Making an impact on people’s lives
APART from seeing the children of our alumni and fellows, we’ve seen a number of couples who were participants of our Leadership Fiji program and are now making an impact in their organisations and the community. One such couple that we feature in this final publication this week is Rokowati Crocker LF2017 and her husband Andre Crocker LF2020.
The proud moment for us is when we heard Rokowati and Andre were promoted subsequent to their Leadership Fiji participation to sub-officers and head of a shift for the National Fire Authority’s Suva Fire Station and Nakasi Fire Station respectively.
For Wati as she is affectionately known, some key lessons she learnt during LF2017 which she was able to apply to her role, especially as a female firefighter was being able to recognise the importance of stepping out of her comfort zone and to push herself to learn more and to always strive to become successful. She was able to make a positive impact not only in her workplace but also at home and in her community. She said, “being in a male dominated field itself is a huge challenge, however that does not hinder me from pursuing this profession, it has motivated me to keep raising the bar in terms of my performance both mentally and physically.”
As the first female officer in such a leadership role at the National Fire Authority is a challenge that Wati has welcomed as well. Knowing that she will be in charge of a shift watch in terms of upskilling her team, upgrading their knowledge and maintaining their fitness levels, she also had to equip herself for that challenge.
Wati’s message to aspiring female leaders is “be a leader with vision, a leader who works and always goes that extra mile. It takes hard work, patience and determination to be a great leader. No matter how difficult the road gets, you should never ever give up. Be confident, motivated and always remember that decisions you make impact other people’s lives”.
Andre was inspired by his wife, Wati and other Leadership Fiji alumni and fellows within the National Fire Authority who encouraged him to apply for the Leadership Fiji 2020 Program. He said, “I was always fascinated by the change in mindset and attitude that they brought back to the organisation after going through Leadership Fiji.”
Andre noticed and observed how Wati had grown in confidence and could see that she would always challenge herself, became more vocal within the workplace and never shied away from any obstacle that she faced.
One key lesson Andre learnt from his participation in Leadership Fiji 2020 was stepping out of his comfort zone and to always challenge himself. He mentioned, “in order to become the best that I can be, I needed to move away from the status quo or the norm and become the change that my family and workplace needs me to be”.
Andre also learnt the importance of self-care and that “I am also important”, especially in his line of work where he is regularly putting his life at risk while ensuring others are not. He added, “in carrying out the role and responsibilities of a firefighter, it is important to ensure our safety as well, and to ensure that fellow firefighters return home safely after their shift”.
With his family, Andre says that he can confidently share that his experience going through Leadership Fiji 2020 has improved his family life. He added “my wife and I are even more understanding of each and our support system at home and work has strengthened tremendously”.
For us at Leadership Fiji, we know that we have impacted families when we see children and couples of our alumni being participants of our Leadership Fiji program.
This article concludes our weekly Leadership Fiji 20th Anniversary Reflections, and we take the opportunity to thank all our alumni and fellows who contributed by sharing their stories since the first publication that ran on Friday 26th March.
We also thank The Fiji Times, who are one of our partners, for their support throughout these years. We will continue our 20th Anniversary Reflections on our four social media channels of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram where we will get to see our Leadership Fiji alumni and fellows testimonials on the impact Leadership Fiji has had on them. Follow us on our social channels for inspirational updates.
May God bless our beloved Fiji!
..... No matter how difficult the road gets, you should never ever give up. Be confident, motivated and always remember that decisions you make impact other people’s lives – Rokowati Crocker