Last week, our founder Camilla Byk was a guest on The Leadership Enigma podcast.
Speaking to host Adam Pacifico about her personal journey of founding Podium.me, Camilla stresses how important it is to have people in your network who believe in you.
“Growing up, everyone around me believed in me and I think that is the secret to why I want to enable young people to be who they want to be.”
Witnessing journalists speaking to adults but neglecting the opinions of young people during the 2011 Clapham Riots, Camilla felt inspired to take action and make sure that young people from the age of 15 to 25 were represented in the media.
Using nothing but her phone to record voice memos, Podium.me has since enabled hundreds of young people to use their voices and speak about topics they really care about.
With Podium’s unique ‘No Selection, No Rejection’ policy, Camilla challenges typical recruitment processes and instead offers an inclusive and welcoming environment for young people.
“I don’t want the best kids, I don’t want the most eloquent kids. I want the people who sign up themselves and that became the blueprint of how we work with young people. We have a no rejection, no selection policy, so anybody who comes to Podium.me and wants to speak gets a place.”
Being asked by Adam Pacifico about her leadership style, Camilla refers to herself as a ‘lazy leader’ – a leader who doesn’t lead or control, but who lets young people take the reins themselves.
To find out more about Podium.me and Camilla’s thoughts on leadership, listen to Episode 109: No Selection, No Rejection on Adam Pacifico’s The Leadership Enigma podcast.
Interested in creating your own podcast with us or gaining useful work experience? Email camilla.byk@podium.me for more information.
Blog by Giulia Ciccolella