http://www.leaders4leaders.co.uk/

Leaders4Leaders Coaching, Newcastle under Lyme (2026)

10/04/2026

My money plant and me ....🌱

I was looking at my poor money plant in my office yesterday. My sister gave it to me over 10 years ago, and honestly, it has lived a full life! It has grown huge, nearly died many times, bounced back, wilted, revived..it’s basically the hero of its own survival story.🪴

And every time I forget to water it, it droops like it’s given up on life. 😔

Then the moment it gets what it needs?

Back.

Standing tall.

Like nothing ever happened.

And I thought:

“This plant is functioning on “willpower” alone.”

That is exactly how my menopause body operates most days. 🔋

Willpower. Resilience. A bit of stubbornness. Lots of humour! 💪🏽🤣

And the occasional miraculous revival when someone gives you what you need. (A large bag of Haribos) 💊🫣

🗣️ I’m seeing more menopause conversations in my feed and more women led businesses offering corporate training (which is brilliant), but uptake is still slow.

Many women are still powering through quietly, holding everything together on sheer determination. 🪫

And here’s the part we don’t talk about enough:

Did you know menopausal women leaving work costs the UK economy around £1.5 billion a year?

That’s not a “women’s issue” , that’s a workforce issue, a leadership issue, and an economic issue.

And now, with the UK government announcing that Menopause Action Plans will become a mandatory part of Gender Pay Gap reporting for employers with 250+ staff from April 2027, the direction of travel is clear. 🧭

🤔But let’s be honest, compliance alone isn’t the answer.

❌A policy won’t water the plant.
❌ A tick‑box won’t revive a wilted woman at her desk.
✅Culture, compassion, and conversation will.

So if you’re a woman sitting at your desk today, feeling a bit wilted…(clutching a 4th can of energy drink in your hand)

I see you. 🫶🏽

And because willpower alone isn’t a long‑term strategy, here are a few things that genuinely help me as a working woman navigating menopause:

🌿 My real‑life coping strategies

🥾Walk/run with my “Stride and Sip” gang.
Movement helps! But I know , the hardest part is getting out the door. An accountability crew makes all the difference. Find your tribe!

💬Talk.

Find a colleague or friend who will simply listen without fixing. Sometimes being heard is the water we need.

💟Don’t do it alone.

Whether it’s symptoms, stress, or just a foggy day! Share it. Someone else is feeling it too.

You’re not invisible.

You’re not alone.

And you’re far more resilient than you give yourself credit for. ♥️

☕️And if any of this resonates and you ever want to “chai and chat,” drop me a DM.
I’m not a medically qualified menopause specialist ! Just a woman with lived experience who believes none of us should navigate this alone. Leaders4Leaders 🧬

Rupa Duhra Ark

07/04/2026

This weekend I visited “The Last Princesses of Punjab” exhibition at Kensington Palace, a powerful, emotional, and unexpectedly grounding experience! 🥹It’s beautifully curated and a vivid reminder of how deeply British and Indian histories are connected! 🇬🇧🇮🇳

The exhibition tells the story of Princess Sophia Duleep Singh and her sisters, and the remarkable women who shaped their lives.

It begins with Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder and first ruler of the Sikh Empire, known for unity and vision. His youngest son, Prince Duleep Singh, aged 10 was taken to Britain after Punjab was annexed by the British East India Company in 1849.

Separated from his mother Maharani Jind Kaur, raised among royalty in England and favoured by Queen Victoria, he later reclaimed his Sikh identity ; a life marked by displacement and belonging, leaving a complex legacy that wove Sikh heritage into England’s history.

The exhibition highlights Duleep Singh’s daughters; Princess Bamba, Princess Catherine, and Princess Sophia ; Sikh royals raised in British exile who used their privilege to make a difference. Their lives were shaped by empire, yet proud of their Indian heritage each became a changemaker in her own way:

👸🏽Princess Sophia became a fierce trailblazing suffragette.

