Day: September 13, 2020

Stacey Jones of Sentinel Property Group: Why It’s So Important For A Leader To Be Relatable

Be relatable — if your team feel they can relate to you and you are vulnerable with them (when appropriate) they are far more likely to be loyal and dedicated because they can see themselves in your shoes.

As a part of our series about strong women leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Stacey Jones of of Sentinel Property Group.

Stacey Jon has never suffered fools; a modus operandi serving to work in her favour. As newly appointed CEO (promoted from COO) of Sentinel Property Group — one of Australia’s leading commercial property investment firms — originally started by her father, Stacey’s authoritative manner addresses any whispers of nepotism, suitability or possibility of ‘wavering’ in the presence of the traditional property investment ‘boys’ club’. She’s 37, commanding and capable.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I originally planned on being a vet but was completely disengaged from the science component, so following a contemplative break from university, I ended up in law, after acknowledging my talents in ‘legal studies’ in high school. During my first semester of study I was offered a position in a private practice in Brisbane (Connor O’Meara) as a Law Clerk, which I accepted and continued with past the completion of my degree, ultimately being there for almost 8 years.

My father had been asking me to join his commercial property investment company (Sentinel Property Group) for a while but I was concerned there wasn’t enough legal work to keep me busy. However, this soon changed, and I subsequently made the decision to take up a role in the family business and commenced as Sentinel’s first and only in-house lawyer (role of General Counsel). Following Sentinel Property Group’s fifth acquisition, I was involved in every legal matter for the group and for the vast majority, I did all the work myself. As the portfolio grew, it became an almost overwhelming workload (particularly after having had my first child), which often saw me still working into the wee hours of the morning. This led to my decision to hire my first teammate — a freshly graduated lawyer, who commenced on 31 March 2014, and is still with me today.

I showed a flare (but not necessarily an interest) for the management side of the business — specifically; a natural way on the HR side of things and a commercial approach that seemed to be second nature. I took more and more on and when the then current COO left in December 2016, it was a logical transition for me to take on the (COO) role. By that stage the in-house legal team had grown to a size and capability that I was confident it could continue to service the group without my dedicated focus.

Following completion of a practice management course with the Queensland Law Society, I established my own Incorporated Legal Practice — Sentinel Law. The existing legal staff from the Sentinel Property Group joined Sentinel Law. The team now has nine staff, including me as Legal Practitioner Director, and services all the property law needs of the group. Then, having been COO for almost 4 years, as part of the succession planning for the business, I have taken on the role of CEO.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

‘Interesting’ is subjective, but I certainly have enjoyed the industry’s whispers regarding my ‘femaleness’. Separately, my father and I have very different management styles, of which I was always aware. I expected there to be a slight adjustment period (when I took over), however the response to my style has been immediate and positive. My focus is to ensure the team wants to follow me into ‘battle’ willingly.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

This mistake wasn’t made in relation to my current employer — it actually happened just before I started working here but I learned from it and I tell the story quite often. At the time, I was working crazy hours with tremendous responsibility, I was Rodeo Queen of the National Rodeo Association, an Executive Director and Barrel Racing Director with the NRA and was the President of the National Barrel Horse Association of Australia (NBHA) — spreading myself very thin! I had made a bunch of necessary changes to the NBHA and was copping a bit of flack for some of them. I received this long email from a lady who signed her email off with “well done!” I was exhausted and used to criticism from all angles, so I read her “well done!” with a sarcastic tone and responded accordingly. Fortunately for me, the lady was very understanding and emailed back explaining that I must have misunderstood her as she genuinely appreciated what I was doing and meant the words “well done” to be complimentary. I felt 2 inches tall. That taught me that my feelings, and therefore the feelings of others, can heavily influence the way in which something is received. Just because someone has a specific intention when communicating something, it does not mean the recipient will receive that communication in the intended way. I have told that story countless times to make people consider the role their own emotions and perceptions are playing and often think of it to remind myself of the same.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My father; he started Sentinel Property Group, which ultimately saw me spread my wings into more corporate areas instead of just law. What I learned led me to start my own businesses, which are part of the Group — Sentinel Law and Sentinel Portfolio Management (a company that provides leasing, property management, accounting and other services to properties and trusts in the group to name a few).

While I certainly believe I was capable of achieving these things without his help, it made life easier, particularly as a woman, to not have to fight as hard to have doors open to me. Let me be very clear though; Dad would never have anyone in the roles I have occupied who was not 100% competent, daughter or not.

I have also learned a tremendous deal from him. When I was born, he was a taxi driver and prior to that, hadn’t even finished grade 10. His own story is a very inspiring one and it has taught me many things. A few off the top of my head:

1. In many instances, hard work (coupled with common sense) is more important than a good education. Someone who puts in the hours and does the work will typically have more doors open to them and have more ‘luck’ than someone who has a certificate on the wall but doesn’t back it up. You can achieve more from hard work and learn more from real life experiences than you can from sitting in a lecture theatre. I am yet to see a single person we have employed over the years who can process and retain detail at the level Dad can, and as I said, he didn’t even finish year 10. To be clear, I am not saying that a good education isn’t important. I have had one and I am grateful for it. However, a good education alone is not enough and is not necessarily a good predictor for future success.

2. The only wrong decision is not making a decision (yes, I realise not making a decision is in itself a decision). Consider the facts and make a call. If you get down the path and realise you have made the wrong decision, change it but don’t just sit back and do nothing.

3. Don’t get too caught up in making plans. Know generally what you want to achieve but don’t labour on mapping out every step you need to achieve in order to get there. If something doesn’t work out, your whole plan gets thrown out. Work as hard as you can to take advantage of all opportunities available to you each day and you will end up in the best possible place you can be. In doing that, it is extremely likely that you will in fact far exceed your original goal.

4. Don’t let insignificant details get in the way of a deal — if it’s unlikely to happen and the consequences won’t be fatal to the deal, and you can’t agree on changing it — move on.

In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?

To be honest, not much and mostly nothing. Ours is a fast-paced business where important decisions need to be made constantly. I have learned over the years to process and assess available information quickly and make a decision where needed. I also have a young family — so am well versed in the value of time management and the pitfalls of analysis paralysis.

As you know, the United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?

Diversity brings different perspectives — and having a diverse team helps ensure that a wider range of issues are considered and addressed. From the management perspective — similar to how some kids respond better to different teaching methods, I find some employees respond better to different management styles. While I appreciate that people of different race (for example) can have the same or similar management style, typically they don’t. Just as men and women often have different approaches.

As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative, and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.

To be entirely honest (and indeed unpopular, and politically incorrect) I think far too much importance is placed on being inclusive and ensuring fair representation, etc. I think the best way to create an equitable society is for decisions to be merit-based.

