International Women’s Day is a global event celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. It is also a day to reflect upon the current economic and diversity status in business and identify areas for improvement. Here at Webgains, we currently have 17% more women in management roles than average. And, although we are proud of this, we recognise that there is always more we can all do to improve gender representation and inclusivity across all our international teams.
As mentioned before, we believe that a network is only as strong as it’s connections, but we think this goes beyond our day-to-day. Our brand values combined with our expert and passionate talent is what gives us the edge. In celebration of International Women’s Day, we have spoken to four of our fantastic women in leadership positions to hear about their learnings, experience and skills which have led them to become the praised leaders within our thriving organisation.
ALONA MALINOVSKA
UK MANAGING DIRECTOR
What motivated you to step up and become a leader at Webgains?
When joining Webgains several years ago I was asked the question about my five year plan. Partly to stand out from other candidates and half-jokingly, I said that I intend to become the Webgains MD. The role I interviewed for at that time was Account Manager. Working in the company I realised that this is an organisation with outstanding, talented colleagues; leading a team such as ours is a joy and motivation on its own.
What do you think is the most important leadership skill?
I wish there would be one distinct never changing ability. In reality, a lot of skills are important. What immediately comes to mind is being able to build and nurture a team of gifted, passionate people and trust them to do their jobs. Being attuned to your team helps to strategically select your communication style depending on who you speak with.
Another skill to master is the ability to stay calm and resilient in the face of extreme change in market conditions, constantly challenging your beliefs and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. I can’t say I’ve perfected any of these, it’s a lifetime journey and a constant flux. This perfectly encapsulates one of Webgains’ values – never stop learning.
What is the most surprising thing you’ve learnt about yourself as a woman in a senior management position?
Probably that your innate inclinations don’t define you or limit your abilities. I have naturally very shy personality and through continuous practice I advanced to be comfortable sitting at the table, confidently expressing myself and leading the company. If you have enough drive, curiosity, and perseverance in yourself, you will be able to achieve so much.
What advice do you have for women looking to grow within the company they work for?
Be brave enough to lean in, be open to making mistakes and learning from them and fight any inertia around you.
What can organisations do to better support female leaders that are mothers? What does Webgains do differently?
We strive to offer various benefits to parents at Webgains, starting from flexible work hours, and a solid benefits package. Being an agile company, we often define specific roles within the business that are suitable for people based on their family circumstances. We tend to review and develop our proposition each year and soon plan to further improve the parental leave package and release workplace nursery schemes.
MUMTAZ KHAMKER
GLOBAL HEAD OF STRATEGIC GROWTH
You recently completed a Women in Leadership course. What were your top three learnings to come out of this experience?
The first learning that springs to mind is the importance of being able to have collaborative relationships when you’re a leader, and how that engenders trust in others. I also learnt how to create an executive presence. Finally, I learnt how to resist the status quo, as going along with the norm can restrict growth and acts as a barrier to strategic thinking. The key to most things in life is to recognise how you are your ‘USP’ and these learnings embody that concept.
What was the most surprising thing you learnt about yourself upon completing the Women in Leadership course?
One of the surprising revelations I had whilst studying was that despite not having an Oxbridge or Ivy League education myself, I was able to competently keep up on the course with my fellow cohorts, some of which included impressive women such as Vice Presidents at investment banks like JP Morgan.
Another learning that has come from the course, is the realisation of how much ‘unintentional learning’ I have had which comes from ‘hardship’ instances; whether they are mistakes I’ve made in my previous roles, career setbacks, personal traumas, or types of injustice. These experiences all shape who I am and provide unique learnings to progress and take forward into my professional development.
What are your thoughts on imposter syndrome, especially for women in the workplace. How do you overcome it?
This is a difficult one to summarise as it isn’t a linear journey or something you can ‘hack’, but I have recently read how imposter syndrome is not always a bad thing if ’embraced’ in the correct way. One book that captures this is Love Your Imposter by Rita Clifton. She says:
“Authenticity can be your biggest weapon on the path to success.”
My other advice would be to have a mentor or business coach who you can discuss this with, as they can help remind you of your strengths and the qualities you bring to your role. Feeling like an imposter can be a positive thing as you are being challenged, which ultimately helps your growth and development.