👸🏽Princess Catherine quietly helped Jewish families escape N**i Germany.

👸🏽Princess Bamba fought to preserve Sikh history and identity from her home in Lahore.

💪🏽Their Punjabi warrior spirit reminds me that women’s leadership isn’t new, it’s part of our lineage. Leaders4Leaders

Their stories are seldom told, yet they are part of our story, part of Britain’s story, part of the story of many British South Asian women navigating identity, leadership, and belonging. ♥️

And the highlight for me? Sharing it with my young nephews and niece.

The family WhatsApp was… let’s just say, hesitant when I first suggested a history exhibition. But Rupa Massi won the day and they loved it. 🫶

It was wonderful watching them walk through the exhibition, making connections between our Sikh Punjabi heritage and the United Kingdom, our home. 🏡

🙌 If you enjoy history, I highly recommend this exhibition. A perfect day out!

Rupa Duhra Ark

23/03/2026

❄️ From UK sunshine to Munich chill…analytica, here we come!

☀️After a glorious weekend in the UK sunshine, I’ve just checked the Munich forecast for Analytica… and let’s just say my menopause body is already rolling its eyes. 👀

But I’m layered up, caffeinated, and ready for a brilliant week at Analytica 2026. 🧥

You’ll find us at Booth A3.227, where our expert Azenta Life Sciences team including our fantastic Barkey GmbH & Co. KG colleagues will be ready to meet customers and partners to talk all things:

🧪sample management
❄️cold‑chain solutions
⏲️controlled‑rate thawing
🧬and how we support breakthroughs across life sciences

If you’re attending, come say hello.
We’d love to connect, and explore how we can support your workflows from discovery to delivery.

Munich… be kind to us.

Safe travels everyone ✈️

Rupa Duhra Ark

27/02/2026

🙌 My favourite kind of day at a sales conference is one with flip charts, pens and music! 🗒️✏️🎶

Day 4 had everything: outfit #10, full‑blast energy, and 40 sales reps in one room on one mission to win. Such a fun and fruitful day! 👗🔋🎤

Theme of the day was “Building and Fueling Growth Plans- Mission One Azenta”

From German efficiency to French artistic flair to UK grit, humour and of course Spanish passion & spirit, every region brought its own flavour. The day kicked off with the Focus Account Planning cross line of business, followed by elevating Sales Skills sessions, from practice to performance! 👏🏽

🚀And then came the One Azenta Space Shuttle build, where the laughs, giggles, creative differences, heroic compromises, fights for the mic, and team song dance breaks took over.

At one point, I had to meditate over “the wrong” type cellotape, a lively debate about the “right kind of Blu Tack”, .. and of course the DACH team launching their winning rocket ‘Sample Management Solutions for the Future of Science’ into space using AI.” 🚀🤖

If you could bottle the energy in that room, you’d power a rocket. 😄 No rules were broken… but creative licence was definitely applied. 🎨🖌️

The creativity was off the 📊 and the momentum was real. 🎆

It’s amazing how a simple idea, delivered with the right people and the right energy, becomes unforgettable. 🎭

💜A perfect lift‑off for our shared mission: One Azenta. Thank you EMEA SMS Team Azenta Life Sciences You are the best! 🏆

❓Made me think🤔, what’s the smallest idea you’ve seen turn into something unexpectedly brilliant with your team?

Leaders4Leaders 🧬

Rupa Duhra Ark

22/02/2026

As leaders we face many challenges…

…but after 20+ years of business travel, there is still ONE that defeats me every single time:

Packing for the Annual Sales Conference. 🤦🏽‍♀️

✈️ Barcelona awaits, the agenda is packed, the weather is warmer than the UK (which isn’t hard), and yet the biggest challenge of the entire week was… the suitcase.🧳 🇪🇸 (💬The chattering in team chat didn’t help🫣)

The internal debate went something like this: 🤔

The dress with pockets! Oh and yes! non‑negotiable. 👗

The heels!! absolutely not. Since menopause arrived, my body goes into a full spasm just thinking about them.

