values back to her personal brand but states that values may evolve over time.
She and Stuart talk about different experiences, such as working in leadership roles, and how the way that you approach certain situations may be different as a leader than as an individual. The theme of personal brand, values and beliefs is viewed from a workplace perspective, while Fatima highlights how you should aim to ensure that your values resonate with a company’s to ensure that you are a suitable fit for each other.
Continuous improvement
Stuart and Fatima discuss tips on how you can improve your communication skills, offer suggestions for improvement and address more senior professionals in a workplace setting regarding your ideas or concerns.
Inspiration
Fatima ends the discussion with some recommended resources that have inspired her.