IT IS HARD to imagine that Kathleen Slaughter was ever insecure about anything. The straight-talking Canadian, who is associate dean for Asia, and professor of management communications at the Richard Ivey School of Business, comes across as someone who has never suffered a moment's self-doubt.
She admits, however, that for a long time she had serious concerns about her choice of career.
Excessive worrying about your career can get in the way of achieving full potential in some cases, but Professor Slaughter turned uncertainty to her advantage.
In a way, she believes, the uncertainties became a source of motivation. They caused her to test her abilities in different ways and accept a wide variety of challenges. Succeeding helped her overcome any self-doubts and realise that a fulfilling career did not necessarily follow a straight line or a well-trodden path.
'I learnt that you have to do things out of your comfort zone, things that make your heart race,' Professor Slaughter said.
It is ironic that the dean of a school should have at one time rejected the thought of ever being a teacher. 'When I left university, I said I would never teach. At the time I didn't like teaching. Or teachers.'