TGt Meets... Danielle Mottram - IWD Special

To celebrate International Women's Day, we spoke to Business Centre Manager at Rombourne Serviced Offices, Danielle Mottram, about life as a woman in business and what she thinks of this day!

Name: Danielle Mottram

Location: Lydiard Fields, Swindon

Occupation: Business Centre Manager at Rombourne Serviced Offices

Which woman would you compare yourself to? 

I don’t feel I compare myself to anyone in particular, I am just me. However I do admire many women, particularly those close to me like my Grandma, mum, sisters and mother in law who have all had such different experiences and challenges in life an I am very proud of them and what they have achieved as I hope they are of me.

What would you say is your most valuable skill and why? 

I believe I have strong people skills. I am able to engage, encourage and sympathise with a variety of personalities and ages of different individuals and genders. This has helped me tremendously throughout my career in a variety of situations.

Why do you think it's important to have an International Women's Day? 

So many brave and courageous women fought to gain equal rights and if it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be where we are today.

How do you maintain a work/life balance? 

If I’m honest I can’t say I always have had a good balance, sometimes work has come first. Every career has different stresses and pressures and in my current role I am fortunate to work within a wonderful team and through this along with strong planning and organisational skills I no longer worry about work or what I need to do the next day once I am home. I switch off and focus on family all thanks to a good list and a glass of wine!

Have you ever had to give up or miss out on anything in order to pursue your career? 

No, when I made the decision to focus on my career when my son started preschool my partner and myself did a role reversal. We didn’t really want to use childcare and were fortunate that financially we didn’t need to. So I was able to work full time and him part time. However I appreciate this isn’t an option for many parents, but had my situation been different I would have had to make a very hard decision. I have been lucky that I have never missed a parents evening, school play or a sports day, it’s not always been easy, but they are significant memories to me.

Do you ever experience any discrimination in the workplace because of your gender? 

No, I have been very fortunate throughout my career to have been treated equally and have never witnessed this form of discrimination.

Based on your own experiences, what advice would you give to fellow females looking to get into your profession? 

I think it’s important to gain as much experience as you can in various roles within the business as this will enable you to have a better appreciation when you become a manager. Also knowing your key skills and focusing on these whilst continuing to develop. Also to listen to advice and be reactive in making clear concise decisions. Value and respect others most importantly. I have a belief that I would never ask or expect someone to do something that I wouldn’t do myself. Be confident, sometimes this is hard, but you have to be brave. My biggest fear most recently was networking events, but now I’ve made some lovely contacts I no longer feel nervous. Smile and make eye contact is my advice in these situations.

If you could have dinner with 5 inspirational women dead or alive, who would they be? 

So hard to pick just 5! I think it would have to be Michelle Obama, Amelia Earhart, Reese Witherspoon, Coco Chanel and Emmeline Pankhurst

As a successful female, where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time? 

My goal is to be a dual centre manager where I will be managing various successful business centres in the south west.