“Be resilient, but remember always to fill your cup”
“Be self aware, know who you are and have a perspective of what matters and what you stand for, and take care of yourself,” said a woman business leader when she addressed a women-only business gathering in Windhoek.
Rosalia Martins-Hausiku, Chief Executive Officer of the Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund was the guest speaker at the Economist Businesswomen Club networking breakfast on 11 November at the Am Weinberg Conference Centre.
Martins-Hausiku spoke on ‘Rethinking Resilience: A leadership challenge’, and on how people should learn five essential skills to recover quickly and easily from stress.
Listing the skills, she said that there are five pillars of resilience for her, even though there are many out there. But for her they are self-awareness, self-care, mindfulness, relationships and purpose. She added that most of the time, women tend to take care of everyone around them but forget about themself. “How can you help anyone if your cup is empty, so please refill your cup before you help others. Even in your physical appearance, look good and smell good,” she emphasised.
She said be mindful of who you are, be mindful of your progress and stop doubting yourself. By doing this you will know your purpose in life, because it is very important to know why you are here on earth. “Have meaningful relationships, have relationships that will fill your cup and not always drain you,” she continued.
“Professionally, being resilient will reduce your risk of burnout,” she said, adding that the continued pursuit of personal or organisational goals in the face of adversity is important, therefore, leaders need to create a supportive environment and embed required tools and interventions.
Martins-Hausiku said these skills she also shares with her staff, because “when the burdens is shared we have a resilient staff. We have a culture at the Fund where employees can express their feelings, so that we know what they are going through and know how to help and we can also spot when something is off,” she added.
The Economist Businesswoman Club provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and expertise, through planned networking to encourage the personal development and management skills of its members and to advance the standing and power of women. The members meet regularly throughout the year at scheduled networking breakfasts.
The breakfast on 11 November was the last for the year and also one of the best attended events of the club’s activities over the past three years with 117 women present.
From the left, Founder of Katjearua Legal Practitioners, Esmeralda Katjearua, Chief Executive Officer of the MVA Fund, Rosalia Martins-Hausiku, Director of Client Services at RFS Fund Administrators, Sharika Skoppelitus and Namibia Economist partner and Businesswomen Project Organiser, Desere Lundon-Muller.