I’m very cut-and-dry about this, but; don’t try and fill quotas. Don’t concern yourself with how something may look. If it is the right decision, the best deal, the most suitable person, then that is the equitable thing to do. I think this is particularly the case when it comes to staff. The ONLY way to be equitable is to base decisions on merit. The best person for the job is the best person for the job irrespective of sex or race. Simple. Any other decision creates inequality and continues to foster a view in society that you don’t have to work hard to achieve, and that’s garbage.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?

They (executives) are ultimately responsible for ALL decisions. The buck must stop with them. Other people ‘below’ them may have made the particular decision in question, but as there is a hierarchy and a chain of responsibility, the executives sit at the top and are (or should be) responsible, always.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive. Can you explain what you mean?

The one that springs to mind, at least in my case, is that executives are “too busy” or “unapproachable”. While I am always busy, I am never too busy to make time. It may not be now, but I will make the time. As for being unapproachable — we are really no more or less important than anyone else. At the end of the day, it is a job. We all have jobs to do and ALL of those jobs contribute to the success. Further, a business cannot succeed without its people, therefore the growth of those people is a very high priority.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

Some industries are almost equal when it comes to men and women, so my comments are based solely off my two worlds — legal (commercial property in particular) and property.

The statistics are clear; there are far fewer women executives in these industries and they are typically paid less than their male equivalents. It has always been my opinion that women have to work harder for the same reward. Whether this comes down to something as simple as sexism, or, a natural and unavoidable extension of that being that women have the babies and therefore have time out from their careers (or a combination of both) I am not sure, but I do not accept that it has anything to do with ability to do the job.
Assumptions; I have walked into meetings and had the men from the other side speak to my junior male lawyers as though they were the boss. An automatic assumption on their part that was quickly dispelled when I started speaking, but an assumption, nonetheless. This side of things gets better and better as time goes by; however, it exists.
Owning their style i.e. not changing to appease — whether they’re considered ‘ballbusters’ or ‘soft-touches’ — be yourself.
AND lastly; the obvious one — EVERYTHING else that comes with being a mum and CEO of a household, as well as CEO of a company.

What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

That I don’t get to do much ‘work’. This too was the case when I was COO, so it’s not a new adjustment. When I looked after only the legal work, I had very specific task lists I worked at methodically to ensure things got done. I got to the end of the day and had a real sense of achievement because I could point to very specific tasks I had completed. Now, my door is revolving for advice, approvals, signatures etc. My calendar is full of meeting after meeting. My directions are often more general in nature, therefore immediate effects can’t always be felt. It can take significant time to see if a decision that has been made or task done has the desired outcome.

Certainly, not everyone is cut out to be an executive. In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?

Traits consistent with success:

Creative and critical thinking — as Marie Forleo says, “Everything is figure-outable” and that is entirely true, but sometimes it takes a very creative approach to achieve the desired outcome.
The ability to consider the facts, make a decision and move on — quickly.
The ability to put the good of the stakeholder before your personal feelings. Good business decisions are not always the ones that feel the best. Some are bloody hard to make and even harder to execute, but that’s the job
Resilience. Resilience. Resilience.
The ability to see mistakes as a learning opportunity and move on.
Confidence — in themselves and in the business.
Good communication — this one is probably the most important (even though the most boring). You can be all the other things but if you can’t communicate well, you can’t lead.
Willingness to take perceived ‘risks’, the road less travelled/unpopular approach etc.

If you can’t relate to all of these — there’s a good chance an executive title will not sit well.

What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?

– Be genuine — the majority of people know when someone is faking it.

– Be relatable — if your team feel they can relate to you and you are vulnerable with them (when appropriate) they are far more likely to be loyal and dedicated because they can see themselves in your shoes.

– Be available — you can’t lead if you can’t inspire and if you aren’t ever available, how do you inspire?

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

We have established a charitable fund and have made significant donations to our key charities, which at present are Zephyr Education Inc, The Salvation Army and the RSPCA. We also encourage staff to get involved and provide assistance via the properties where appropriate (collection points for donated goods, etc). We invite Zephyr to come to our investor functions and speak and collect donations in person.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

You cannot be all things to all people. No real story or example because even though it has taken me a lifetime (my lifetime) to figure this out, it is apparently self-realizing.
The right decision does not always make you feel good and that is okay. Example — letting staff go. If someone isn’t performing then clearly it is the right decision for the business but if they are otherwise a good person, the decision can make you feel pretty shit. However, the truth is that keeping someone around in a position where they aren’t thriving isn’t the best thing for them either.
Don’t sweat the small stuff. Cliché I know, but I have spent a lot of time worrying about things that turned out to either not happen or not matter.
What some perceive as your weaknesses (or in some cases tell you!) can actually be your strengths. I think this is particularly relevant for working mums. There is a perception, I believe, that having a family waiting for you means that you are less committed and/or less hard working. More often than not, that is very far from the truth. Working mums know their time is precious. They get in, get the work done in the most efficient way possible because they have to, and they have the skills to know how = strength! Not five, but I’m succinct!

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Violence against children (and animals) is something I feel very strongly about. So, something bold; I feel there needs to be mandatory education as to what raising a child actually involves — beyond just birthing it. An unusual tangent, but parenting is the most important job of all — and, just like nurses and personal trainers need to maintain their industry knowledge/professional currency — parents should also. Who knows who’d be responsible for the curriculum (obviously all longitudinal evidence-based), but we need prescribed mandatory parenting skills and the resources to access them. Cycles of neglect and abuse need to stop. The ripple effect of doing nothing and thus doing something — is irrefutable.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“The cowards never started and the weak died along the way. That leaves us, ladies and gentlemen. Us.” (Phil Knight). A cracker. This is one I have really been feeling lately. It really speaks to the difficulty of having to make certain decisions.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Julie Bishop. I had the pleasure of attending a ‘Business Chicks’ breakfast where Julie was guest speaker. I had of course seen and heard of her before but hadn’t really paid too much attention (my error) prior to that. My goodness that woman is impressive. So charismatic, eloquent and intelligent. An absolute inspiration for what it means to be a woman in power. Australia suffered a great loss in not having her as our Prime Minister. She would have shown New Zealand a thing or two…

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Stacey Jones of Sentinel Property Group: Why It’s So Important For A Leader To Be Relatable was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Zahra Bahari of The Powell Companies Real (TPCR): Why We Must Ensure That More Women Hold Board…

Zahra Bahari of The Powell Companies Real (TPCR): Why We Must Ensure That More Women Hold Board Seats

Ensure that more women hold board seats. The US has one of the lowest percentages of women who hold board seats. In 2019, the percentage of female board members in the US was only 26.1%, while France had a total of 44%. There are numerous studies further outlining this point, and one of the most comprehensive is Credit’s Suisse study in 2012 which cites, “We find clear evidence that companies with a higher proportion of women in decision-making roles continue to generate higher returns on equity, while running more conservative balance sheets. In fact, where women account for the majority in the top management, the businesses show superior sales growth, high cash flow returns on investments and lower leverage.” This further shows that having more female board members, and overall equality within leadership teams, is a win-win for all. Why not make it 50%?

