‘The award boosted my confidence but also made me want to give back and help others’

SHEILA MCCRAE, REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF GAP, GLASGOW, WAS NAMED AS A RETAIL AMBASSADOR LAST YEAR.

WHEN I FIRST STARTED WORKING IN

RETAIL 25 YEARS AGO AS A SALES

ADVISOR AT NEXT, I DIDN’T THINK THIS WOULD BE MY CAREER, BUT I HAD AN AMAZING BOSS WHO ENCOURAGED ME TO PURSUE A MANAGEMENT POSITION.

THE CONFIDENCE THAT GAVE ME CHANGED THE WAY I THOUGHT AND MADE ME BELIEVE I COULD ACHIEVE MORE. I THEN WENT ON TO TAKE SEVERAL MANAGEMENT POSITIONS IN VARIOUS HIGH-STREET STORES.

EIGHT YEARS AGO I WAS APPROACHED BY GAP, WHO OFFERED ME A POSITION AS A DISTRICT MANAGER. THE WOMAN WHO APPROACHED ME, THE EUROPEAN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF THE COMPANY, WAS INCREDIBLY INSPIRING AND I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT I WOULD LOVE TO WORK WITH HER. SHE QUICKLY BECAME ONE OF MY ROLE MODELS. I GOT MY DREAM JOB AS REGIONAL DIRECTOR THREE YEARS AGO AND AM NOW BASED IN GLASGOW BUT I LOOK AFTER OVER 53 STORES. HAVING TO TRAVEL FOR MOST OF THE WEEK MAKES SPENDING TIME WITH MY HUSBAND A BIT TRICKY, BUT WE PLAN AHEAD AND I MAKE SURE I’M HOME

FOR THE WEEKENDS, AND NOT HAVING CHILDREN DOES MAKE IT EASIER.

I WORK WITH QUITE A BIG TEAM, AND SOMETIMES I HAVE TO INSPIRE AND MOTIVATE THEM WITHOUT ACTUALLY BEING WITH THEM PHYSICALLY. THIS IS ONE OF THE CHALLENGES

I FACE, BUT BEING TRANSPARENT AND HONEST HAS ALWAYS HELPED ME WORK THINGS OUT. I WAS TRAVELLING FOR WORK WITH MY LINE MANAGER AND A COUPLE OF MY COLLEAGUES WHEN THEY READ OUT MY RETAIL AMBASSADOR NOMINATION. I WAS SO SURPRISED, BUT INCREDIBLY EXCITED AND PROUD TO BE PUT FORWARD FOR AN AWARD THAT SUPPORTS WOMEN. THE NIGHT OF THE EVENT I MET SO

MANY INSPIRING WOMEN.

FOR ME, THE AWARD BROUGHT

THE RECOGNITION OF THE SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM IN THE US, BOOSTED MY CONFIDENCE AND

MOST OF ALL MADE ME REALLY THINK ABOUT THE WOMEN IN MY TEAM AND HOW I CAN SUPPORT THEM IN MOVING FORWARD IN THE ORGANISATION. I GOT A NEW DISTRICT MANAGER, AND FOR THE PAST YEAR I HAVE BEEN MENTORING HER, AND I AM SO DELIGHTED THAT I WAS ABLE TO PUT HER FORWARD FOR THE RETAIL AMBASSADOR AWARD AS WELL. BEING ABLE TO GIVE BACK AND SUPPORT SOMEBODY ELSE IN THIS FEELS VERY GOOD.

I AM NOW FACING NEW EXCITING CHALLENGES IN MY WORK – JUST RECENTLY I TOOK ON MY FOURTH DISTRICT TO LOOK AFTER, WHICH IS FANTASTIC. FOR ME EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT, THERE’S SUCH A BIG VARIETY OF THINGS THAT I DO, AND I LOVE EVERY PART OF IT.

I AM ENJOYING MY TIME AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THE OPPORTUNITIES THE FUTURE WILL BRING. >>