#BusinessCardQandA – Merle Singer

OK, after establishing this #BusinessCardQandA series last year while stuck at home during lockdown, things got really, really busy. Just to remind everyone as to what I was doing … during lockdown, I took the opportunity to tackle those time-consuming and tedious projects I’d been putting off for years – like cleaning out and reorganising my office, which had more than 20 years’ worth of accumulated clutter. In the process, I found hundreds of business cards that had been filed away. Looking at these again for the first time in years, old business cards are a great moment in time in a career and a life, so I’ve picked out a selection of cards to spark some questions for their original owners.

@Merle Singer

I first met Merle in 1996 when she interviewed me for a job at Com Tech Communications, which at the time was a value-added IT distributor. I had been working as a legal editor for Butterworths (now LexisNexis) and had been helping out my flatmate’s boyfriend @Eugene King (who was working for Com Tech at the time) with proofreading and editing of Com Tech’s monthly magazine, and also its epic annual Forum conference invitations. In 1996, Eugene was relocating to the UK to do his MBA, and recommended me as his replacement.

The job interview was in a café in Balmain, and I don’t remember too much about it other than thinking what an unconventional location it was, but also how much more relaxing and engaging it was too.

I did have a more formal follow-up interview in the office in Alexandria, and I ended up with Merle as my boss for the next ten years or so – and we’ve continued working together or collaborating, in various forms, to this day!

That unconventionality and incredible warmth are the attributes that really stand out when I think about Merle, particularly when you think how cut-throat and aggressive the IT industry could be at that time (and still is). I think she’s always defied convention and followed her own path, which is especially true with the work she is doing now with her own business, Curve of the World.

First of all, how did a psychologist from Cape Town ended up working as the marketing manager for an Australian IT distributor?

Truth is, it is baffling for me how I ended up in technology, but I am delighted I got the opportunity and delighted I did. I left ?South Africa over 30 years ago when it was in the midst of an incredibly turbulent period in its history and I ended up moving to Australia via NZ in 1990 – in fact, the day after I arrived I started at Com Tech as the Marketing Manager and the same day people were airlifted to safety from Nyngan when the Bogan River burst its banks – both are indelibly stamped on my brain.

[MA: That must have been April 23, 1990! There was an article published last year about that flood by the ABC: Thirty years on from Nyngan's flood disaster, what have we learned? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-23/remembering-nyngans-flood-thirty-years-on/12154408]

?What were those early years at Com Tech like? It was real pioneer territory in many ways, I imagine …

I think my entire time at Com Tech was like living in a bubble of massive growth, extreme change, and amazing opportunities.?At the time you don't even know you are experiencing something special, we were just all working incredibly hard, we were all super dedicated to the successful outcome of the business and driven by real client centricity.?We were plus or minus the same age, very much like a family, relaxed and fun but also hectic and innovative.

Not long after I joined the company in 1996, Com Tech split into two businesses – Express Data as the IT distribution business and Com Tech Communications as a VAR/systems integrator.

First of all, you chose to work for the Com Tech business – was there much debate on which direction you would take, and why did you take the decision you made?

It had to happen very quickly because the business model really split into two distinct areas. There seemed to be a natural split for people to move into the broad-based distributor that was to become @Express Data, and for those that remained in Com Tech as a systems integrator.?Express Data and its people built into a very strong and profitable business which I think is testament to those that shifted into this business.?And for Com Tech it was also a significant shift to become an integrator and to pivot literally overnight, and again the outstanding quality of the people built an incredible business.

Second, that was an incredibly stressful and tumultuous time for Com Tech to change business model and effectively carve out two new businesses. What sort of stuff did you have to deal with at the time?

It was an unbelievably tumultuous time as we tried to build out two businesses, and it was stressful. There was a huge amount expected of all of us and the end result was not clear for either business. There was what had been a very successful business to date which was suddenly split into two, where neither were guaranteed to be successful. And it is a testament, not just to the leaders of both of those businesses, but to everybody who worked in them, that they continued to grow, develop, expand and flourish in their own particular markets.?I think for me this time period was when I realised the old adage that “culture eats strategy for breakfast” is true – we witnessed the power of having a great culture and how it built the foundations of two extremely successful but different businesses.

There was also the acquisition by the South African firm @Dimension Data, the merger with Datacraft Australia and the eventual rebranding of the business here. What are some of the highlights and challenges for you from that period?

