How walking away from a full-time role helped Z’s Chair build a career path that suited her

When Abby Foote decided to leave her full-time position after becoming a mother, it proved to be the catalyst for the now Chair of Z Energy’s Board of Directors to set off in a new direction.

Abby Foote acknowledges that the journey to directorship is “less well laid out than other career pathways.”

The Chair of Z’s Board of Directors was first recommended for a spot on the board of an NZX listed company 17 years ago, when they were looking for a woman with a legal background to provide a different perspective at board level. As a lawyer with commercial experience, Abby fit the bill.

“I had no experience in governance at that point and was lucky to be appointed,” she says. “I used that role as a platform to gain further directorships. It was really luck that got me into it in the first place, but hard work has kept me in it since then. I’ve tried hard to make every post a winner! It can take a while to build up the networks and experience to move into the roles you might be really attracted to. Do a good job on one board and that builds reputation and networks that help you get the next role.”

Sometimes walking away is the best thing

After studying law and commerce at university, Abby worked at Russell McVeagh for five years before moving to Telecom as an in-house lawyer to develop her commercial experience and get closer to business decision making. Then she shifted to London, where she worked in another telco’s transactions team, building more experience in managing big transactions within a large corporate.

Abby enjoyed the work but when she moved back to New Zealand and had a baby, she wanted to work part-time following maternity leave but her employer wouldn’t let her. So, she quit – a move she says was, with hindsight, the best thing she ever did.

Do your homework

Abby still wanted the intellectual stimulation she got from work, but she wanted more freedom. While she puts just as much effort into her directorship career, which requires her to learn and understand multiple industries, she can work from where she wants and how she wants.

“As you take on any new board role it takes a fair amount of time to learn the industry, what makes each organisation tick and what drives success,” she says. “Equally, a number of things are similar, for example Covid-response issues present similar challenges across many organisations. The questions to be asked from a governance perspective are the same.”

Women leaders empower other women

As her career has progressed, Abby has seen workplaces become much better at recognising the value that comes from people’s different backgrounds and experiences, including being a woman, a mother, and a leader.

“I don't think female leadership has to be different but having female leaders is an important part of showing that everyone is valued in the workplace,” she says. “What I have found is that if you back yourself and commit to focusing on what you want out of a job, you can have a role that works for you. Often women are quick to make compromises or to put up with things because we think a better alternative isn't out there.”

Abby says this is also true for men, who may feel they are still expected to stay in the workplace full time after having children when some may prefer to either stay home with a baby while their partner returns to full-time work, or at least share the caregiving role.

“It's not just about women doing what they want to do but changing our mindsets and supporting men to take on more flexible working arrangements so that they can pick up more of the burden of caregiving and managing the home while also normalising flexible working.”