What motivated you to step up and become a leader at Webgains?
The chance to be a role model for women and for other minorities in the industry. I was motivated to share my learnings and expertise with my team and to take others under my wing. As well as acting as a role model, I thrive at the opportunity to keep learning and progressing, an ethos we very much live by here at Webgains.
How have you built confidence and resilience over the course of your career? What were the top tips and insights that helped you achieve this?
Not having everything given to you on a plate can be a gift and create a ‘scrappy’ mindset. For example, I was employee number one for a US company when they opened their UK operation, we literally had to build the operation from the ground up, whilst also having to fight for every commercial opportunity often under unfavourable conditions. We learned to work with limited amounts of resource whilst still being tied to the same targets as the rest of the company.
Tough conditions = resilience.
I also used to bemoan my lack of ‘privilege’ being from a minority background, but now I see how it was also a gift as it built up my persistence, commercial skills and resilience. Going through ‘the school of hard knocks’ creates strategic stretches in a person as my Women in Leadership course professor stated.
FRIEDERIKE KÄLBLE
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER DE
How can women support other women in their organisations?
I think as women we need to lift each other up, acknowledging and praising the good work of another and offering support if needed is incredibly powerful. If you’re able to do so, offering mentorship and seeking mentorship for yourself is invaluable to succeed and aid your personal development. There is a lot of wisdom to learn from someone more experienced than you.
As someone who experienced a traumatic life change, leaving you with limited mobility, how has Webgains accommodated your life change?
I fell ill shortly after I left Webgains in order to travel for a year and I must say that the amount of empathy and care from the senior management team and colleagues that I have received via cards, messages and a get-well teddy, was overwhelmingly kind and not what I expected. It was therefore, after years of rehab, a no-brainer to work for a company again that truly cares about the wellbeing of their employees. No one ever questioned my abilities or resilience at work, I didn’t even have to negotiate conditions that would allow me to juggle work and varying therapy, I just had to say what my needs were and Webgains was and still is very accommodating. I am lucky to be able to work flexibly, whether that’s from home or the office, the opportunity to work part-time and not be bound to set working hours to focus on my recovery is appreciated.
What strategies do you believe work well to promote inclusion in the workplace? What can organisations do better to support people with disabilities?
Even though you aren’t required by law to say so, a simple sentence in the job listing saying that you give hiring preference for people with disabilities with the same qualification and experience, sends the right signal and makes it easy for people with disabilities to apply. The biggest fear as someone with a disability is that employers might think you are less resilient and therefore wouldn’t even consider you for the second round of interviews after they have seen you in person. This one simple change will take away the fear and increases confidence for candidates.
NICHELLE BUETTNER
HEAD OF ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT DE
You are often praised as a leader amongst the DE team here at Webgains. What do you believe makes your leadership style different to other members of senior management?
I think that it’s important that you “see” your colleagues / team members. You need to be vigilant and notice if someone reacts differently than usual. My team knows that my door is always open if they ever need someone to talk to, whether it’s a business or personal matter. I always try to give good advice and help them to solve their problem. If someone from the team asks for a meeting, then that’s my priority. Everything else can wait till after the chat.
What do you think is the most important leadership skill?
I liken my role as a team leader being like a pair of scales. On the one side there’s the business with its targets, forecasts etc. that we, as a team need to reach. And, on the other side, there are the people, the ones that do the day-to-day work and make sure the business is up and running from a service perspective. The scale needs to be perfectly balanced. If you only look at it from a business perspective and only see the profit, you won’t keep your staff motivated and keep them in the business. If you only care for your employees and their individual needs and try to give them everything they ask for, the business won’t grow and stay profitable in the long run. So, for me it’s the balance between both business and employees that’s most important.
What is the most surprising thing you’ve learnt about yourself as a woman in a senior management position?
That’s a really good question. For me personally, I think I developed a lot when it comes to speaking up or stepping in. I have the courage to speak my mind or make suggestions, which is something I haven’t always done in the past.
What advice do you have for women looking to grow within the company they work for?
Always stay true to yourself and don’t ever let anyone or anything change who you are.
What advice would you give your younger self starting her business journey?
Don’t take anything too personally!