The acquisition by Dimension Data was significant as we went from being owners of our own destiny –being able to make decisions completely and utterly autonomously – to figuring out how you're going to be playing in this new world.?There were many highlights, including the fact that the Australian business was really the jewel in the crown for Dimension Data at a global level and so many of the things that we were doing were seen as leading edge and were roundly celebrated.?It was exciting as well to work with people from across the globe, which was completely new for me – so we suddenly had interaction and sharing across multiple geographies and it was also really fabulous to travel to South Africa for work. It was a very exciting time and, given how long ago it was, the challenges seem to pale and I can only remember the positives and possibilities that the acquisition provided.

After leaving marketing, you took on a more holistic role in People and Culture, and established Dimension Data Australia’s Heads Hearts and Hands (HHH) corporate social responsibility program. What was the inspiration behind this program and what impact do you think it had on the business?

It was daunting to move out of marketing, as it was all I'd ever known. I had been in the marketing role for 15 years and it had been an incredible and fortunate role. I had been involved from the beginning with our client conference, Forum, that had been a hallmark of my marketing engagement in the business. As Forum had completed its 12-year journey, so too had my time in marketing and it was just really time for something different. It was an opportunity to take on more of a holistic role around culture and reputation. Really at the heart of, I think, most of the things I've done – at least in the second part of my career – have been around the power of people, and around the power of teams and collaboration.?It was 2003 and as part of this new opportunity, the first thing we looked at was how we could rejuvenate our corporate social responsibility program. And we began to craft this fantastic program “Heads Hearts and Hands” that explored how you get people involved, how do you capture not just their thinking about impact in the community, but importantly their hearts so that they can get practically involved in a purposeful and impactful engagement.?It was a surprise to us how impactful the program was – again I believe our strategy, engaging people across the business and actually delivering a powerful program, were the building blocks of its success in Australia initially and then across the globe.

HHH was subsequently adopted globally and was Dimension Data’s CSR program for many years. Why do you think it was embraced so enthusiastically across so many countries, and why did it have such longevity?

People need to feel a sense of belonging, and they need to feel that they individually and collectively have impact and influence, not just in the small areas that each operate, but that there is meaning in the wider societal realm. ?And I think that Heads Hearts and Hands provided this excellent vehicle to get people to feel connected to the brand, connected to the societies in which they operate, connected to one another in their communities.?It provided this great way for people to feel individually and collectively impactful and purposeful.

From there, you moved to London to lead Dimension Data’s Global Environmental Sustainability program. There are a few parts to this question! First, how did you enjoy the move and what were the big differences in working in the UK? Second, I know you had never been comfortable as a presenter and spokesperson, so how did it go to suddenly be pushed into the limelight? And third, how did you end up running global sustainability for DD and has the experience permanently changed your attitudes towards the environment and our impact on it?

It was super exciting to work in the UK - I got the opportunity to work with @Cat Lee again as she had moved to the UK and it was a really special experience to craft together in this tiny little group of two our Global Sustainability Practice from scratch.?Truth is I would work with both of you in a split second. Initially I wasn’t comfortable presenting, which is strange because my whole life, I had wanted to be an actress and loved being on the stage playing a role.?But I think being the spokesperson for something that was again meaningful and important, and had validity, made presenting much easier for me. It was not about being a spokesperson or being a presenter, it was actually just talking from the heart. And so in a way, this work gave me the avenue to see that when you believe in something it’s very different to present about it. And I'm best when I do talk from the heart – and this role allowed me to feel way more comfortable and actually happy to present. In terms of my own attitudes to climate change – what startles me is that you don't have to believe in climate change, you just have to believe in facts and scientific data.?I think the thing that amazes me still is that wouldn’t you err on the side of caution? That maybe, just maybe, humans are impacting the climate and we are here as custodians of the earth for the next generations, so let’s walk with greater awareness of our impact and figure out ways to protect this precious world.

After moving back to Australia, you made the big decision to leave and set up your own business (Curve of the World) after a 20-year career at Com Tech and Dimension Data. Was that a difficult decision to make, and what were your initial ambitions for your new business?

It was a huge decision to leave. And it was an incredibly difficult decision to make. The truth is I'm not a great planner and I sort of leap full-bodied into things and so I didn't really have ambitions for the business. I was just propelled to make the move. I knew that culture and people was going to be at the heart of how I would shape my business. And both the business and I have continued to shape-shift over the last 10 years.

In the first few years at COTW we worked together on projects for some joint clients, which was great – but it’s fair to say that the work you are doing now, particularly with regards to corporate culture and transformation, and leadership development and mentoring is a real evolution from where COTW started – or was that always part of the plan?

