International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to celebrate women and acknowledge the challenges that women continue to face in the workplace and in the world. 

This year, when DEI initiatives are being rolled back in ripples from across the pond and polarisation is at an all-time high, it has never been more important to take stock. Yet in difficult times, as individuals, it is hard to maintain our energy for change. 

The IPA’s Stepping into the Spotlight series is an inspirational event programme designed to encourage attendees to spend some time on developing their own goals. Although women continue to face systemic barriers and worsening economic factors, the event spotlighted the importance controlling the controllables. As well as the importance of taking the time to really consider: ‘What is my ambition? How can I embrace it? What investments am I making into myself’.

In polarizing times protecting energy matters. At the IPA’s International Women’s Day Stepping into the Spotlight event, a panel session hosted by Nicola Kemp, Editorial Director at Creativebrief saw Carly Avener, CEO at Leo Burnett UK, Sarah Jenkins, COO at Saatchi & Saatchi and Nishma Patel Robb, Founder and Chief Sparkle Officer at Glittersphere, discuss the ways they are protecting their energy and the energy of those around them to continue to push for progress. 

Channeling energy and setting boundaries

At a time when it is easy to feel out of control,  protecting individual energy is an important way to gain back a sense of control. Much like the advice to put on your own oxygen mask first, finding ways to look after your energy can help create a better environment for whole teams.

Jenkins shares that she has created her own frameworks to channel her energy and use it most effectively throughout the day. By ‘keeping big energy in a box’ she is able to use it productively, ensuring she maintains moments for recharge. 

“As a leader people look to you to set the energy,” says Avener. While it is often that we think of energy as positive energy, she shares that it is important to also allow people to feel disappointment and help them to come back up. “Relentless positivity is not always helpful,” she adds.

Pointing to the fact that younger generations are often more empowered to set boundaries, Jenkins advocates for reverse mentoring. Finding the right time and place for boundaries and platforming the opinions of others to implement conversations around change creates a workplace in which people feel heard.

Tangible energy saving tools

“Energy comes from knowing you have a long road to travel,” says Robb. She shares that it is important to acknowledge that now our careers are longer than ever and we must ‘sell the dream again’ in order to set women up for success. “Financial freedom is when we make change,” she adds, underlining the importance of pay in enabling talent to thrive in both their work and lives. 

The panel shared that it is important to ‘take up space but leave room for others’. By creating policies that empower both men and women such as Leo Burnett’s ‘Parentland’ group, employees have the space to share their experiences, learn from one another and grow in each other's energy. 

Jenkins pointed to the fact that ‘women carry huge burdens and complex worries’ and offered a practical method to help tackle this. She urged the audience to ‘write down all your worries in a ‘sphere of concern’’. Someone’s sphere of concern could include anything from financial worries to ageing parents or not getting to the gym. Once written down you can then identify the things you have the power to change and set out some tangible actions that will help tackle the worry.

“Energy depletion can come from lack of control or feeling like a passenger in our own lives,” explained Kemp. The ‘sphere of concern’ is a simple way for people to take back some control.

Protecting energy

In equal measures there will also be things in life we simply have no control over. Avener shares that to an extent, she finds herself tuning out of the news cycle and acknowledges that while it ‘might risk ignorance’ it is essential in protecting her energy in difficult days.  

Robb explains: “Saying no is a radical act of self-care”. She urged the audience to consider simple questions such as: ‘Is it going to matter in five years? Is it going to take more than five minutes? Does it stretch you? Grow you? Give you joy?’ Only after answering those questions can you say yes. In essence having agency over our choices protects us from the drain. 

In a world where social media comparison can be the death of joy, Robb also encouraged the audience to try to ‘embrace an abundancy mindset’. She championed the use of social media like Linkedin as a tool to elevate our voices and find more opportunities. 

The panel reassured the room that ‘compare and despair’ energy is normal and jealousy simply tells us where we want to be. Being kind to ourselves and finding joy in the success of others can help spread effective energy across the whole of the industry. A much-needed message in a challenging year.