Team‑building outfit!! The agenda says “athletics wear”, so of course the Sweaty Bettys made the cut. 🏃🏽‍♀️

Evening dinner outfits ! plural, because options are a leadership competency. 👖

Gala awards night and the ultimate dilemma: which sari? Too many favourites, not enough luggage allowance. 🥻

A cardigan because conference rooms air conditioning don’t come with a “menopause setting” 🥵

Shoes: I have no idea what I have packed?👟🥿🩴

The pills: let’s not go there! 💊🧴

Plugs/chargers: I will be setting up a stall! 🔌

🫶🏽BUT HONESTLY? 😄
I wouldn’t have it any other way.🙌

I’m so looking forward to meeting and connecting with the team, having laughs, sharing ideas, engaging in meaningful conversations and, most importantly , only using about 50% of the things I have packed. 💜👏🏽

Leaders adapt, leaders prepare, and leaders absolutely bring three backup outfits “just in case”.

❓Which team are you: “pack light” or “pack everything including the kettle?

✈️ Safe travels team Azenta Life Sciences

Leaders4Leaders

Rupa Duhra Ark

21/02/2026

📣I have made a very serious investment in my professional development… I bought an iPhone stand/tripod thingy.📲🎙️

I know! Apparently, I am an influencer now, because if you’re going to coach, mentor, lead, inspire, and take a decent selfie, you need the right tools. 🤳📷 🙌

While setting up, I have been down memory lane… ☺️

When I first started taking selfies (many moons and many angles ago), my then boss at GE Life Sciences would say,
“Rupa, buy a selfie stick.”

And I would respond with a dramatic horror, “Absolutely not. You will never catch me with a selfie stick.” 😱

Fast‑forward to today… Here I am, tripod in hand, embracing my destiny. 💁🏽‍♀️

Oh, how times change. Oh, how we change.

We adapt. We evolve.

We equip ourselves with new tools; whether that’s leadership frameworks, coaching techniques, or yes… a tripod that doesn’t wobble like my early‑career confidence.

My team Azenta Life Sciences is probably reading this thinking, “OMG… now she has a selfie stick.” Don’t worry, team. I’m just levelling up the brand. Get ready to pose next week! 🤭

Meanwhile, my husband (famously camera‑shy) has taken refuge in the garage until the “influencer activity” is over. 🫣

And the best part?

👩🏽‍⚕️My young niece is absolutely buzzing that her Massi is now fully kitted out like a proper influencer.

If that’s not a stamp of approval, I don’t know what is. She has offered me her special camera light. (I forgot to order) 🫶

Here’s to growth, reinvention, and owning every version of ourselves, past, present, and fabulously well‑lit. 💡

❓What’s one tool or gadget you once swore you’d never use… and now can’t live without?

02/01/2026

There’s something about the New Year that makes you take stock of your life, usually while holding a cup of cha, staring into the distance, and wondering how you survived the last year.

Because let’s be honest, overwhelm and burnout don’t always arrive dramatically.
Sometimes they show up quietly, tap on your frozen shoulder and whisper, “Time to sit down, woman!” That was me 🙆🏽‍♀️the queen of high‑functioning chaos! I have a speeding ticket as a proof (see my last post).🫣

Working in a high‑paced commercial role, navigating care and support for elderly parents, running side passions, and pretending I could outrun exhaustion with sheer determination. Spoiler: I could not. My body eventually staged a coup! So it was a time for a radical action; 🙌

I decided to take three weeks out of office over Xmas . Yes, three! I know , my American colleagues are still shocked! 🤣

*Week 1 was blissfully unproductive. Family time, Christmas chocolates, fresh air, and attempting mindfulness (I get points for trying).

