In this episode I chat to an incredibly inspiring headmistress who opens up about her long journey to having the confidence to express herself within a profession that sets firm rules and expectations.

Lara Pechard works in a world where both the parents and her peers alike (often headmasters) have certain preconceptions about how a headmistress should look and present herself. She explains how it has taken her years but that she now has the attitude that she is who she is and that her external attributes should have nothing to do with her skills as the head of a school.

We chat about the importance of being yourself and not allowing yourself to be judged and also have a fascinating talk about how to look after our childrens' mental health (Lara has won awards for her work around mental health in schools). We even have time to chat about her passion for fragrance!

I wish that more heads of schools had the confidence and self assuredness to show their students that we need to believe in who we are and express that to the world. Sometimes "breaking the rules" can be the most powerful and freeing thing we can do for ourselves and set the very best example to those around us.