"What I'm hearing in this, Paula, is you've always had some way of switching off the day."

Try to track down Paula Fry, Global Head of Fixed Income and FX Trading Liquidity at Bloomberg LP, and she is as likely to be in New York, Singapore, Dubai or Paris as she is in her London office. A 30-year veteran of the financial sector (with a sabbatical running her own vintage fashion business along the way), Paula has built a deep skill in handling pressure. Case in point: her ability to switch off at the end of the day. In many of the conversations I have with clients, that is one of the hardest things for them to do. Paula shares two rituals that travel the world with her. "It's like taking a bit of home away with me," she says.

It makes sense. As I've said before, rituals, however small, are a way of staying in devotion to what matters to you, and harnessing your energy in a way that works for you, wherever you are in the world.

There's a lot more wisdom and advice in our conversation, including Paula’s passion for what I'd describe as her legacy: supporting women to talk openly about perimenopause and menopause in the workplace.

Legacy releases the pressure of uncertainty by grounding you in your personal purpose. It's a way to explore the next phase of impact, allowing leaders to expand, try new things, and unleash bold ideas. This shone out of Paula throughout our conversation and I was left feeling she has more to cause! I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Each month, Better Under Pressure explores how leaders really experience pressure, respond to it, and lead others through it, for positive impact.

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