As a part of our series about strong women leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Zahra Bahari. Bahari is a proven fashion industry veteran and CEO of The Powell Companies Real (TPCR), the leading diversified designer, manufacturer and distributor bringing fashion brands to life with its resources and experienced executive team of industry leaders.

Through her decades in the industry, she has repeatedly demonstrated her ability to create, and is on the front lines of establishing successful celebrity clothing lines, and repeatedly advancing them beyond the $100M level.

My mom was a maven in the business. She started a design house back in Iran in the 70’s and brought the business to the US in the 80’s. Her company took off and was one of the leading moderate dress manufacturers in the US. I always looked up to her and was inspired by her love of design and the business of the fashion industry, not just the creative aspects, so I followed in her footsteps. Coming right out of Parsons in the late 90’s, I joined my family business. After they sold their businesses and retired, my husband and I spun off into The Powell Companies Real, where we are today, and love every second of it.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

Meeting the inspiring business partner behind our newly launched activewear brand, PSK Collective, was the most interesting story that happened to me by far — Phaidra Knight. We were at a dinner when we first met Phaidra, who is an incredibly fascinating and warm woman who can kick anyone’s butt. Not only is she an attorney, social activist and philanthropist, but she’s also a legendary athlete who is in the Rugby Hall of Fame. I mean, come on! As accomplished as she is, she always talks about giving back to others and how many people we can help. It was an interesting notion to me that this inspiring overachiever with a type ‘A’ personality, is mostly involved so that she can give back, rather than personal ambition or gain. It is very rare to have that level of authenticity.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I saved Beyoncé’s Balenciaga dress from being given away. She left it in our showroom for a fitting for a big event, like The Grammy’s, who knows, and put it in a sample giveaway pile. She and her family are the salt of the earth, genuinely the kindest people you will ever meet and would not have even cared. Thankfully we caught it in time and returned it without any issue. What I learned from this experience was that in a very fast-paced environment like a fashion showroom, organization is KEY! From that day on, all items were catalogued and labeled as they should have been!

I am fortunate to say that my family helped me start out and taught me everything in this business, so they are the obvious ones. However, my biggest Oscar’s-themed thank you goes to my husband, Steven Powell. He took on a big change with our business, The Powell Companies Real. Coming from Wall Street and being the founder of the world’s largest patent research online community, he is used to very sure-thing, analytic businesses, and fashion is definitely not that. However, he took a leap with me to start our business and I am so grateful he did.

My number one stress reliever is exercise. Nothing helps me focus or mentally unwind like a good run or Peloton class. I have run three NYC marathons and I mostly do it because that’s the only time where I get a full day and night all to myself with my favorite person cheering me on and fawning all over me. What could be better? However, when I have a big meeting, I sometimes go for a brisk 15-minute walk around the block to clear my head, which helps me focus.

Not only is inclusivity important from a values and social justice standpoint, but plays a factor into overall success. Diverse companies are proven to attract the best candidates, and 67% of all candidates prefer a diverse work environment (Glassdoor). What’s more, is that inclusive companies enjoy a 2.3x higher cash flow than those that aren’t, and 70% of inclusive companies are more likely to capture new markets (Harvard Business Review). This information further drives the point that businesses must prioritize diversity and maintain an inclusive work environment and team.

Now more than ever, it is important for organizations to have a diverse executive team. Here at TPCR, we’ve always valued diversity and inclusion both within our team as well as across our client portfolio. We’re blessed to be working with a diverse range of designers, manufacturers, executives and partners that come from a variety of inspiring backgrounds.

We recently launched PSK Collective, the inclusive activewear brand created by World Rugby Hall of Famer and trail-blazing black female athlete Phaidra Knight, to further bring recognition to female athletes around the world. Partnering with Phaidra was a way for us to further carry out our mission of creating inspiring and meaningful designs that bring well-deserved recognition to women in both sports and life. The PSK Collective is a fusion of activewear and streetwear designed to push the boundaries of today’s fashion offerings, combining top trends with functional details to empower, inspire and unleash the inner athlete, as well as shift existing attitudes surrounding fashion, expression and equality. To further bring exposure and much needed recognition to female athletes around the world, the collection was launched in beneficiary partnership with the Women’s Sports Foundation.

As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative, and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.

We have to start from the top down to set the examples.

1 . Ensure that more women hold board seats.

The US has one of the lowest percentages of women who hold board seats. In 2019, the percentage of female board members in the US was only 26.1%, while France had a total of 44%. There are numerous studies further outlining this point, and one of the most comprehensive is Credit’s Suisse study in 2012 which cites, “We find clear evidence that companies with a higher proportion of women in decision-making roles continue to generate higher returns on equity, while running more conservative balance sheets. In fact, where women account for the majority in the top management, the businesses show superior sales growth, high cash flow returns on investments and lower leverage.” This further shows that having more female board members, and overall equality within leadership teams, is a win-win for all. Why not make it 50%?

2. Encourage companies to hire diverse candidates. Include minorities into the WOTC program and extend it to make it very lucrative for companies to hire.

3. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a federal tax credit available to employers who hire and retain individuals from target groups with significant employment barriers (e.g., veterans, ex-felons, etc.). Employers can claim about $9,600 per employee in tax credits per year under the WOTC program.

4. American businesses and our way of life is built on credit and the ability to borrow funds. Currently, minorities are very discriminated against when it comes to lending funds and mortgages, and there has to be a better way of modeling a lending structure that allows more minorities to build businesses, buy homes, get the education they want and truly be able to compete and thrive in an inclusive society.

A CEO is the person who shoulders all responsibility. If anything fails, even from the most remote position, it will have the CEO’s name stamped on it.

I personally believe the most important part of my job is building the right team. A CEO should build a team of leaders and leaders build team of doers. That’s the most succinct way to describe what I do.

My day-to-day responsibilities include setting strategies, creating and approving budgets and meeting with leadership members to ensure the total company is achieving its plans and goals. I like to ensure we have a little fun here and there, too.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive. Can you explain what you mean?

The first myth is that a CEO doesn’t have anyone to answer to. In reality, CEO’s actually have to answer to everyone! From investors, to the board, to the chairman, the list goes on and on.

Next is that a CEO doesn’t need to know everyone in her company. I think one on one interaction is the most important and building that bond and connection.

Lastly and most importantly is the misconception that CEO’s know everything — that’s why they are the CEO, right? That is so not true. I learn every day, whether it be from my team or our clients, and many days I get hit with the thoughts of “What am I doing? I don’t know what I’m doing here.”

