Business Breakthroughs: the Feminine Way

A Young Engineer, Mother of Two, Becomes a Director

I took the helm of an IT company right after my second maternity leave, before I turned thirty.

Of course I had no experience leading a company, neither had I actually any idea of what my new role would require of me, but I did not worry about this too much. I started to read books about business and refreshed my knowledge of economics, which was rather limited, because I was studied at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

The company was product- and computer-oriented, which meant that it was virtually unaware of the importance of clients and the market. The flow of information in the company was poor, and the employees were not used to shouldering responsibility, often sought excuses, complained, and exhibited traces of cynicism, even sarcasm.

I knew that a service company had to develop an entirely different culture; professionalism itself was not enough but we had to ensure responsiveness, eagerness to tackle challenges, and the friendliness of employees. The employees were a part of the service provided, so staff development became my first priority.

We focused on every employee’s personal growth, which was the cornerstone of success – of both the individual and the company. The key factor here was also that the leadership had to lead by example. Speaking about personal growth and development to young, technically-oriented, and mostly male staff was not at all simple, and even though they perhaps seemed indifferent to it, they kept a watchful eye on my every action and scrutinized how it matched up with my words.

Therefore I endeavored to set an example for my colleagues and wanted to test all the innovations in order to show that learning is a life-long process. Thus, I always raised my hand when the usability of new program solutions had to be tested and took on the role of a guinea pig. And when we prepared a presentation of an offer or solution for our partners, I put myself in the client’s shoes and encouraged my colleagues to change their technical language into one that would be comprehensible to all clients and to highlight the economic benefits they would gain.

Innovative Manager

After approximately five years at the company's helm, I started to consciously develop the role of an innovative manager because ‘director’ seemed too narrow a title for my work methods. I knew that the future lay in innovation and was aware that the manager sets the tone for the entire company. I was convinced that managers themselves have to be trailblazers if they want their company as a whole to lead the way forward. This means that they have to be curious and open to new ideas, have the courage to introduce and test them in practice, and, besides developing products and services, they have to shape new approaches in their profession, namely leadership. It was then that I started to realize that being a manager is a truly demanding profession and that in order to be a successful manager one has to possess a great deal of knowledge and mature as a person. Of course, I could not learn management while studying electrical engineering and I had neither a mentor nor a role model to whom I could turn to. I was a self-made woman, often relied on my gut feeling, and eagerly perused diverse literature for managers.

I wanted to establish a supportive environment where the employees could develop creativity and originality while, of course, accepting full responsibility for achieving the set goals. I introduced a very open system of communication, which was also clearly demonstrated by the doors of our offices always being open. The linking corridor was the meeting point of information and many ideas were born on the go, when walking from one office to another and catching a glimpse of the problems that our clients or employees were dealing with.

I was aware, however, that we had to strike the right balance between creativity and operative efficiency, between dynamic, interactive work, and undisturbed time to think, research, and develop. Toward this end, I introduced quiet hours. Every morning we had a quiet hour that was dedicated to in-depth work in silence. During that time, we were not allowed to disturb each other.

I introduced further changes and novelties as regards management even though, at the start, I was not very sure of myself and lacked the unwavering belief that I was doing the right thing; this only came later with the results that inspired me to initiate and test changes even more fearlessly. I did not want to show my insecurity on the outside and when I encountered disbelief and resistance to change among my colleagues, I overcame such with fierce determination that often bordered on stubbornness. At the time, I did not know how to do things differently and was not aware that a softer, more cooperative manner of leading was possible. The world of business “prescribed” ruling with an iron fist and even my experimentations with new, gentler approaches were seen as a sign of being too lenient towards the employees by some of my fellow managers.

A Company with a Human Face

I saw my challenge and role as ensuring the company’s successful operation, as well as in coordinating and connecting the interests of all its partners – employees, clients, owners, society, and the environment. And I also had an opportunity to share the same vision with the owners. We wished to build a company where we create and work on challenging projects, build a good name for the company, and have fun at the same time. We wished to build a company with a human face.

By clearly putting people first, we have chosen a new path that was new not only to us but to all other businesses. By setting staff development as our primary goal, which became possible with the owners’ support, we have become an exemplary company. My goal was to prove to ourselves and others that a company that puts people first, instead of profit, can be a success. Therefore we wanted to find synergies among all employees and we extended a hand of cooperation and intense development to all of them.

Breakthroughs

With its staff development strategy and its own brands, the company continued to successfully build its name and market position. It developed into a serious company, a recognized provider of advanced information solutions. I was ranked by Manager Magazine as one of top 25 innovative managers, particularly highlighting the development of relationships with employees. The competition was stiff, so I was especially proud that a story making headlines in Slovenia was a story of a company that put people first.

I further increased the pace of integrating the latest approaches into the company, even though these usually pertained to larger companies. We started to introduce a system of key account managers and organized our first business conference for all the employees on this topic.

At that time, we also took on a big investment, the renovation of the old factory, a large building that had lain abandoned for several years. We changed it into a modern business building.

At the formal opening the former President of the Republic of Slovenia, Milan Ku?an assessed the company’s development in a thought-provoking manner: “The company has grown into a woman who can be a source of pride for all of Slovenia.”

We took another interesting developmental step; together with researchers from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Ljubljana, we tackled research on company’s social networks. We looked at how the information relating to solving problems, new ideas, or supporting new ideas travels among employees. I was very pleased with the results since they revealed that the network was wide and had quite a few ‘nodes’. Along with good operating results, this further confirmed that the company was healthy and ready for the future. At that moment, I was the only one who knew that it would continue its path without me.

The story of my beginnings clearly shows that I know the challenges of women leaders, but I also know the benefits that female energy brings to companies. Based on knowledge, experience and insights,I created the Female's Breakthrough Programme because it's beneficial for everyone.

Contact me if you want to participate in the 11-weeks programme, starting on August 19. Hurry up, the number of places is limited.