 Women and Leadership update: On the couch with Di Pierce
Reflecting on the new Alliance program and other Women & Leadership Australia programs, National Convenor Di Pierce chats about her personal highlights of the year, the hurdles that women face today, and challenges on the horizon.
What have been your highlights so far this year?
“Hands-down, the commencement of the Alliance program has been the highlight for me.
“It’s been wonderful working with smaller groups of women, who readily become comfortable opening up and sharing their personal experiences and knowledge. And it’s amazing: everyone has felt at ease to participate, which really is the difference between large and small group settings.
“I have seen some really strong friendships forged in the Alliance programs.
“For the last session of the Brisbane and Melbourne workshops, the women decided to go out for lunch.
“In Melbourne, 15 out of 24 women came to a three-month catch-up – not a part of the official workshop schedule. The Melbourne group is now meeting every three months, plus lunches and drinks in between. It’s become a self-sustaining network.
“At the end of August, evening drinks are planned that will bring together both the previous and current Melbourne Alliance groups.
“We are organising lunches for Canberra and Sydney to get those networks started.
“This brings me great joy to see women supporting women. It was a focus of discussions at the 2009 Symposium series of what needs to be done for women.
“The Symposium series has also been a highlight. We blew it out of the water and had the largest groups ever. The energy was fantastic.
“We had some fantastic speakers. And it was great having some large corporations involved, including IBM, Deloitte, Mallesons, Freehills, AFR (Catherine Fox), Jenny Craig (Amy Smith).”
What Women & Leadership Australia activities have you been most proud of thus far in 2009?
“Of the four different workshops of the Alliance, I’ve been most proud of the second one, focusing on authenticity: understanding your own values.
“We’ve literally had women in tears at this workshop, having suddenly realised that their values are not really their own. They had gotten them from their parents, partners, workplace or culture. But they are not their own.
“For me personally it’s put a new light on how I approach my own work/life balance It’s been a big ‘aha’ moment.
“And it’s changed how I support others through the Alliance. Instead of trying to just impart some tips on how to strike the balance (albeit useful ones), I feel it’s much better to get them to consider the authenticity of their values, and how real they feel for themselves.
“You can have your cake and eat it too, if you can just figure out what that cake looks like – and whose recipe it is.”
What do you see as the hurdles women are facing today?
“There are several hurdles that women face today. Primarily, women are often their own worst enemies. They believe that they have to do everything, and cannot take a break or holiday lest everything collapse behind them.
“They need to learn to say no and not take everything on.
“Women are not taking care of their health. They are not eating properly, not taking proper lunch breaks, not taking ‘me’ time in the workplace. And then they get home exhausted, and have to cook dinner, tend to the home and family, and be ‘super women’.
“Women tend to be afraid to ask for help. They are concerned of being seen as incompetent.”
How do you think women can support each other in their ambitions?
“Unfortunately there are still some women who reach very senior roles then pull up the ladder after them, making it more difficult for other women to follow. More women need to help those in their teams.
“Conversely, some women see other women get to the top and then strain to deal with their huge workload as they aren’t willing to give up any of it and accept that maybe they don’t want that pressure.”
What are you up to in the next 3 months?
“I’m commencing a new series of Alliance programs, which I’m really excited about. This is my baby.
“I’ll be working with Kellie Mills – who will be running the regional Forums – and Susie Finklestein – who will be running the Toolkits and some of the regional programs.
“Also, I’ll be in the Virgin Airport Lounge quite a bit, traveling around the country.
“My aim is to meet Richard Branson at some point on my travels. He’s my role model. He is people-focused. To him, the people on the floor are more important than his accountants and lawyers. And he has a sense of fun. And he’s authentic in everything he does.”
What challenges are on the horizon for you?
“Sometimes I worry that some women go back to their workplaces after our events and they know what they need to make changes, but they can’t do it for one reason or another.
“I’m constantly refining the key to helping women to enforce what they learn at our programs.”
Is there a quote you stand by or rules of thumb you live by?
“Be real, in all aspects of life.”
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