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

The biggest challenge is that any emotion displayed can be misinterpreted. From my experience, female executives tend to be much less emotive due to common misconceptions, and often can come across as inauthentic.

Other challenges include work life balance. I fortunately don’t have that issue since my husband and I work together, but a woman with a family working long hours is much more of a taboo than a man doing so. This feeling of guilt can lead to many strong capable women to take themselves out of the workforce.

What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

I thought that after working so long and hard all these years, there would be more vacations now that I am a CEO!

In all seriousness, the one thing I wasn’t counting on was how many people I, and our company, could actually help if we do our job right. Suddenly, you’re not just trying to make a better life for your family. When you take on social causes, you are up late at night coming up with strategies to strengthen the company, all for the people who your achievements will help. I wasn’t counting on that, or how good that would actually feel!

Specific traits include patience, skill, compassion and the ability to put yourself in others’ shoes.

I think that everyone can and should strive to be an executive, if that’s what they want. In one of Stanford’s mathematics classes, they teach the fact that people inaccurately believe that some are ‘math people’ while others aren’t. This was proven to be false, as anyone can in fact be a ‘math person.’ It comes down to their ability and diligence to problem solve, which makes them better at math. I believe this theory can apply to anything. Managing and leading comes from learned skills, and anyone who wants to can learn those skills.

What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?

Allow leaders to lead. Allow them to have a voice, opinion and clear path to doing things their way. If you allow your team to strategize the work you hired them to perform, they will actually be more productive than simply laying out a plan and asking them to implement it.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I think PSK Collective is the best example of how we will make the world a better place. We give back, with 15% of our profit benefiting the Women’s Sports Foundation. We will bring global attention to unequal pay when it comes to athletics, as well as help young women thrive and grow in all aspect of their lives. We will help make the world a more inclusive place, starting with women in sports.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

Don’t think of clients as clients — think of them as partners. Your success and their success is intertwined. Make them feel that.
Be prepared for anything and everything. Expect the very worst case scenario and build your business around it. Consider anything, like a major tariff war, a global pandemic, and then civil unrest… you never know.
Prepare your family to know that sometimes work will be priority. If you say otherwise, you are lying to both them and yourself. Explain all of the good things that can come from it as well as the cycles of your work, so that there is no surprise if you have to miss a play or two during market week.
Surround yourself with likeminded individuals. If they are sympatico, it won’t work, no matter how good they are.
Don’t make decisions on lack of sleep.

My husband and I are very strong supporters of gender equality in the workforce. We are dedicating the rest of our career to help right this wrong and start with equal number of men and women in the workforce, with equal pay and the same opportunities offered for all. This is our greatest passion and we are working toward this goal. PSK Collective will have a big hand in this movement as we are building the female powered Nike or Under Armour. We will focus our goal on equality.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“I am easily satisfied with the very best.” –Winston Churchill

I didn’t say I wasn’t a perfectionist.

I can name two: Melinda Gates and MacKenzie Scott for sure. They just started a drive for a $30 million grant for non-profit groups who foster gender equality. I would love to bring PSK Collective to their attention and talk about how we can expand that initiative to reach for profit organizations as well.

I also believe they have stepped out of the roles of being someone’s significant other to achieving strong personal successes and growth that helps millions of people.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Zahra Bahari of The Powell Companies Real (TPCR): Why We Must Ensure That More Women Hold Board… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Alex Allison of D Alexander Capital: The Future of Travel in The Post Covid World

Alex Allison of D. Alexander Capital: The Future of Travel in The Post Covid World

Flexibility is the future. Expect to see more and more travel companies incorporate new, flexible policies into their offering. If there’s one thing COVID-19 highlighted for brands in the travel space, it’s that people want to be able to shuffle their plans based on their ever-changing lifestyle. How you get to your destination, control over where you work, and lodging to support living and schooling are the primary drivers behind fixed travel dates.

As part of my series about “exciting developments in the travel industry over the next five years”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Alex Allison.

Alex is the Founder and CEO of the pioneering destination hospitality brand, D. Alexander, and the Founder and Managing Partner of D. Alexander Capital — together, a vertically integrated real estate fund that owns and operates destination homes and delivers a consistent, flexible and tech-enabled experience.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

My father was a contractor, so I grew up around residential real estate and home-building. He built my childhood home in his early 20s, and there was always a project going on in our household for as long as I can remember. My mother was an early team member at a tech startup where she still works today, 31 years later. I spent many late nights at the office with her as she worked fiercely to wrap up the day. Looking back, this combination of real estate, tech, and entrepreneurship had a big influence on my interest in building from the ground up. My brother later became a real estate agent himself, and soon shared his vision with me of launching an online platform that would bring real estate transactions online. We set out to change the way that real estate deals get done, officially launching the Dotloop venture in 2009.

We sold Dotloop to Zillow in 2015, and I stayed on until 2019. But by then, I was increasingly preoccupied with behavioral shifts in how people live and work, leading to a different form of homeownership, investing and access. In my own life, I was becoming more mobile and working remotely in various locations across the country. And I saw that instead of buying primary residence “forever homes,” consumers were moving towards buying properties as investments, and prioritizing flexibility and mobility in their own lives instead. I felt like home ownership and hospitality were converging, and became fascinated by this idea of owner-operated destination rental brand. Which brought me to D. Alexander, and where I am right now.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

I’m a bit of a nomad myself — maybe it’s the distance runner in me that constantly needs to be on the move. I enjoy taking unique trips to different destinations around the world and I seek opportunities that provide me with the flexibility to work from anywhere to enable this level of nomadic lifestyle. In fact, D. Alexander came out of road tripping. I was driving down Highway 1, where I made stops at various remote locations and a family member’s vacation home that happened to be vacant. During these adventures, I was always on the search for a place to stay that provided consistent standards that aligned with what I was used to as from staying at hotels. This search always fell short, and I began to wonder about the future of living, and whether or not I was alone in this craving for a more nomadic lifestyle or if it spoke to a larger movement — it was the latter. So, I founded D. Alexander, an elevated destination hospitality brand that caters to the new kind of traveler: the digital nomad.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

We talk often about creating customers for life, and long-term thinking. Recently, the pandemic tossed a world of change at travelers and operators alike across the hospitality and lodging sectors. One D. Alexander customer that was impacted by the pandemic left a review without even staying at one of our properties: “We ended up having to cancel our reservation due to covid-19 but wanted to leave a review about customer service because it was so phenomenal. The team’s response times were super quick, they answered a million questions I had about the house and about different precautions as the covid situation evolved. They even went out of their way to find us extra cleaning supplies and paper products like toilet paper given we had a shortage in our hometown. Once we had to cancel they continued to give us personalized service and were completely understanding of our situation. We look forward to getting back to a D. Alexander property.”

