This is me. Who are you?
To be an exceptional leader you need to be the true, authentic you. You have to know yourself, appreciate yourself, and feel comfortable and confident in your own skin. You need to understand your strengths and weaknesses, know what motivates you, what inspires you, your likes and dislikes. And perhaps most importantly, be clear about the legacy you would like to leave behind.
To be an effective leader, you have to know yourself before you can help others to recognise their own strengths and abilities. You cannot help others to flourish and grow if you haven’t allowed yourself the opportunity to do the same. I’d like to use this post to introduce you to who I am, and share a short exercise to help you do the same.
When leaders lack leadership qualities
A leader who lacks confidence in themselves and their abilities, and second guesses how to manage people, will not be able to fully support their team. So often, I see people who are highly skilled and really good at their jobs promoted to roles with people management responsibilities. On one hand it’s a great thing to see individuals are performing so brilliantly in their jobs being given opportunities to advance their careers.
On the flip side, no matter how skilled or qualified you are, leading people requires a totally different skill set than performing day-to-day activities. Managers who find themselves in this position tend to replicate leaders they have watched or worked with, which is not always best practice!
Developing your own style of leadership - one that represents the real you - will bring more success and move you towards the ‘exceptional leader’ bracket. Why try to be like someone else when you can lead in your own fabulous way?
If you want to become a great leader, who’s memorable for all the right reasons, I would encourage you to follow me in this simple exercise.
Who are you? Right here, right now.
This is me…
I’m Sally Prescott, Founder and Director of Zest for Life since October 2010. I set up Zest for Life to follow my passion of helping people and organisations develop and grow. I worked in hospitality for the majority of my career, running a hotel for some of that time. I have led teams throughout my career. My ambition is for the UK to become renowned for delivering exceptional service.
On a personal note, I am married to Jack, and we have a super cute whippet named Fizz. Welcoming Fizz into our home fulfilled a lifetime ambition, and we love her to bits! I’m an early riser and Fizz and I love our morning walks together.
As you might expect, I have a strong connection to the hospitality sector. I joined the Institute of Hospitality not long after setting up Zest for Life. I take an active role in mentoring members and supporting the learning and development of people in the sector. I’ve been Vice Chair of the North Region since 2023, and currently mentor to a HR Specialist.
Another organisation that’s close to my heart is Springboard, which helps young people and jobseekers build the skills and confidence to get into a career in hospitality career. I’ve been actively involved with the charity for over two decades and a patron since 2021.
I have been a volunteer with Radio Lollipop for 35 years. It’s the most wonderful charity that provides play, activities and entertainment for children and young people during their stay in hospital. I have been their Head of International Training since 2019, and took on the role of Chair of the UK Board in 2024. Radio Lollipop is a charity that matches my personal values and it brings me so much pleasure to see the work our volunteers do in bringing joy to children and their families during challenging times.
What’s happening for me right now?
I began working with the Northern School of Hospitality earlier this year and became a Director in April 2026. I’m currently working with a fantastic group of people on a very exciting project, so watch this space for details.
Now it’s over to you!
So, that’s me. How about you? Give yourself some time to think about who you are from a personal, work and/or volunteering perspective. It’s time to move past the ick and appreciate your own value.
What are you working on right now that excites you?
What are the achievements in your life you are most proud of?
What are the things that make you, you?
Getting to know yourself and feeling comfortable with who you are is the first step to becoming a great leader. Building your personal leadership legacy is the focus of the first module in our Exceptional Leadership Makes Sense development programme. So, if you’re thinking about signing up, completing this exercise will give you a sneaky head-start! Let me know how you get on.
Practice makes perfect
Zest for Life leadership development offers so much more than sitting in a classroom getting restless listening to someone else talk theory all day.
While we do cover some theory-based learning, there’s plenty of self-reflection, team activities and fun, interactive tasks to help you learn and embed the principles of exceptional leadership. Then it’s over to you to put them into practice and make a positive difference to you, your team and business. The emphasis is on putting what you learn into practice - and we’ve designed the programme to give you ample time to do just that.
Launching September 2026: Exceptional Leadership Makes Sense Online Programme
We are excited to launch an accessible, affordable and achievable version of our renowned Exceptional Leadership Makes Sense programme this Autumn. It is a facilitated online programme broken into bite-sized 90-minute sessions taking place every other week. This is leadership development that fits around your day job AND gives you chance to put what you learn into action.
It is perfect for managers who:
Find it difficult take extended time out of their diary for development
Leave the training room and never quite manage to apply what they’ve learned.
To be one of the first leaders to experience the programme, email Sally Prescott for all the details.