LAURA DIDYK Vice President, Client Diversity and National Lead Women Entrepreneur Calgary, Alberta Canada 2021 Women of Inspiration™ Authentic Leader Award Women of Inspiration – Women Driving Change Book™ Contributor
How have your SupportHERs™ championed you? I have benefited a lot from having both male and female mentors and professional allies in my career and life. Their encouragement and trust in my abilities to grow and succeed have helped me increase my confidence level and influenced my personal development. Today, the champions I am grateful for are the people who value and embrace D&I in their businesses and life. This is not an easy path because it takes commitment from everyone, at all levels to make it a reality. Eventually, I would love to work myself out of job because that would mean we no longer look at gender and race—we see people as they are.
Is there a quote that guides your practice to be the best you can be? “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” This simple phrase is my mantra most days. Too often, we spend time being worried or anxious— seeking solutions for problems that may not even exist yet and they take up our mind space. Anytime, I am anxious, stressed, or worried, I step back, think about the problem and decide if it is worth my time. Worrying never serves you. Action does.
How would you describe your leadership? My preferred style is collaborative leadership. Leadership is not about one person; it is the idea of working effectively together and motivating people to achieve Eventually, I would love a common goal. It is also to work myself out of about creating a clear vision job because that would and inspiring people to believe mean we no longer look in that same vision.
at gender and race—we see people as they are.
What is your definition of success? For me, success is not about the achievement of a goal; it is the process. It is knowing that I have attempted something that I have always wanted to accomplish—knowing that I have given it my all no matter what the outcome. What would you say is the single biggest thing to help you achieve success? Put simply, I attribute my success to authenticity. I have always brought my true self to work and have stayed true to my values. Many successful people adopt a ritual of habits to set themselves up for success. What do you do? I exercise. Three times a week, I run with a girlfriend. It is our time to catch up and compare stories. It is when we solve our mom quandaries and our life challenges. I exercise the other days by myself. This is my alone time. It is my time to think and be thankful for everything I have.
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authentic, trus
