Looking back to move forward
Dear Inkling community,
I have been a key part of leading and growing Inkling for over 11 years. This all began for me at 27. At the time of making the decision, people in my inner circle warned me that starting a business at such a young age was risky. They warned me I was giving up a lot of security, including a prestigious management consulting role, which had guaranteed career progression and benefits like maternity leave. These things were surely important to me?
I took the leap anyway, despite the strong recommendations. I have never looked back! Nothing could have prepared me for the immeasurable exhilaration and challenges and that lay ahead.
I have immensely enjoyed being part of all the big moments in Inkling’s journey; growing the team and business, relocating to Sydney, getting our first real office, delivering meaningful work across the globe, working with incredible brands and wonderful clients, with a genuine commitment to their people and culture.
It is time for me to step away (I will be back!)
Some of you will know that earlier this month (July 2024) I started my parental leave. The road to get here has not been easy; partly because it required four rounds of IVF, which is without a doubt the hardest thing I have had to do; and partly because I am a CEO and business owner.
There is not a lot shared or written about women business owners or CEOs who want to have children with an established business. Many of the conversations I had with women who had been through this, shared story after story of great difficulty; needing to step back as CEO with a six-week-old when their interim CEO quit, having no choice but to work from week 1 of their baby’s arrival, having to close, wind back or sell their business. Now, if this is what the woman wanted – then great! But I heard stories of great stress, pressure, loss and little joy.
As a woman who has committed so much of my career to gender equity, I really wanted to manage this in a way that allowed Inkling to continue to thrive, but also allowed me the space to be a mother in the way I wanted.
We have helped many organisations pioneer change in senior roles to enable women to be significant contributors, leaders and honour their family commitments. I was determined to ensure that we could practice what we teach when it comes to gender equity. For 11 years Inkling has worked with large organisations of 2000+ employees to help drive gender balance– and we are so incredibly proud of the results we get, with 50% of women getting a promotion or significant stretch opportunity within 6 months. This work remains 40% of what we do, along with our leadership and inclusion work.
I began what has been a two-year journey to get Inkling ready for me to step out. I could not have done this without an incredible team, who I have been open with about my hopes, desires and challenges. It has been a team effort to get the business ready, and I can confidently say that I am very certain that the business and team are going to have an excellent year without me steering the ship. It has also come at a time where Inkling’s international influence and network as an expertise-driven consultancy continues to grow; supporting us to build our incredibly talented team, who continue to deliver exceptional outcomes for our growing client base.
Inkling’s inspiring future leaders
Over the next 12 months our current executive team, who have been leading the business over the last year will be stepping in to run the business in my absence, and continue to lead Inkling with a focus on delivering excellent partnerships with our clients:
Sarah Davie, Chief Operating Officer
Sarah has over 20 years’ experience in consulting and in-house Learning and Organisational Development roles, both in Australia and the UK. In her 3 years at Inkling she has played a significant role in seeing Inkling double in size and mature to meet the evolving needs of our clients and business. If you are lucky enough to meet Sarah, you will find her highly intelligent, strategic at her core and simply delightful.
Rashida Lowe, Chief Delivery Officer
Rashida brings 15+ years of experience in Diversity, Inclusion, Leadership and Organisational Development roles, both in-house and consulting. Rashida made an impact very quickly on her arrival to Inkling, delivering exceptional client outcomes and providing strong and empowering leadership of our Client Delivery team. Those who know Rashida would say she is courageous, deeply insightful and incredibly engaging.
These two inspiring women leaders are a formidable team and bring skills and expertise far beyond what I brought to Inkling when I stepped in to lead the business all those years ago. Both bring integrity in spades, a calm and reassuring resilience and respect and compassion for others. I am excited to see where they take the business over the next 12 months.
I have also been blown away by the support from our clients, my mentors and our team in their celebration and buy-in to our plan.
The significant gratitude I feel to be able to step into this new personal chapter, while seeing Inkling continue to flourish is impossible to put into words. I am so proud of our team, especially Sars, Rashida and me for leaning into the growth that will come with this change.
I look forward to seeing you all on the other side!