Our brand values — patience, empathy, elevated service — are built into the very core of our business model. Being human and putting people first is at the heart of everything we do and it’s one of the reasons why our company stands out.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”? Can you share a story about that?

Find your off switch, which can be a compilation of strategies or tactics. For me, that’s continuing to work from a dedicated workspace during the day and running, calling friends or family members in the evening, while limiting email/notifications. The challenge of separating work from home has grown over the years as we become an increasingly mobile society with connectivity at our fingertips. For many, “the office” or process of going to and from a workspace became a vehicle that reduced burnout — the on/off switch in other words. That’s no longer the case, as our world changed overnight. There is no longer a physical separation between home and office, and a primary residence isn’t typically designed to support dedicated, focused work. Destination homes in remote locations can be one of the best solutions for remedying burnout.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

My family and my childhood were very influential to me. My mother is a big personality, who taught me to love what you do, approach every situation with positive intent, and not sweat the small stuff. My brother had high influence on me, too. He’s a fierce entrepreneur, and has the drive and perseverance to see anything through.

That said, I’m a creative at heart — and I get a lot of that from my father. He’s a master-craftsman and contractor with a small business in residential home building, and he immersed us in residential real estate when we were very young. Beyond helping us understand the industry itself, he taught us fundamentals that help excel any business. He was on a constant mission to deliver the highest quality, from the original research and methodology behind an idea, to meticulous detail in the execution. It set me off on my own quest to always think differently and execute fiercely. He prided himself on attention to detail. Those details can be the most crucial part of a venture. They’re where the real opportunities for innovation — and the difference between “good” and “great” — lie.

Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers about the innovations that you are bringing to the travel and hospitality industries?

The innovation at the center of our business is the owner-operated model for destination home-oriented markets, with radical consistency from home-to-home. That may not sound super sexy at a first glance, but it’s very exciting because it enables us to control the full customer experience, from booking to safety precautions to amenities to sleep experience and full customer journey. This is unheard of in destination homes, largely due to the majority of homes available in the market place being owned by individual secondary homeowners and operated by another company. This unique combination of owner-operated and a branded experience drives long-term thinking and provides unmatched controls over all aspects that influence a stay.

Our newest product offering launched in March, Destination Plans, provides guests with unprecedented flexibility and the confidence and certainty of professional cleaning, corporate standards, and protocols, security and consistency. We can ensure every home represents an elevated brand experience, from hand-selected, intentional amenities to thoughtful design details to inspiring locations with unparalleled access to nature. This seamless, almost boutique hotel-like experience is entirely new in destination homes and it’s a drive away from nearly anywhere in the country. We’re the first and only company in the space delivering this kind of immaculate experience for travelers.

Which “pain point” are you trying to address by introducing this innovation?

The two main pain points that inspired D. Alexander are a lack of consistency and flexibility in destination rentals. While platforms that connect independent homeowners with prospective guests play an important role in the market and are great partners of D. Alexander, the guest experience can become fragmented and usually suffers because of the lack of consistency or the challenge that comes with controlling quality. There are great operators and brands that deliver top-notch quality and protocols, but collectively, there is a high degree of variation due to fragmentation and overall structure of home inventory and ownership. It’s not uncommon across the marketplace to have a void in core, functional elements such as strong, reliable WiFi, accessibility, or a fully-equipped kitchen. We’re striving to eliminate those voids and deliver what people need 99% of the time. With D. Alexander, I wanted to create a brand that owned and operated all of its homes, so customers like myself could have a consistent, seamless experience.

Flexibility is another big part of this conversation. Life, by default, is uncertain and requires flexibility, yet there isn’t a high degree of flexibility because of the challenges it presents for operations. This has become particularly crucial in today’s uncertain travel landscape. Rigid booking models with locked-in dates and steep cancellation fees aren’t realistic for our fluid, modern lifestyle, especially right now. Because D. Alexander owns the homes, we can think outside of the norm to create a different model altogether with totally flexible booking, unique cancellation policies, moving dates or homes, or even gifting your stay. Guests purchase a Destination Plan through our website that they can use at any point in the next two years, which gives them the freedom to escape at a moment’s notice and eliminates the fear of being locked into plans that may change. Knowing that you have a reliable retreat for remote living, work, and play at your fingertips is a luxury that we’re providing. Ultimately, we guarantee peace of mind for our customers.

How do you envision that this might disrupt the status quo?

I’m not sure that D. Alexander is disrupting the status quo today, so much as it’s shaping a new status quo for the future needs of travelers and households. It’s a radically different offering in the marketplace. We built our customer experience around flexibility and consistent comfort for longer-term stays because the consumer research showed that as life and work became more fluid and flexible, this is what our target customers were seeking. The market was already gravitating towards destination experiences over short term vacations; the pandemic just accelerated that trend.

While offices will return in some capacity, the work-from-anywhere (WFA) lifestyle is the new status quo for consumers, because once they change their behavior, it’s unlikely they’ll revert. Our model is specifically designed to encourage that lifestyle. So, while we were disrupting the status quo back in 2019, the new normal in 2020 has accelerated trends that align with us. Our huge advantage is that we were the first to recognize and build a model around this shift, rather than adapting a pre-existing business model to align with it. To that end, being built first around this new lifestyle gives us an edge of rapid innovation and invention. Looking forward, we’re focused on being the best version of ourselves and raising the bar on what home, hospitality and travel will look like in this new age of unprecedented flexibility. And we’re doing it with amazing partners around the table.

Can you share 5 examples of how travel and hospitality companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers like to travel?

I strongly believe that COVID-19 has served as a catalyst for some broader lifestyle shifts that were already in motion pre-pandemic.

Flexibility is the future. Expect to see more and more travel companies incorporate new, flexible policies into their offering. If there’s one thing COVID-19 highlighted for brands in the travel space, it’s that people want to be able to shuffle their plans based on their ever-changing lifestyle. How you get to your destination, control over where you work, and lodging to support living and schooling are the primary drivers behind fixed travel dates. Remove these boundaries, and consumer needs are increasingly centered around flexibility (early check-in, extend your stay, move between locations, etc). Flexibility has always been key, but the industry as a whole will be forced to make swift changes to align with these requirements.
Digitization is the way, support will become supplemental. We’re still used to a hospitality model where checking in and checking out of a hotel or home may require contact with a person behind a desk and a physical key. We built D. Alexander with a tech-first approach because people want to be able to access a home on their own terms. Big data is going to be crucial as the industry finds its footing again and continues to evolve. As we’re able to learn more about our customers, their likes, and dislikes, the travel industry as a whole is going to be able to deliver a pretty remarkable experience for those customers.
We’re going to see the rise in the intersection between travel and health and wellness. Again, this is something that we saw a shift towards in the last year or two, but COVID really accelerated the movement. Health and wellness practices are no longer a nice-to-have — travelers have higher standards now. Consumers want to travel and live in places where nature is easily accessible, where home offices are spacious and give them the ability to truly focus, and where families and groups can coexist in a harmonious way. I think destination homes are built with this value proposition in mind, but the rest of the industry needs to take note as well.
Consistency is at the core, specifically in the alternative stay and rental home sectors, we expect to see more of it. We’ve all had experiences — myself included — where a rental home did not look as advertised on the website. Maybe it wasn’t clean like you expected, or the rooms were smaller than they looked online, or the backyard didn’t have that basketball court your kids were expecting. Delivering a consistent experience is more important now than ever before.
Primary homes will evolve and emerge as the new secondary home with growing consumer need and demand for the optionality that comes with a portfolio of homes across multiple geographies. New business models will emerge to help primary home owners become more liquid and leverage their assets.

