{"id":17448,"date":"2025-12-09T16:07:37","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T16:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.chubbfs.com\/uk-en\/?p=17448"},"modified":"2025-12-09T16:07:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T16:07:37","slug":"becoming-a-single-mum-at-21-to-inspiring-others-through-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chubbfs.com\/uk-en\/becoming-a-single-mum-at-21-to-inspiring-others-through-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Becoming a Single Mum at 21 to Inspiring Others Through Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"
In our latest instalment of the\u202f<\/span>Inspiring<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>Leaders\u202f<\/span><\/b>series, we spoke to\u00a0Lynda Forde,\u00a0Project\u00a0and Transformation Lead\u00a0Manager, who\u00a0discusses\u00a0how becoming a single mum at 21 forced her to become\u00a0a\u00a0very successful\u00a0leader.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Family Foundations & Early Lessons<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When people ask me about my family or what I was like as a child,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0always honest\u00a0–\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0the best place to start any leadership journey. I grew up in Hamilton, just south of Glasgow, with my mum, dad, and my older sister. We were all quite close, and that bond has seen us through a lot. Things changed when\u00a0mum and\u00a0dad separated; I was only eight and my sister was ten. I\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0sugarcoat it\u00a0–\u00a0my sister and I went a bit off the rails after that. School fell by the wayside for a while, and discipline at home was a bit lacking, simply because\u00a0mum was trying her absolute best to hold everything together.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But even in that chaos, I found my own circles of friends. One\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0known since I was three, and two others I met at\u00a0secondary\u00a0school. To this day, these three\u00a0friends\u00a0are my rocks. Life taught me early on about the power of relationships and having\u00a0a strong support\u00a0network.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Discovering My Strengths (and Weaknesses)<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the\u00a0ups and downs, I always found comfort in numbers and science. Maths was my safe space\u00a0as\u00a0it’s\u00a0logical and factual,\u00a0while my sister loved the creative arts. I guess you could say I was the more academic type.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Outside of school, I loved ice skating in Hamilton every Saturday. My\u00a0dad was a figure\u00a0skater\u00a0and he was always the one who\u00a0encouraged me. I never became a star on the ice, but I could go forward and backwards, do the odd one-legged twirl, and not fall over! These Saturdays with friends taught me about perseverance\u2014and a little bit about bouncing back when things\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0go perfectly (like when my poor sister broke her arm).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Working Hard and Starting Young<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I left school at 16, with average grades, and went straight into a Youth Training Scheme.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0where I learned the basics of business\u2014petty cash tins, hard-copy files, even writing cheques. My first employer was Modern Security Systems, and my job as a mailroom clerk was hardly glamorous, but I loved sorting out chaos. After four short weeks, they handed me a \u00a3100 cheque (when I was only earning \u00a329.50 a week!)\u00a0It\u00a0felt like winning\u00a0the lottery and was an early lesson in how\u00a0hard work\u00a0gets noticed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That little bit of encouragement kept me moving. I went\u00a0from mailroom,\u00a0to service admin, to sales admin, to a new opportunity at Chubb when my former manager reached out. The value of keeping good relationships has always paid off in my career.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Becoming a Single Mum at 21<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then, at 21, my real journey began\u2014I became a mother. Not just a mother, but a single mother for most of my daughter\u2019s childhood. I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0know any different, so I just got stuck in. I came back to work full time, determined to build a comfortable life for us both. There\u00a0weren\u2019t\u00a0many childcare options back then\u2014I relied on my family and friends to help with looking after my daughter, and\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0forever grateful for that support network.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Being a single mum shaped who I am today. It made me stronger, more resilient, and gave me a fierce determination to succeed, both for myself and my daughter.\u00a0She\u2019s\u00a0now a biology teacher\u2014with a work ethic\u00a0of\u00a0her own, starting her first \u201cjob\u201d selling Avon door-to-door aged just 10!\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0proud to say that\u00a0hard work\u00a0runs in the family.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Learning Through Experience (and Failure!)<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Throughout my early jobs,\u00a0wrapping fish and chips at the chip shop (badly), working behind the bar at the local social club,\u00a0I learned more about people than anything else. How to talk, really listen, and connect.\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0always managed to make friends wherever I go, and\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0been a constant support.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As I progressed at Chubb, I made a point of never standing still. I learned every job in my admin team; when my supervisor was off, I was the go-to person. Eventually, I moved into business process analysis in\u00a0the\u00a0head office, working on major projects.\u00a0It was my own ambition,\u00a0and lessons as a single mum,\u00a0that pushed me to keep growing.\u00a0And I am now proud to say that I have moved from working in admin\u00a0and other various roles\u00a0within\u00a0Chubb\u00a0for the past\u00a030 years\u00a0to being the\u00a0Regional Director for Scotland as of January 2026-\u00a0proof that hard work and commitment\u00a0do\u00a0pay off.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Evolving Leadership: Transformational Change<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One thing that excites me about my current role at Chubb is how much the company has evolved.\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0seen it all: from a culture of blame where mistakes were punished, to one where we learn, adapt, and move forward together. Leadership now is about empowering people, not just managing numbers.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0proud to say\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0played a part in that change.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ve\u00a0had brilliant support and inspiration along the way\u2014managers like Andrew\u00a0Layland\u00a0and Sue\u00a0Dean, who taught me to approach situations with openness rather than defensiveness. Sue\u00a0remains\u00a0a massive influence, always giving feedback that helps me grow.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Leadership, for me, is transformational: I empower my teams to make decisions, challenge themselves, and grow just as I did. I invest in their\u00a0development, and\u00a0encourage them to bring ideas forward and drive change.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Continuous Learning & Staying True<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I\u00a0truly believe\u00a0in never standing still.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0always seeking feedback, whether\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0through formal development like Leadership Edge and Leader Labs, or honest conversations with those around me. These have helped me examine my own habits. These days, if I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know the answer to a question straight away,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0not afraid to say\u00a0I\u2019ll\u00a0get back to you,\u00a0a huge shift from my younger self, who thought I had to have all the answers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n My Leadership Advice<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The most important thing\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0learned: Stay close to your people. Regular check-ins\u00a0shouldn\u2019t\u00a0be about work alone;\u00a0find out how your team members are, what makes them tick, and what motivates them. Great leaders are approachable, open, and know their people as individuals, not just job titles.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you want to be a great leader, appreciate and acknowledge your team\u2019s efforts. Be their advocate. And never stop looking for ways to empower and encourage them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Reflections<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Being a single mum at 21 was never part of my \u201cplan\u201d\u00a0but\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0made me the leader I am today. It taught me the true value of support, resilience, and listening,\u00a0a combination I use every single day with my teams.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Everyone\u2019s journey is different, but if mine proves anything,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0this: your circumstances\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0dictate your ceiling. Stay curious, stay grateful, and always invest in others as much as you invest in yourself.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In our latest instalment of the\u202fInspiring\u00a0Leaders\u202fseries, we spoke to\u00a0Lynda Forde,\u00a0Project\u00a0and Transformation Lead\u00a0Manager<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":17449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[20,19],"class_list":["post-17448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-people","tag-safety"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n