Her Next Step

Hello and welcome to Her Next Step, the podcast where women in the public service talk about how their passion and their intuition led them to interesting and exciting career paths. We'll hear about the fears and challenges that could have held them back, and about the internal and external supports that enabled them to take their next step.

I'm Lily Murphy, and I'm speaking to women whose stories will, I believe, inspire you to wonder what stepping stones would help you to take your next step. In this episode of Her Next Step, Anne Doherty, CEO of Cork City Council, tackles the difference between management and leadership. 
She talks about how you're already as good as your team and how you earn support through respect, honesty and communication. Let me know if you're enjoying the show. What's fascinating for me about Anne and her career is that Anne started life as a nurse. And, you know, a previous interviewee on Her Next Step, Edel McSharry, said once that when nurses are trained, they have absolutely no idea of what they're capable of, but actually they're capable of running the world. And here we have somebody who I believe is a clear demonstration of that fact. You're most welcome, Anne, and we're delighted to have you here at Her Next Step. Great. Thank you. And thank you so much for having me. I would really love to know, to start, what's the achievement you're most proud of in your career? In my career, gosh. I suppose I've been really lucky that I've had the opportunity to do absolutely amazing things. So it's hard to kind of pick one over another. I suppose training as a nurse is something that I'm really, really proud of.

Welcome to her next step, the podcast where women in the public service talk about how their passion and their intuition led them to interesting and exciting career paths. We'll hear about the fears and challenges that could have held them back and about the internal and external supports that enabled them to take their next step.

Andrea, you and I have worked side by side on a few occasions, and so I know about you that you're absolutely passionate about ensuring that all of the students in this country get a fair and equitable.  I suppose, access to exams and experience of the exam system.

I'm really looking forward to having a conversation with you here today that talks about your career and some of the interesting advice that you have for women in terms of how they might also pursue careers in the public sector. So thank you so much for joining us from Athlone.

It's nice to stop sometimes, isn't it, to just have an opportunity to reflect on your career and how you got to be where you are today.

We will start where I usually do. I'm always curious to know when you were young, when you were in primary school, if I had spoken to some of your peers and are indeed to your family and said, somebody you know will end up as this chief executive of the State Exams Commission, would they have automatically assumed it would be you?

 Hello and welcome to Her Next Step, the podcast where women in the public service talk about how their passion and their intuition led them to interesting and exciting career paths. We'll hear about the fears and challenges that could have held them back and about the internal and external supports that enabled them to take their next step. I'm Lily Murphy and I'm speaking to women whose stories will, I believe, inspire you to wonder what stepping stones would help you to take your next step. Rosaleen Wallace, I'm just delighted that you're here with us today on Her Next Step podcast with Susie McCally in her studio on Wine Street in Sligo. Rosaleen I've wanted to talk to you about your career for quite a while because when I first met you, you were the station manager in Westport, Irish Rail station manager and I suppose it's a shame on me but I was a bit surprised that there was a woman in such a role. I would have always considered it very much a male role. So I'm just fascinated by how you ended up in that career number one and I know that you're now in corporate communications office of Air and Road Air and so we're going to talk a little bit about the highs and lows of your career and some of the supports that you've used to get you through any of the challenges that you faced and some of the amazing upsides of being on the journey that you've been on. So thank you very much for joining us here today. 

Welcome to Her Next Step, the podcast where we delve into the inspiring stories of women in the public service and explore the steps they took to progress their careers. I'm your host Lily Murphy and today we've a special episode dedicated to reflections. We'll be discussing some key themes and insights from previous episodes and highlighting interesting and sometimes challenging journeys of our guests and the lessons we can all learn from their experience. 

Today, Suzy McCanny, a member of her Next Step team, is joining me in conversation about some of the key themes that have emerged in the first series.Suzy joined the team when Clodagh and I decided that her Next Step should be professionally recorded and videoed to do justice to the subject matter and to the interviewees. Suzy McCanny runs a content creation company, creating videos and visual media for businesses and is based in Sligo. Her company is Verver Visual Limited. Check out her website for information about how you could work with her. She's an extraordinary. Having recorded and edited all the podcasts, Suzy is intimately connected to the stories of the interviewees and therefore I expect our conversation will be very rich. 

Thank you, Lily, for welcoming us back to the show. I just want to take a moment to acknowledge the incredible work you've done in creating this podcast. Your dedication to sharing the stories of remarkable women in the public service is truly inspiring.
 Through this platform, you're making a difference in the lives of viewers, helping them find their way forward to their Next Step. Your commitment to empowering others is commendable and I'm really grateful to be part of this journey. What prompted you to do this podcast about women in the public service? 

Women in public service are often undervalued for their skills and competencies and for the brave career decisions that enable them to pursue meaningful and impactful leadership roles.

In this podcast, Her Next Step, Lily Murphy, Leadership Coach, interviews smart, ambitious, passionate women, who share their stories about what motivated and drove their ambitions, who championed them and what gave them the confidence and courage to pursue ambitious and impactful roles. 

We explore how organisations and  managers can harness the skills and passions of women with leadership potential 

Our goal is that listeners will gain confidence and inspiration to fully embrace their leadership ambitions and forge a career path that aligns with their passion and their talents.