Why the challenge starts right here

Today is International Women’s Day and the theme is #ChooseToChallenge. Indeed, you might challenge me. You might ask: “Why is another male business leader telling us that more women should be empowered?” My answer is that everyone should be talking about this – and everyone should be doing something about this.

Today matters to me for two reasons. First, this is personal. I come from a large family. I have three sisters and one brother. But it’s my mother I think about most. If I compare her to my father, I feel sad that she didn’t have the opportunities he did. Society has moved on since then – I need only think of my sisters’ successes and my wife’s career, but I want even more for my daughters. I want them to have exactly the same opportunities as my sons. Their achievements must come from their talent and not their gender.

The second reason is more practical. As a leader, having diverse teams is not only common sense, it makes business sense too. I remember when I became head of supply and distribution operations for Europe and Africa, many people said that’s such a male environment – that’s manufacturing, that’s trading, you’ll never change it. Well, we became 50%-50% and it became a very different type of environment.

When you make changes based on talent, the team grows, the business grows and you grow too. I got insights and feedback I would never have received otherwise. Building a team is not about getting certain numbers of certain kinds of individuals – it is about what is right for the team. Exceptional teams are diverse, inclusive and balanced.

And who was it that really taught me this? It was Peggy Montana. As head of global supply and distribution, she became my line manager in 2009, and when I look at my 26 years in Shell, I think she was the best. It’s what she taught me that made the difference. I learnt not just the business side but the listening side too. She added a great deal to my technical knowledge and taught me how to apply EQ – emotional intelligence – as well as IQ to really get the sense of what is going on in an organisation.

For me, the best line managers understand you, they look you in the eye and know if you need support or encouragement. This kind of intuition adds vital dimensions to leadership, and I’ve seen the strong business case for balanced teams throughout my career.

Today, the trading industry is still very male-dominated, but at Shell, several of the most senior roles in trading are now, or will soon be, held by women. We’re making progress but we can always do more. And that is what today’s about. It’s about challenging ourselves – asking where we’ve all got to – and where we can get to tomorrow. How can we drive for a more gender-balanced future?

When I think of the progress, from my mother to my sisters to my wife, and now to my daughters, I feel optimistic. The status quo is being challenged – and it is not just half of us who benefit from that, it is all of us.