Can you share with our readers how have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Nobody succeeds alone, in life, business and beyond, and I believe that goodness comes from great people passing learnings and advice along the way. I’m always looking for new ways to support entrepreneurs, early-stage companies, and the underdogs. This can come in many forms and I’m honored to have had the opportunity to serve as a strategic advisor and mentor to a number of businesses, startups and entrepreneurs over the years across the real estate, hospitality, and marketing industries. These include Moderne Ventures and Second Century Ventures’ NAR REACH, two growth accelerators for real estate tech companies, along with Galvanize, a startup mentor program and co-working hub in Denver. I’m passionate about the early days of a startup’s journey as it’s often the most challenging step of a company’s lifecycle, yet the most rewarding.

Over a decade or so of being exposed to a wide range of people and experiences in life and business, I’ve learned a lot. One key learning is that the fastest, easiest path to increasing the likelihood of the desired outcome is through soaking up the knowledge of others. I’m fueled by sharing my knowledge with the startup community and individuals who are chasing their own innovative ventures and passions.

You are a “travel insider”. How would you describe your “perfect vacation experience”?

The perfect vacation experience entails no agenda and being fully disconnected in an environment that has a charter and a home that’s comfortable, with adventure, exploration and discovery along the way. I’m born curious and crave an element of surprise with every new destination experience.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

We’ve been laser-focused on providing homes designed to work from anywhere. As this becomes the norm, people have a greater degree of flexibility and freedom to explore the world while also continuing to build their career. I see a world where households and destination seekers alike are empowered to chase whatever they want to chase in life, without boundaries. If I could inspire a movement, it’s centered around providing a platform that allows others to experience the freedom of a digital, nomad lifestyle, ultimately, I’m a believer that adventure enhances any job.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

You can follow me on Twitter and connect with me on LinkedIn.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Alex Allison of D Alexander Capital: The Future of Travel in The Post Covid World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Twitter VP Maya Hari: “Why there should never be shame in asking for help”

There is no shame in asking for help. Early on in my career, I worried that asking for help would be seen as a sign of incompetence or weakness. Now, I realize that understanding my limits is, in fact, one of my greatest strengths in both my personal and professional life.

That said, it took me a long time to get comfortable with the idea. So, a few years ago, I decided to change tact and gamify the process. I now force myself to get help and support once a week on a given task — either from my family or colleagues. For me, it’s not just about lightening the load, but also recognizing that the people in my life play a big part in my successes as a leader.

As a part of our series about strong women leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Maya Hari.

Maya Hari is the VP & Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Twitter. Maya’s focus has been to fuel growth for Twitter across a collection of diverse markets across Asia Pacific.

Maya also serves as a board director on ASX listed edutech company Openlearning and Chairperson of TiE Singapore.

Maya has been an active member of YPO Singapore since 2019.

Thank you so much for doing this with us Maya! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

My backstory is one of a global citizen, weaving across India, United States, France and Singapore.

Growing up, my parents always encouraged my sister and I to pursue our interests, be independent and not be fettered by society’s expectations of women. When I was young, I embraced my love for math, taking part in competitions like math Olympiads and learning to play Chess. At the same time, I loved exploring my creativity with public speaking and writing, and watching my mom designing textiles. I really enjoyed a balance of left and right brain — when it came time for me to pick an area of study in college, my two top choices were Engineering and Journalism, which seems very counter-intuitive, but I think reflects me perfectly.

I went on to finish a Masters in Engineering, and then sought out careers that though have a commercial and analytical side, also have a creative side. I have since spent almost two decades in the media and tech industries across the US and Asia Pacific before taking on my current role here at Twitter.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

I took on leadership of the region at a time when the company had gone through some thoughtful restructuring globally. Morale was low and I needed to rebuild trust during uncertainty.

Be it in person or over video conference, nothing substitutes time spent with teams and team-members, and it was at this juncture that I learnt the importance of transparency as a leader as I had to make some people-related decisions that were tough but necessary.

After the restructuring, I went on to lay the foundation for the business to re-accelerate by motivating and building up a stronger team with the right skills. As we had to carefully prioritise investments and resources, we also had to pick and place our bets on the right markets to meaningfully scale our business.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

In the early days, when I would meet Chinese clients, I would love to try and use words and phrases in Mandarin Chinese, a language I had learnt in bits and pieces over the years. Often I would be met with confused and embarrassed faces across the table and would quickly switch back over to English. I loved trying to make the effort but perhaps got the accent wrong.

Over time, I learnt to rehearse a few specific sentences that helped me kickstart a keynote presentation or hold a 3 minute conversation with a client before I declared that my depth of knowledge of the language had been reached and we switched back to English.

There are many wonderful leaders and mentors who have enabled me to get to where I am today. But the one person without whom none of this would have been possible is my partner in crime in real life, my husband.

I am acutely aware that my career and family life wouldn’t balance if it weren’t for my husband. We started from a place of strength with a great relationship and marriage before we had kids. From changing diapers to giving the kids a bath to doing our taxes or attending school activities, he and I have always split it all consistently based on who is available.

He has a demanding career as well, as CEO of one of the region’s leading PropTech companies. But we prioritise being hands-on with our kids. It helps that we adopt a partner-mindset when it comes to parenting; it doesn’t solely fall on the shoulders of the mother.

My husband and I both being leaders in technology are able to support each other as sounding boards to one another. He also plays an important role in introducing me into relevant networks . One such network that I have found immensely useful has been YPO (Young President’s Organisation) where I have found not only strong networking opportunities for business, but also unique leadership and learning experiences.

My stress relief comes from pouring myself into fitness and urban farming.

A good workout is always an effective stress reliever for me. I spend 3–4 days a week working out for about 45 minutes each time, and nothing makes me feel as sane!