Enjoying by thoughtful Xmas gifts 🎁 🎄

What do you buy a girl who has everything?

Lovely coffee mug gifted by one of my STEM mentees, Reema Pandey, beautifully capturing my favourite mantras!!

Books gifted by hubby (well, I had saved them in the Amazon basket, he checked out). Thought that counts, right? 😉

“Chill” gummies from my niece, who clearly knows her massi very well! 👩🏽‍⚕️🫶

Week 2… and I’ve fully surrendered to going with the flow. To do list is in the bin
Just me, time, and the occasional snack.

And the daily walk/jog streak that’s still going, mostly because I’ve told too many people to quit now (reversing can’t be ar&&d) 👟

It’s liberating. It’s mildly terrifying! That guilty feeling that I should be doing something! So, I have packed my bag and heading to Humberside for a few days to visit my youngest sister for that unlimited chat, yummy food fuelled with a cocktail or two! And a walk along the Humber! 🚙 🥂🌁

I am going into my Week 3 of a well‑needed break remembering:

We don’t have to lead through force, pressure, or pretending we’re invincible.
There’s a softer, wiser, more sustainable way to lead, one rooted in courage, joy, clarity, compassion, and intuition.
A way that doesn’t require burning ourselves to a crisp.

If you’re a woman navigating work, ageing parents, menopause, leadership, and the general circus of being human… I see you.

Truly. You’re not alone. ♥️

And you don’t have to keep pushing through like a superwoman but exhausted extra in your own life.

If 2026 is the year you want to explore soft‑power principles and lead with more authenticity, ease, and a little humour, then let’s connect at Leaders4Leaders supporting female leaders in life sciences.

There’s a different way to lead.

And it feels a lot more like coming home to yourself.

Happy New year!

Rupa Duhra Ark

17/09/2024

Curious about coaching?

Would you like to experience the power of coaching?

Maybe you’re looking for a change, rethinking your career, your health, your relationships, or something else?

I’m currently in training to become a Certified Women’s Coach with One of many , and looking for practice
clients to volunteer to experience a 12 week transformational coaching programme.

If you’re interested, DM me and I’ll send you more details.

Rupa Duhra Ark

25/07/2024

I unexpectedly came across a special event in November 2019, during stressful period , when I was busy with year end sales push and planning sales conferences for the upcoming January. I was in full Superwoman mode and had decided to take Friday off for some retail therapy in Manchester. 🦹🏽🛍️

The night before my trip, while scrolling through Facebook, I found an event organized by Joanna Martin the founder of One Of Many in Manchester. The event ad caught my attention: “How does a successful woman make an impact and enjoy her own happy life?” 🎟️

I decided to skip my shopping plans and instead signed up for the workshop. It was such an uplifting day listening to Joanna walk us through her misson to equip 1million grassroots women leaders with resources to sustainably change the world. 🌍

📘During the workshop, l learnt about shifting the paradigm, retiring the superwoman and embracing Soft Powers. I was the lucky winner of 12 week BePowerful online course. On my train journey back, I felt a renewed sense of energy and purpose. ✨

Since then, I have attended several of OOM events, flagship conference in London, completed programs, used some of the great tools that helped me avoid burnout, got a better perspective on work-life balance & motivated me to launch Leaders4Leaders , a platform to encourage the next generation of authentic female leaders in STEM from diverse backgrounds. 🧬

Currently, I am part of Cohort 11, training programme to become One of Many Certified Women’s Coach!

It’s a privilege to be part of an amazing community of women!

And now, Dr. Joanna Martin brings her wealth of wisdom in her transformative book; 𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏—𝑬𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒚𝒕𝒉 , available from Amazon. I can’t wait to get my copy tomorrow! 📕

Ladies, if you want to make a meaningful impact without feeling overwhelmed and burned out, this book is for you!

