Each year, leaders across Aotearoa step up and then step off Auckland’s Sky Tower to support young people through the Graeme Dingle Foundation’s Drop Your Boss challenge.
This year, Linda Waddington-Miller FCA, Lion’s NZ finance director and Fellow Chartered Accountant, is taking the 192-metre leap to support the foundation. Monique Sanna, Graeme Dingle Foundation’s Business Development and Events Manager, sat down with Linda to discuss resilience, self-belief and how she is preparing for the challenge!
While these days Linda’s more likely to be found cooking or reading, as a child she did love to climb the tallest trees. Those fearless climbs may not have prepared her for this, but it planted something deeper: a belief in backing yourself and getting out of your comfort zone to build resilience.
What inspired you to sign up for Drop Your Boss in support of the Graeme Dingle Foundation?
I’m a big believer in the work that the Graeme Dingle Foundation does, and this is a small thing I can do that hopefully raises a heap of funds to enable them to do more of what they do so well.
Coming from a family of teachers, I believe that with education and support, every child has huge potential.
I’ve seen firsthand the great work the Graeme Dingle Foundation does to help our Tamariki and Rangitahi to overcome obstacles and lead fulfilling lives.
Have you done anything like this before?
No! I’m not into extreme sports, and I’ve never done anything like this jump before. You’re far more likely to find me buried in a book or cooking.
But when I was a kid, every weekend my best friend and I would go to each other’s houses and climb as high as we could up the trees in our backyards and jump out. I think something I took from that is that is when we try new things or push outside our comfort zones, often the fear is worse than the reality – and it’s a great feeling to be on the other side of that.
What scares you?
Probably letting my kids do ‘scary’ things. There’s nothing like the feeling you get in your stomach when you watch your child climb right to the top of the playground or walk to school by themselves for the first time. You can’t control all the variables or potential for things to go wrong.
However, I read in my favourite parenting book that the more experiences kids have, the more things they do as children, the more they learn they are capable of. They don’t need their parents telling them they’re great all the time; it’s experiences that will build resilience and self-belief. They never seem scared themselves either so that’s a bonus.
Also – rats. I don’t like those at all!!
Why is it important to help kids build self-belief?
With self-belief and confidence, kids can be more open and relaxed, which means they can access their full cognitive function – their ‘thinking’ brain not just their ‘survival’ brain – and the
better they can do whatever is in front of them. Self-belief over time builds resilience, and resilience reinforces self-belief.
Growing up, I had a family around me who were well-equipped to give me the essentials in life, to help me with my homework, and show me by example how to realise my potential and contribute to society. This set a solid foundation – this expectation (in a low key kind of way) instilled self-belief that I could go on to do good things in my life, as long as I put in the work.
How have you built resilience yourself?
I’ve learnt that getting too worried ahead of time serves little purpose and to grow, you need to get outside of your comfort zone and sometimes all you need to do is commit and you’ll find a way to keep going.
Learning the piano as a child, I sat a lot of music exams. I was quite young when I started, and it got harder as I got older. My hands would start trembling – this was a recipe for disaster, so I learnt to take a few deep breaths, relax, and just keep going once I’d started.
Later in life I went on a 22-day Outward Bound course. I knew it would be really hard physically and that stuff’s not really my cup of tea, but I knew once I was there, that there was no backing out. It was a hugely formative experience for me discovering what I could actually do when push came to shove – I got massively outside my comfort zone and it did me a world of good.
How can we all contribute to making Aotearoa the best place in the world to be young?
Our kids need boundaries, freedom, and high expectations. I know this might sound contradictory, but the way I heard it described once is that boundaries are like the railings along the side of a bridge. Without railings, kids will enter the bridge tentatively. Boundaries help to keep kids safe so they are able to throw themselves more wholeheartedly into things; this gives them freedom to experiment and learn.
I also think we need to keep our kids living in the real world, spending time outside and focus on building quality relationships and being part of a community.
The Graeme Dingle Foundation provides these types of experiences to thousands of young people every year – we can all get in and support their work.
How will you prepare on the morning of the big jump?
My day will probably start with a strong cup of tea! But I’ll try not to over-think it and keep my mind firmly on the reasons I’ve committed to this, supporting the Foundation’s great work!
Support Linda’s Leap and Learn More
Every dollar raised helps the Graeme Dingle Foundation deliver life-changing positive youth development programmes across Aotearoa.
- · Back Linda’s jump – donate now
- Learn more about Drop your Boss
- See the impact your support makes