My other passion that helps me to de-stress is urban farming. 5 years ago I started an experiment to see if I could make my family and myself self sustainable by growing our own produce. While I grow over 30 varieties of herbs, vegetables and plants, this goal may take a few more decades to master! Through this, however, I have found a deep love for plants. I could spend hours in the garden and it has become the thing that gets my mind completely off of daily stresses.

Embedded Tweet link: https://twitter.com/CrazyplantLadee/status/1289908318635360258?s=20

Via @CrazyplantLadee, Maya’s personal urban farming handle

The importance of inclusion and diversity cannot be understated. In fact, many research studies have shown that companies with diverse representation on their boards, executive teams and within their workforce enjoy various advantages such as increased revenues.

Benefits can be attributed to a variety of reasons. For one, individuals who hail from different backgrounds naturally come with their own world views, formed through their unique experiences. By being inclusive, organisations will be able to explore creative ways of problem solving and make better decisions. Not to mention, businesses that genuinely embrace diversity often have positive reputations and are also able to build a more satisfied and engaged workforce.

Particularly so in the tech industry, as technology is increasingly embedded in everyday life. The shift towards the mobile and the digital means that people behind the tech need to be diverse to account for different perspectives and needs, in order to deliver content and services that are relevant to everyone.

The deeper the sense of belonging to a company, or to a team, I find the greater the sense of longevity in the company, and the greater the productivity and collaboration. It is vital for industries to truly internalise this as both a business benefit and just the right thing to do.

At Twitter, we’re on a journey to becoming the world’s most inclusive and diverse tech company. We’re headed in the right direction, but we’ve got a lot of work to do and progress can never be fast enough. We’re more committed than ever to leading the way for our employees, our sector, and the people who use our service everyday.

We foster this conversation with managers, employee resource groups, and allyship programs internally in the company. We help our clients embrace these conversations with their audiences via Twitter and we contribute to the conversation by driving change in our own industry.

We’re in it together #UntilWeAllBelong.

As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative, and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.

I think the first and most important step is acknowledging that there is beauty in our differences. Companies and society must recognise that the whole is often greater than the sum of its parts. I firmly believe that everyone, regardless of gender, race or any other individual characteristic has something to contribute.

On inclusiveness — I think it’s largely around cultivating diverse day to day conversations in order for our employees to feel a deep sense of belonging. When I started my career in the US, I would fake interest in American sports that happened over the weekend to join in the Monday morning banter among my predominantly male colleagues. A couple of decades later, I find my Monday morning conversations much more diverse, and so are that of my teams. How can leaders ensure these are cultivated? That should be embedded in everything from team building to business meetings and more.

On representation — we should think about our choices of hiring and promotions — to truly seek out a diverse set of candidates. Before promoting a candidate, ask yourself: has everyone been equally considered? Is there a woman or someone of a different race who didn’t even make the consideration set? Regular talent planning along this vein makes this a sustainable effort, and an invaluable step forward to a well-represented organisation. We know representation targets work, because we’ve seen it in action at Twitter. We remain steadfast in our efforts towards achieving our vision for 2025: our global workforce will be at least 50% women.

On equitableness — checking and correcting for pay gaps across gender, race and orientation is a start. I believe there’s room to leverage technology platforms in compensation, package and/or talent planning in that regard that can actively identify and subsequently help leaders address pay gaps, biases, etc. Again, it’d be important to ensure a fully diverse panel is put in place before reviewing those decisions.

Throughout, we must remain transparent. Radical transparency drives accountability, and accountability will be critical to making our organisation and society more inclusive, representative, and equitable.

Leaders at every level of a company no doubt play very important roles, but their responsibilities may greatly vary. For instance, functional leads are heavily involved in the day-to-day operations — they oversee and motivate their teams towards the completion and achievement of specific shorter-term or immediate goals.

On the other hand, CEOs and executives contend with a different set of expectations. These leaders must understand the company as a whole and be able to see the big picture. Considering greater industry trends and events, keeping an eye on competitor movements and determining the long-term strategic direction and business plans are part of their remit. At a high level, a CEO/ Executive tackles some core priorities such as co-creating and communicating the vision for the business, building a team and culture that will enable the company to achieve the vision and making decisions on what problems to tackle and which opportunities to invest in and prioritise.

These executives are also answerable to a different group of stakeholders, which is often the board and the company’s shareholders.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive. Can you explain what you mean?

One of the biggest myths about CEOs and executives is that we have zero work life balance. Although it is true that we can be incredibly busy, good time management plays an integral part in ensuring we make time for our family, friends and ourselves. Over the years, I’ve learned that it’s not always one or the other. I travel very often for work but I take night flights whenever I can, this way I can still put my kids to bed and have them feel like I was home for most of the day. Despite how busy my husband and I are, we still manage to eat dinner as a family more than 80% of the time. It’s not always easy to juggle work and family life but it’s definitely possible.

People also often have the impression that being a high-level executive is the most glamorous job one can have. They picture large offices in tall skyscrapers, luxurious networking events and a jet-setting lifestyle. While we do attend such events every once in a while and work does take us around the world, the day-to-day responsibilities of a CEO or executive are a lot less fanciful. Most of our time is spent holed up in conference rooms, poring over strategies and plans.

Lastly, believe it or not, we don’t have all the answers. As the company leaders, people often assume that we know everything, but despite the wealth of knowledge or years of experience we’ve accumulated, we are still only human, and we aren’t all-knowing! I think a large part of a CEO and executive’s success is dependent on the support they get from their teams. While we may definitely have the expertise, there is still always room for us to learn and I have greatly enjoyed discovering new insights from my Twitter family.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

The challenges faced by women at work are consistent across industries, be it getting a seat at the table to being heard in a meeting or the salary gap that exists between men and women. This leads to women hesitating to have a conversation with their management regarding career growth, or asking for a promotion or a pay raise, or speaking up to find mentors. My fundamental belief is that women need to stand up and ask for their rightful spot — and this is not easy, since I know women are devalued and overlooked at every step of the way as they grow up. But the moment that a woman sees another woman in a leadership position offer an opinion, or ask for that equal consideration, it changes the possibilities in their life.

Also, I have to be real about the fact that I have two kids. Many women in professional roles face these same challenges balancing work and family. Work cultures should allow for women, and for parents, to have this kind of balance, but not everyone is able to choose these kinds of supporting environments.

What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

As you may be able to guess, when I first started this job, I was focussed on driving the turnaround of our business in such a diverse and vibrant region. But I’ve come to realise it’s more than that — leadership is at its best when everyone on your team achieves his/her full potential. It may sound cliche, but my real role is not just setting Twitter’s course in the Asia Pacific region, but also galvanising, inspiring and guiding a team of incredible people towards achieving success for the company.

