Strange feeling today… the first morning since July that I’ve woken up with no YBL work on my to-do list. Obviously I don’t count organising tables for the gala dinner as work!

Yesterday morning is now a bit of a blur, I delivered my presentation to the 4 YBL judges & the Marketing Manager of the RSB just after 9am. I’m pretty pleased with how it all went, the practice sessions that I’d had with members of Capgemini really paid off helping me to control my nerves. In a sense, I’d already tested the presentation on 2 seperate groups – so I knew that the structure flowed properly, and that I made sense.

The judges were really nice, I was so pleased to finally get some feedback on my reports! It’s almost like you work really hard for 10 months just by the guidance of your mentor and whomever else you seek out – - but sometimes you’re just not sure whether you’re making the right calls on things. Yesterday was a nice reminder of the fact that we’ve all done a great job to get to where we are!

Spoke with a few other participants, we all are singing the same tune – judges were great, feedback was welcomed and a general sense of crazy relief that this is all done.

Now the biggest challenge we have ahead is co-ordinating the dress, shoes, handbag & accessories (anyone who knows me well knows this is NOT my strong point) and heading to the Stamford Grand on Sat 27th June to celebrate our achievements. And damn, we all really deserve that night. Can’t wait. Congratulations everyone!

So the final piece in the YBL puzzle is a presentation to the 4 judges. It’s worth a good portion of my mark and I do want to get it right. I guess I can safely say that I’ve never been this prepared for a presentation before. Which is weird, and totally unlike me (the old me). In fact, this whole YBL thing has really changed the way I approach everything I do. Sounds cliched, but it’s true.

When I was pulling together the key points that I wanted to focus on for the judges who’ll be looking for the ‘Young Business Leader’ of the year, I realised I had a lot of learnings & growth in things that I wasn’t even aware were a part of Leadership. Because being a leader isn’t just about team building and making decisions on behalf of people and project management. It’s about relationships and planning and discipline and values and celebration and passion and authenticity. But it’s more than that too. I guess it’s hard to put your finger on, but when you meet a great leader – you absolutely know it. You can tell from speaking to those close to them, to the guys in their team, to their peers.

Man, have I learnt a lot in 10 months. I think that’s really my main point for the judges – and those of you who know me well would testify to the fact that the Amber you knew 1 year ago is nothing like the Amber you know now. And that’s not a bad thing (I don’t think I liked that other Amber anyway).

When my dad came up to me the other day and put his arm around my shouders and said ‘hey amber, y’know, it’s so good to see you happy. Your eyes are happy and you look well. I’m really proud of you’ – that moment right there was worth everything. It’s worth the extra time at my desk, worth the tired eyes, worth the mess in my spare room and the limiting social life, it’s worth the effort and the stress and the tears. Thanks Dad.

So that’s what I’m going to tell the judges on Tuesday morning. Because that’s really all I need to say.