My reflections on winning the 2022 EIM leadership award.

It’s been almost a week now since I received my first leadership award and the feeling is still surreal!

I know you probably think of me as a geek who only has an affinity for academic awards. 

Well, it turns out I very much have a flair for leadership.

I won my first leadership award, friends! Ecstatic is an understatement to describe how I feel!

Here is a bit of background…

I highlighted in my About page that I currently serve in a network of female physicians called—Excellence in Medicine Women Physicians Network (EIM for short).

One of the many privileges of belonging to a community of like-minded people is to be presented with opportunities to hone numerous already discovered and yet-to-be-harnessed soft skills. 

As a leader in EIM, I coordinate the activities of the Personal and Professional Development(PPD) Hub, ranging from hosting webinars, liaising with members of the strategy team, running a biweekly book club, and creating social media content revolving around PPD topics. 

Winning the 2022 Leadership award…

One of the highlights of the award ceremony for me was that I became teary when my mentor was giving the speech about why I deserved the award.

I was shocked at myself, to say the least because that wasn’t the plan.

However, I couldn’t fight back the tears. I had to let myself feel.

As my mentor went on about why I deserved this award, it sunk in! Nobody was cutting onions. 

I started to realise how personal development has been a journey for me. And one to be particularly proud of. 

I could not help but reflect on how much growth I have achieved personally to have been deemed eligible for a leadership award. 

I deserved my flowers, please!

Road to getting recognized…

2022 was the year when I made an intentional choice to tap into my hidden leadership capabilities—both in a group and in my personal life.

It was the year I became more aware of why we as humans need to learn personal leadership and translate it into everything we do. 

So I made it a duty to harness the opportunity I had to lead in EIM.

It was also a year of stretching for me. The PPD hub availed me the chance to test-run various soft skills, including but not limited to writing, public speaking, communication, emotional intelligence, teamwork, and time management.

Asides from this, the PPD hub launched and kickstarted a book club where we discuss and share our thoughts on books(predominantly self-development). As the leader of this hub, I learnt to show up for these book reviews, even on days when it wasn’t convenient. 

Additionally, one unique theme of my leadership experience in 2022 was that the more I wanted to pour into others, the more I was presented with the opportunities to have lived experiences of pertinent issues I felt needed to be discussed.

In all of this, I remain grateful to my mentor for her constant encouragement and push to not deem my light but to keep shining.

Going forward…

I’m proud of this achievement and grateful for the recognition. I believe it is a great step in the right direction. 

I strongly believe we should all be leaders as this is one of the ways by which we can command the true change we desire in any space we find ourselves, one day at a time.

I’m definitely looking forward to a more robust leadership experience in 2023.

Thank you for reading this post. 

In my next one, I will share the lessons leading has taught me so far.

Bye!

Love,

Aarin