Couldn’t put it better than @ValaAfshar, Chief Digital Evangelist at Salesforce: https://twitter.com/ValaAfshar/status/1266783685896024064?s=20

While there is no magic recipe with fixed ingredients or characteristics for an individual to follow to be a successful executive, I have four traits that I try to keep in mind to guide my approach.

First, I try to lead by being open and democratic. I want people on my team to feel comfortable coming to me and speaking their minds. I think there’s a rightful place for that, and people will feel more empowered and invested if they feel like their leaders are listening to their concerns.

Second, I try to maintain a careful balance between approachability and aspiration as a leader. At Twitter, this is a more unique challenge, as we are all encouraged to use Twitter and live with the product every day, and by virtue of this, I would say that I use Twitter a lot more than other executives might. As a leader, the transparent workplace that we’ve created on Twitter helps me to keep tabs on the sentiment of the team. Even concerns that people might not feel comfortable bringing to me, I try to be aware of so I can make decisions taking their worries into account.

Third, I have an obsession with talent — I think it is one of the most important organisational virtues. I strongly believe in ‘hire fast, hire well’ — if you bring in the best talent, your organisation will end up in much better shape than most organisations when facing common business issues.

Fourth and lastly, I think collaboration and trust is incredibly important. I’ve witnessed firsthand the power of technology, and seen how it diminishes the borders and the distance between us, but this is obviously amplified in the post-COVID, WFH reality. It is important to make collaboration part of your organisation’s mission, and commit to building and empowering collaboration between teams.

What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?

Women executives tend to encounter challenges that their male counterparts don’t. While this is unfortunate, successful women leaders are proof that it is possible to overcome these obstacles. One piece of advice I can give to others is to be yourself. This may seem like a no-brainer, but I think that many women often overcompensate and try too hard to prove themselves. Although this is not inherently negative, I feel that effective leadership first comes from understanding yourself instead of trying to be something you are not. Everyone has their own unique personality and style; once you have identified what you are good at, you will be able to better leverage your strengths and address your weaknesses when leading your team.

Women often have an edge when it comes to communicating and winning trust. In the business world, EQ is equally, if not more important, than IQ, and women are generally more intuitive where emotions are involved. Once perceived to be a vulnerability, being able to express feelings and build authentic connections with team members is now a valuable advantage that many women have. To obtain cooperation and commitment from your peers and subordinates, female leaders should strive to show genuine care and concern for their team. Sincere appreciation, encouragement and respect can go a long way in motivating team members, so we should always aim to support them in achieving their full potential.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I am interested in supporting the start-up space and am currently a board member of ASX listed edu-tech company OpenLearning where I oversaw their IPO journey.

Leaders like myself have a unique opportunity to give back to the welfare of the community by sharing our experience. I believe in enabling entrepreneurship in local communities and currently chair TiE Singapore — a non-profit organisation focused on fueling the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Mentorship, enabling access for young entrepreneurs to funding and facilitating connections to customers are a core focus for me through my efforts at TiE.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

Choose confidence

Growing up, I was awkward and lacking in confidence, and it took a really long time for me to start believing in my own capabilities and trusting myself to make important decisions. But that faith in self is key to effective leadership. As we progress through the different stages in our lives, the challenges only get harder so don’t rely on external achievements, accolades or praise to give yourself ‘worth’. Confidence should be built from within.

2. Be patient — life is a marathon, not a sprint

I have two kids and took 3–4 months of maternity leave with each — but during what should have been my down time getting to know my newborns, I instead found myself extensively worrying about my career. Had I indefinitely stalled my career? Was I being passed over for promotions? How were people going to view me now that I was a mom?

My beautiful children are now aged 13 and 8 respectively, and now looking back, I wish I’d been kinder to myself. The only person watching the clock was me, and with the benefit of hindsight, I’ve come to realise my career momentum stayed right on track throughout. Now as I lead my team at Twitter, I find myself often promoting capable men and women even while on parental leave, which just goes to show that it’s not a case of one or the other. A bit of patience, and there’s room for both.

3. Network outside just like you network inside

Building networks outside the company is just as important as forming networks inside the company. In fact, it’s often these external interactions that lead to the best discussions and insights for how to move the business forward. As a leader, I invest a lot of time and effort into developing peer groups so that I can both share and learn best practices and discover new ideas. This helps me to gain different perspectives and go outside the Twitter ‘echo chamber’, so to speak.

4. Ask for help — both at home and at work

There is no shame in asking for help. Early on in my career, I worried that asking for help would be seen as a sign of incompetence or weakness. Now, I realize that understanding my limits is, in fact, one of my greatest strengths in both my personal and professional life.

That said, it took me a long time to get comfortable with the idea. So, a few years ago, I decided to change tact and gamify the process. I now force myself to get help and support once a week on a given task — either from my family or colleagues. For me, it’s not just about lightening the load, but also recognizing that the people in my life play a big part in my successes as a leader.

5. Have fun, don’t take yourself too seriously

Work hard but play hard too. Life is a journey and it is meant to be enjoyed. Take a breather and slow down to enjoy the view. I know it can be easy to get swept up in our constant pursuit of success, but be careful not to let life pass you by!

If you’ll allow me to get on my soap-box — we need to save our planet, period. The earth is in grave danger and my children’s generation may soon find themselves facing the perils of a harsh climate that could lead to a loss of freedom to live the lives as they do today. Indeed, if the recent pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we can’t take anything for granted — let alone something as vital as our world’s resources.

From science and policies, to a change in consumer habits and preferences, a lot more needs to be done to address the climate crisis. My daughter and I have started a campaign called #ShareTheGreen, where we do our part by giving away hundreds of plants during each quarter of the year to our community. We hope that our effort will encourage more people to grow their own food.

I’d also encourage each one of us to vote with our money — if you can, opt for locally manufactured goods, or those with lower carbon footprints. Choose products with responsible packaging, and write or Tweet to your favourite brands to compel them to find substitutes for plastic containers! If you invest, select stocks in companies that use green energy sources to power their offices, data centres and manufacturing plants, or those that use vehicles that run on biofuels or electricity.

If everyone does their part, I am sure that we can accelerate change and save our planet for future generations.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My favourite quote is one by Mark Twain –

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”

As I make decisions in my career and life everyday, this quote is my go-to sniff test to assess if things I lend my voice and time to, are in fact worthy of being in consideration of my purpose as a leader.

I have some clues as to my true purpose as a leader (my deep belief in social and economic empowerment of women or my love for the planet and sustainability) but if I am honest, I can’t be certain yet. I am enjoying this journey of pursuit for the day when I truly know my raison d’etre in this world.

I am inspired by the work that Bill and Melinda Gates are driving marrying investment in science with on ground practical implementation considerations and diplomacy across the world. A lunch or breakfast with them would be the perfect opportunity to learn from their intellectual and compassionate approaches.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Twitter VP Maya Hari: “Why there should never be shame in asking for help” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.