Shamelle Rice shares her lessons in leadership

Shamelle Rice

Caribbean and Americas

Barbados

All Queen’s Young Leaders Award winners receive an intensive year-long online leadership course to develop skills and expertise, as well as a residential week in the UK. During their visit the young people get the opportunity to meet some of the UK’s top business leaders who are able to share their experiences.

Here Shamelle Rich, one of this year’s winners from Barbados, talks about some of the lessons she learnt:

“‘Energised.’ This one word sums up my experience of the Queen’s Young Leaders residential week. I can truly say that there have been, or will probably ever be, few things in my life that have impacted, or will have such an impact on, my life as that week did.”

“The lessons learnt were endless, particularly those centred around leadership and success. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet and to be exposed to some of the most successful people in their spheres, and the wealth of knowledge shared by them.”

“One such individual was entrepreneur and philanthropist Lloyd Dorfman. During a speech he gave at The Shard in London, he shared some key tips to his success which really stood out to me. Firstly, he spoke of persistence. Persistence is vital in any area, because nothing substantial and meaningful grows overnight. As a young leader, this encouraged me because there are some days as I go about my work, seeking to impact lives, that frustration tries to set in. However, we can all be fully confident that persistence wins every time.”

“Another statement made by Mr Dorfman that struck me was: “Conventional thinking will only get you conventional results.” As a leader, I must challenge myself daily to discard conventional paradigms and “playing it safe” thinking. This is the only way to see real and lasting impact.”

“One of the final take-aways from Mr Dorfman was that of having “self-belief”. Self-belief makes all the difference and is the great equaliser of human beings, regardless of colour, class or creed. Nothing can withstand the force of someone with true self-belief.”

“The entire Queen’s Young Leaders residential week was filled with rich nuggets of expertise, coupled with practical tips for application. Putting it all into words is almost impossible. Nevertheless, what I can say is that the experience is one that will serve me a lifetime. Both me and my organisation are all the better for it!”