Always part of this murky plan I had!?I guess I have returned to my roots, which is deep interest and passion about the human condition – individually and collectively, and how this shapes the success or not of teams.?I think what has always lit me up is to witness how great leadership is deeply transformative for the people it impacts – and as I’ve got older, what I witness is that great leadership allows others to find their wings and flourish, walks lightly through the corporate political landscape to craft a defining and enabling culture, and I hope that the work I do features this as its bedrock.

Developing women as leaders is now a big part of what you do. I’ve always thought of you as a great leader, but is there still a big challenge in general for women to be accepted across the board in leadership roles? What are some of the success stories you’ve seen in organisations and what can we be doing better to address this issue overall?

Thanks Martin, I deeply appreciate your kind comment. I have met some amazing, inspirational and successful women.?They stand out not just as great leaders but also as interesting and generous people.?They are just great leaders not great female leaders. Equally, I've seen some great male leaders; again, I don't think of them as great male leaders, rather just outstanding leaders. And I think that the same underlying requirements for what it means to be a great leader is independent of gender, age, creed, culture – the best leaders I have been privileged to meet are naturally talented, deeply genuine, supportive, driven by collaboration and teamwork, excellent communicators and inspiring on many levels.??We all inspire in different ways. I think the ability to let other people find out how to be their best selves and to flourish is essentially what it means to be a great leader.?I think for young leaders, the quicker the person figures that out who they are as a leader and what their genuine style is, the more luminous they will be as a leader.

That really brings us up to now. You’ve been engaged in a major research project that’s been investigating intergenerational leadership in business, and using these insights to run leadership development programs for organisations. Have you come the full circle in returning to your career origins as a psychologist, or has this just been a natural progression of your career to date?

This research project, which started off as a small idea interviewing a handful of senior women and millennial women in Australia and in the USA, has became way bigger than I had ever imagined. You are probably correct, I do believe it is a natural progression, and I think we never return in exactly the same form … we are always changing and altering based on our experiences; what life throws in front of us … and even if it appears a “return to” it is shape-shifted to some kind of origin.?Psychology has always been a guiding light for me – from the beginning I have been fascinated by the human condition and by how we show up individually and collectively in the work setting.?I think the older you get, the more you are called to do stuff that lights you up. And this has lifted me up in ways that are difficult to explain. I was fortunate enough to run the research project aligned with @Deakin University's Business School with @Dr Heather Round as my supervisor.?Even more exciting: I have been accepted to present a paper on “The Emerging Themes of Women in Leadership” along with another partner, @Dr Kesstan Blandin at the @International Leadership Association’s global conference in Switzerland in October.

[MA: That’s very exciting – congratulations! More details on the event here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/events/reimaginingleadershiptogether-i6764954651143102464/]

Heather and I are now partnering on an Intergenerational Leadership program that has just completed three pilots that were magnificently successful. We offer more than the year-long program; we have also developed an assessment of Intergenerational Talent Readiness that we think offers organisations an opportunity to really explore the world we currently find ourselves in.

Also, the role of archetypes is really important in your research and your programs. This isn’t something new for you though, is it? I think it has been informing the way you see the world (or at least the business world) for a long time. What’s the significance of archetypes for you, and how do they help to explain or make sense of things?

Archetypes have been my “thing” for a long time – professionally and personally. Think of archetypes as these deep unconscious forces that shape how we experience our world, where we focus our attention, and what is important to us – and the work is to bring archetypes into consciousness so we are able to incorporate their power and their shadow aspects more consciously into our leadership. ?What I really love about archetype is that it has many layers to it.?Firstly, how easily the concept is understood, interpreted and incorporated by either an individual or a team that I am working with, and how instead of disappearing as people return to their work life, it remains understood and incorporated in their leadership journey.?Secondly, archetype is malleable and flexible, and we can see how we activate some and exclude others and even ones we may outgrow. Thirdly, it feels more inspirational and soulful than many other ways of making sense of how we are in our world, professionally and personally.

As an archetypal sense-making moment, I witness how well Heather and I collaborate together on the Intergenerational program, two very different people with great complementary archetypes – Heather is a magnificent sage; analytic, thoughtful and uber smart and this is matched by my very high alchemist that depends almost entirely on instinct and influence, and can be swayed by passion.

I know I’ve asked you before (and I’m not the only one!), when’s the book coming out?

I need a ghost writer! There is so much work based on the research and also the archetypal journey – and I am currently exploring the queens and consorts in corporate life.

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