{"id":16777,"date":"2025-05-29T11:11:58","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T11:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.chubbfs.com\/uk-en\/?p=16777"},"modified":"2025-07-22T10:10:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T10:10:14","slug":"quiet-beginnings-to-confident-leadership-at-chubb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.chubbfs.com\/uk-en\/quiet-beginnings-to-confident-leadership-at-chubb\/","title":{"rendered":"Quiet Beginnings to Confident Leadership at Chubb"},"content":{"rendered":"
In our latest Inspiring Leaders blog, we spoke with\u202fMebs Mollah, a Quality and EHS Advisor at Chubb. Mebs opens up about growing up in Bolton, overcoming personal challenges, and finding his voice as a leader.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ve lived in Bolton pretty much my entire life. Growing up, it was me, my mum, dad, and my older sister (who always ruled the house), I\u2019ve learned to just agree with her, even when she\u2019s wrong! I had a pretty good childhood, especially in primary school, where everything felt like a fairy tale, everyone got along, life was just so easy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But when I hit secondary school, things changed. My parents split up as my dad was going through his own struggles, and I ended up growing further away from him. My mum held it together, but I know now she was under a lot of pressure. Everything that I went through gave me pretty thick skin and put life in perspective for me. I have learnt about the kind of person I want to be and the kind of person I don\u2019t want to be. When things go wrong at work or in life, I\u2019m able to remind myself that it could be worse. I also learnt to stay true to my values and just be decent to other people.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Academically, I started off strong. I was one of the smart kids in primary school and back then I wanted to be a palaeontologist because of how much I loved dinosaurs! But with everything happening at home, and probably watching too much Game of Thrones, my focus slipped in secondary school, and I took a bit of a decline. I managed to pass my GCSEs and complete my A Levels, but it wasn\u2019t always easy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I started working at 16, as soon as I legally could start working. I didn\u2019t waste any time and I knew where I wanted to go so I took advantage of every opportunity. I started working with an agency at various hospitality events and festivals and later worked at Marks and Spencer\u2019s. The latter job changed everything for me, and I\u2019ll always be grateful for it. As a naturally quiet person, I learnt how to talk to strangers, meet people from all backgrounds, and just be myself out in the world – it’s also where a lot of my leadership skills came from. The confidence I built over my time there is something I still carry with me every day. It\u2019s shaped me into the type of leader I am today.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When it came to my career, I didn\u2019t just wait for opportunities to come knocking. After completing A-levels, I decided to take up an electrical installation course at my local college and continued working at M&S to keep money coming in. My college course led me to land an engineering apprenticeship at Chubb, I was still working at M&S six days a week to make it work and get to my goals. Hard graft, but worth it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A turning point was when I heard about a health and safety quality role that didn\u2019t strike up an interest for many people, but I was curious, so I chased it. I asked questions, put myself out there, and finished my apprenticeship early to make sure I could jump on the opportunity. Even though I didn\u2019t pass my apprenticeship first time I learnt not to let a \u2018failure\u2019 get in my way.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Now I\u2019m working in Chubb\u2019s Quality, Environmental, Health & Safety (Q&EHS) team. I\u2019ve moved from hands-on engineering to a role where I\u2019m helping the business keep its people safe. Suddenly, I\u2019m in meetings, running presentations, and giving guidance to people at every level.\u00a0 It felt intimidating at first, I used to be terrified, sweating at the thought of getting up in front of a crowd, but after a few goes and support from my teammates, I got used to it. The nerves turned into quiet confidence. I\u2019m proud of how far I’ve come within my role – if you had told me a few years ago I\u2019d be doing this kind of thing, I wouldn\u2019t have believed you!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One thing I\u2019ve learnt even if you\u2019re naturally quiet like I am is that you can still lead in your own way by being reliable, doing the right thing, and looking out for others. You don\u2019t have to have it all figured out to make a difference.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Outside of work, I used to spend hours on the Xbox playing FIFA, Call of Duty, and the lot. But over the years, my priorities have changed. After a bad experience when I was out, I got into kickboxing and Jiu-Jitsu for self-defence – it gives me something new to focus on. Now I\u2019m training regularly and even getting ready for my first competition, which is both terrifying and exciting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I live alone now, which has given me independence, and can have my routines but it also means it can be too quiet at times. I\u2019m thinking about getting a cat just for some company! I loved it when my mum used to have Filipino food waiting for me after work, but now I cook for myself a lot. Chicken and rice can get boring, but I do mix things up with the occasional homemade lasagna or curry.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I like to read before bed to clear my head and have some detox time. I\u2019m into fantasy books at the moment and it\u2019s been helping me sleep so I\u2019m fully energised for what the next day has to offer! I also try to hit the gym first thing, so by 8 am, I\u2019ve already accomplished something, no matter how my workday goes. If there\u2019s one bit of advice that\u2019s really stuck with me, it\u2019s that you get a lot further by chipping away at things a bit at a time rather than trying to do it all in a mad rush. Small, consistent steps add up massively.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m proud of how far I\u2019ve come – from that shy kid who didn\u2019t want to talk to anyone, to someone who can run meetings and help keep a business on track. I\u2019m still learning, still growing, and still putting one foot in front of the other.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If there\u2019s anything I\u2019d want people to take away from my story, it’s that your journey isn\u2019t supposed to look perfect. Keep showing up for yourself and the people around you, stay true to your values, make each day count, and you\u2019ll be surprised how far you\u2019ve come, even if you can\u2019t see it yet!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I would say a good leader is someone who encourages their team to grow and gives their team confidence while also making sure everything’s planned out and can adapt to different situations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n My biggest inspiration would have to be <\/span>Khabib Nurmagomedov. He is a retired UFC fighter who is very disciplined, he is constantly working hard and improving himself and I admire that.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are many places I’d love to visit but I really want to go to Thailand. There\u2019s a sense of freedom and coming from a Southeast Asian family, I know the people are super friendly and the overall vibes are amazing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Use your time wisely. You can get so much more done by working on things consistently – it has really helped my productivity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I have a bit of a sweet tooth, so my favourite meal is Baklava, but I usually end up cooking meals like chicken and rice!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It would probably be Khabib Nurmagomedov again! I reckon he could give me some words of wisdom!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n My peers may be surprised but I have watched the whole of Big Bang Theory twice and I would watch it again!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In our latest Inspiring Leaders blog, we spoke with Mebs Mollah<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":16778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[20,19],"class_list":["post-16777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-people","tag-safety"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Early Days: Family and Growing Up<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
School Life Wasn\u2019t Always a Smooth Ride<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Working From an Early Age and Gaining My Confidence\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Chasing Progress and Never Settling<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Stepping Up: Leadership Looks Different Than I Imagined<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Work-Life Balance and Everything In Between<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Looking Back<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
How Would You Define Leadership?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Who is Your Biggest Inspiration?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
What\u2019s Your Dream Holiday Destination?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
What\u2019s the Best Piece of Advice You\u2019ve Been Given?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
What\u2019s Your Favourite Meal?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Who is Your Dream Celebrity to Meet?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
What\u2019s Your Guilty Favourite TV Show?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n