Rupa Duhra Ark

28/01/2024

@ Leaders4Leaders

“𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒐 𝑲𝒐𝒊 𝑮𝒂𝒍 𝑵𝒂𝒉𝒊” is a common Punjabi saying which translates to "Never mind, it will be okay. Don’t worry, everything will work out.

I consider myself a resilient person, always seeing the glass as half full! Tomorrow is another day! Growing up, I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by some incredible, strong-willed, and empowering women in my family. They taught me and my siblings the importance of never giving up, finding strength in tough times, and always keeping a positive outlook. 🌸👩‍👩‍👧‍👧

However, it can be exhausting wearing “𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗼 𝗞𝗼𝗶 𝗚𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗮𝗵𝗶” t-shirt all the time! 🥺

It’s crucial to remember that constantly pushing ourselves to be resilient can take a toll on our overall well-being, both personally and professionally. We often find ourselves encouraging employees to be resilient at all times, but it's essential to strike a balance. ⚖️❤️

As leaders, it's crucial to remember that expecting our team members to display unwavering resilience at all times may not be fair or realistic. Resilience is undoubtedly an admirable quality, but it's important to acknowledge that everyone has their limits and moments of vulnerability. ☺️

True leadership lies in understanding and empathizing with our team members' individual journeys. We must recognize that they too experience ups and downs, facing challenges that may occasionally test their resilience. Instead of demanding constant strength, let's foster an environment where it's okay to show vulnerability and seek support when needed. 🫶

By creating a safe space for our team members to express their struggles, we encourage open communication and build stronger connections. This, in turn, cultivates a culture of trust and understanding, where individuals feel empowered to share their concerns without fear of judgment. 🙌

Remember, a resilient team is not one that never falters, but rather one that supports and uplifts each other through both triumphs and tribulations. As leaders, let's lead by example, showing vulnerability ourselves and encouraging our team members to do the same.🙋🏽‍♀️

“Chalo Koi gal nahi, let’s sit and chat with a nice cup of chai ☕️♥️🤗

Rupa Duhra Ark

14/01/2024

✈️ I am kick-starting my 2024 business travel with an exciting trip to Orlando!

This trip takes me back to the year 2020, where I had an incredible four weeks of back-to-back sales conferences with the GE Life Sciences team.

It all started in Madrid, at the Fisher European sales conference, during the week of 27th Jan! Caroline Chapple did an amazing job live illustrating our booth theme( We won supplier of the year award 🤩) Then, I jetted off to Dublin for the GE Life Sciences global sales meeting in the week of 3rd February. we learned about the company's new brand and name Cytiva.

After Dublin, I packed my bags once again and headed to Dresden on 11th February for the VWR European sales conference ! And finally, my last stop was Orlando, where I attended Fisher America's sales conference with my GE USA colleeagues at the Ga***rd resort in Florida! 🌟

I remember coming back home on 22nd February, telling my husband that I had an amazing four weeks, but I needed a break from my suitcase! Little did I know that just a few weeks later, the world would change as we know it. 😔

During the lockdown, I realized how much I missed the in-person connections,, the power of networking, sharing and learning. So much has changed in our lives and the world of work since then but my passion for nurturing connections and building new paths for growth continues to grow stronger. 💪🏽

I am currently mentoring two amazing young women in STEM careers through my platform Leaders4Leaders. One of the key areas I emphasise is the importance of building and nurturing their professional network. It is crucial for their career success and growth.

As I prepare to attend the VWR, part of Avantor America sales conference in Orlando with my Azenta Life Sciences 💜, I am reminded of the power of connections. It's incredible how a simple conversation or meeting can lead to endless possibilities. I am looking forward to making new connections with our channel partner colleagues at VWR Americas and catching up old friends and seeing some familiar faces at the conference!

Give me a wave 👋🏼 if you that familiar face heading to Orlando!😀

Rupa Duhra Ark

Leaders4Leaders Coaching

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