Josephina Smith, How to run your own race and win

This episode of *Unleash Your Inner Leader* features **Josephina Smith**, an energetic and empathetic HR leader who serves as the Rewards and Recognitions Director at British Airways. Josephina has a long career with HR Leadership roles at many leading multinationals including YouGov and Schlumberger. Josephina shares powerful lessons about running your own race, overcoming unconscious corporate labels, and leveraging AI to revolutionize the employee experience. **In This Episode, We Cover:** - **Running Your Own Race:** Josephina shares a childhood lesson to stop comparing to others and focus on her own unique gifts. - **The Power of Industry Influence:** How a trip to Paris with Schlumberger to present on Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) unlocked her passion for influencing her wider industry and society rather than just her immediate team. - **Reframing the Comparison Mindset:** Strategies for navigating the daily struggle of social media envy. Josephina and Randip discuss treating others' achievements as "clues" and formulas for success to propel yourself forward rather than hold yourself back. - **The Nigerian "Hustle" & Career Courage:** How growing up in a high-expectation Nigerian household instilled a creative, hard-working grind that gives her the courage to step out, take risks, and simply begin. - **Tempering Directness for Influence:** Moving away from raw directness to strategic, emotionally intelligent communication. Learning how to adapt your style to win over boardroom executives and junior staff alike without shrinking your true self. - **Overcoming Corporate Labels & The Standing Ovation:** Josephina opens up about a challenging period when a manager labelled her natural enthusiasm as "aggressive". - **Double Standards for Diverse Leaders:** A candid discussion on the unconscious bias that female and minority leaders still experience globally, and how to channel resilience to move forward in spite of it. - **Real-Time Well-being Resets:** Why waiting for "Monday" or "tomorrow" to address your health is a trap. Josephina outlines how she uses micro-resets, like short walks to stay balanced. - **Revolutionizing HR with AI:** Josephina deployed digital tools and AI at British Airways to combine disparate data into visual, personalized, interactive video Total Reward Statements for employees. **The Leadership Challenge** **Audit Your Brilliance:** Josephina’s primary piece of advice for the next generation of leaders is to take the time to figure out exactly what you are brilliant at. This week, step away from vague descriptions of your capability. Use personality data frameworks and actively document the positive feedback colleagues give you to build a specific map of your core strengths. **Books & Tools Mentioned:** - **The Let Them Theory** by Mel Robbins - **Vantage Points** by Paula Leach - **StrengthsFinder** (now CliftonStrengths) by Don Clifton - **Predictive Index (PI)** & **Myers-Briggs Type Indicator** frameworks **Connect with Josephina** - **LinkedIn:** Josephina Smith **Connect with Randip** - **LinkedIn:** Randip **Subscribe:** Follow *Unleash Your Inner Leader* on **YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.**