"Let It Go" serves as a poignant reminder of the transformative power of diversity, inclusion, resilience, and innovation.

Dame Stephanie Shirley's Let it Go; what we can learn from it and apply within our workplace as managers and corporate cultures.

This year I challenged myself to read more, aiming for at least one book per month in 2024. Off to a strong start, in February I completed my second book of the year, a biography by Dame Stephanie Shirley. This book had been sitting in my library for a few years, a souvenir from a women in tech conference where I had the privilege of hearing Dame Stephanie speak. Her inspiring words at the conference compelled me to dive into her story, I didn't regret for a second dusting it off and breaking the spine of this book, I just wish I had done it sooner!

"Let It Go," as the title suggests, holds valuable lessons not only for women in the workforce but for managers and companies at large. Here's what resonated with me:

• Diversity and Inclusion: Dame Shirley's journey highlights the importance of not just diversity in the workforce, but also inclusion in everyday practices. She pioneered flexible working conditions at a time when it was uncommon, tapping into a marginalised demographic of talented individuals, particularly women who were often sidelined after marriage or childbirth. Her company, Freelance Programmers, later FI, which she ran from her dining room table while juggling childcare responsibilities, became a beacon of flexible working practices long before it became mainstream. She employed female maths graduates that, now having started families were left out of the work force. The recent global shift towards flexible working arrangements, accelerated by the pandemic, underscores the relevance of her approach for women, caregivers, the neurodivergent, and individuals with disabilities. Long may it live that we are trusted with managing our own time and lives in this way.

• Letting Go and Giving Back: The title "Let It Go" holds dual meanings.

  • As managers, it's crucial to let go and allow your team members to shine, but equally make mistakes, this enables growth. Development and growth does not occur under a shadow of one’s self or overbearing management. Furthermore, the way you approach things may not always be the way your employees do. We can learn from our employees too if we just learn to let go a little!

  • Additionally, Dame Shirley's life exemplifies the importance of letting go of the pursuit of personal wealth in favour of giving back to society. She not only distributed her wealth among her employees, creating millionaires in the process, but also embarked on philanthropic endeavours that reshaped government funding approaches during her tenure as the UK’s Ambassador for Philanthropy. Having an autistic son paved the way to the creation of The Shirley Foundation, a trust through which she poured her wealth into supporting autism through medical research. It's crucial that the largest corporates in today's society give back and that ourselves as individuals do not just focus on acquiring personal wealth, we can all live off just a little less money and donate to causes that mean something to us and enrich the lives of another, releasing it's potential elsewhere rather than on inanimate objects that inevitably end up in landfill.

• Resilience: Throughout her remarkable journey, Dame Shirley faced numerous personal and professional challenges. She came to Britain on the Kindertransport, not speaking a word of English and a long way from family and the home she knew. Whilst talented at school, maths was not taught at the girls school and she had to take these classes at the local boys school. She faced challenges that lasted into the workplace, signing letters to would-be clients as Steve to hide her gender and encourage response. Yet, she remained resilient, demonstrating the power of perseverance in the face of adversity which she highlights and the main source of her successes.

• Innovation: Dame Shirley's entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to embrace innovation set her apart. She championed remote working and profit-sharing schemes long before they became commonplace, showcasing the importance of daring to think differently and take calculated risks in business.

In essence, "Let It Go" serves as a poignant reminder of the transformative power of diversity, inclusion, resilience, and innovation that we could all take note of in our personal and professional lives.

“We waste too much time being afraid, when what we should really fear is wasting time.” Dame Stephanie Shirley