Embrace Shyness, Have the Difficult Conversations and Be the Best Version of Yourself – How to Be Brilliant in the Workplace

London, UK – 26^th November – Samsung Electronics UK Ltd To mark Ada Lovelace Day, Samsung UK teamed up with award-winning author Emma Gannon to record a podcast as part of her Ctrl Alt Delete series. The episode, recorded at Samsung KX in front of a live audience, featured empowering advice for women at work.

The episode, titled ‘What’s Holding Back Brilliant Women in Business’ discussed the myth that brilliance is often perceived as a male trait, how to support brilliant women in the workplace and how brilliance is not just a quality to be associated with extroverts.

The podcast panel, which featured Annie Ridout, the best-selling author of Shy and Samsung colleagues Nida Choudhary and Chloe Findlay-Walker offered inspiring tips and advice on how we can support brilliant women around us, and how women of all personality types and backgrounds can best shine at work:

Create a Network Around You, and Trust Your Gut

Emma Gannon – Author and Podcast Host:

• “Build a network of people you trust. In an individualistic culture, we can sometimes feel we have to do things alone, but we definitely don’t, it’s OK to need each other and need support. Our brilliance can shine even brighter when we are lifting up other brilliant women as part of a community.”
• “Be your own version of brilliant. Bold, quiet, shy, direct, curious, loud, reflective, creative: there are so many ways to be brilliant. Follow your gut and show up as yourself.”

Don’t Hide in the Shadows – Ask Questions and Shine a Light on Issues

Nida Choudhary – Senior Product Manager, Connected Living, Samsung UK:

• “If you don’t like how someone or a group is being treated…then do something about it. Don’t bury your head in the sand or wait for someone else to act – raise that it makes you uncomfortable, and have those difficult conversations. Try to learn by asking more questions about how you can help.”
• “For me, brilliance is just showing up, and refusing to hide in the shadows. Illuminate the paths that you’ve trodden, and others behind you are struggling to find or are being hidden from them – shine a light on things.”

Believe in Yourself, and Don’t Be Afraid to be Shy!

Annie Ridout – Founder, Freelance Journalist, Artist, Poet & Author:

• “Quiet people don’t need to become loud…the room needs to quieten down! Don’t feel you need to be the loudest or the most confident. I have always been shy, but through this, I became a much better listener and became much more empathic. I saw there were lots of benefits from shyness.”
• “Be brave, be vulnerable, and be authentic. Believe that you can do whatever you want to do, and persist to make it happen. That’s brilliance.”

Involve Male Colleagues, but Don’t Feel You Need to Imitate Them

Chloe Findlay-Walker – Marketing Insights Manager, Samsung UK:

• “There are ways we can bring our male colleagues or managers into the conversation, and actively ask them to support and ‘co-sign’ us. Make it clear that even asking for your opinion, stopping colleagues interrupting you, or raising an idea you’d flagged before a meeting, can make a huge difference and is a way they can be real allies to brilliant women.”
• “Listening is just as important as speaking. You don’t need to talk over everyone or comment on everything – if you want to take away information and act on it afterward, that’s ok. We need to move away from feeling a need to imitate male qualities! The way you present yourself – whether on email or in person – are all fine, and will make you successful in your own right.”

Samsung Pioneers is an ongoing programme from Samsung UK committed to openly and transparently exploring the challenges, barriers, and inequalities facing women in business, and have the difficult conversations that go alongside these. It’s a platform to push for a level playing field for women by bringing together some of the UK’s most pioneering thinkers and advocates for greater gender equality, alongside women in business.

Samsung believes that fostering diversity is essential to continue innovation, and has several initiatives that empower female employees, committing to address and challenge gender inequality and champion women throughout their education and careers.

Programmes including Women@Samsung Employee Resource Group have been established to attract, retain and develop women, working alongside Black Professionals at Samsung and True Ability ERG groups. Samsung UK is also rolling out conscious inclusion training throughout 2021, working closely with Global Diversity Practice.