Women’s Month: Resetting boundaries in the brave new workplace

RESETTING BOUNDARIES IN THE BRAVE NEW WORKPLACE

This year’s annual Women’s Event celebrated the leading women in finance and HR and everything they have achieved and learnt over the past year, as well as which of these lessons they would take into the “brave new workplace” of the future.

On 4 August 2021, a group of over 120 female finance and HR executives gathered for the annual Women’s Event, which took place online for the second time due to Covid-19. The top CFO and CHROs of South Africa biggest companies and organisations had each been asked to also invite one of their mentees to share ideas with their peers and thought leaders during a unique online immersion.

The annual Women’s Event celebrated everything the attendees had achieved and learnt over the past year and which of these lessons they would take into the “brave new workplace” of the future.

Meaningful connections

“Happy Women’s Month to the amazing women on the call and to all the women in our communities,” said Webber Wentzel CFO Aneshree Naidoo. “I think it’s a wonderful time to recognise the heavy lifting that we do.”

Aneshree, who recently moved from Deloitte to the law firm, during the Covid-19 lockdown, said that she had changed roles and organisations before, “but of course never during a pandemic when you virtually meet, connect with and lead your new teams”. She explained that “the experience of changing roles during this time was a learning experience”. Along with the usual questions one asks when changing roles, like whether there is an alignment of the firm's values and yours, Aneshree weighed in on understanding team structures to proactively plan virtual connect sessions. She wanted to quickly and effectively get onboard in her new environment and start delivering on strategic projects with her team. She also clarified flexible work arrangements, which has always been important to her and more so having recently become a new mom at that stage.

“In relation to my team meetings, I really had to stop to think about how to meaningfully connect...virtually,” she said. And while connecting isn’t a new topic for leaders, she explained that she had to map out her interactions and prepare a lot more so that meetings were meaningful and productive. This included “scheduling virtual calls and not prescriptively discussing the agenda topic, but also taking time to get to know the person on the other end of my screen.” Aneshree added that “business matters are important and necessary, but getting to know who it is I am talking to, where they come from and how we work together to deliver great results is important too”. Relationships were established mostly over virtual (coffee) meetings these past eight months. There is value in asking a simple but impactful question like "how are you?" at the start of a call...this applies during this pandemic period and beyond! She said that she would carry these important transition learnings forward. Effectively (re-)connecting with teams in our current virtual workways is dynamic and relatable to many leaders and perhaps more so now in our current spaces as we create new workplaces and newer ways of working.

Setting and re-setting boundaries

DPD Laser CFO Auvasha Maharaj explained that finance people are inherently risk averse, but that the pandemic has forced them to really stretch their boundaries. “Our normal approach to risk needed to be changed. Having been in the finance industry for over 20 years, that has been a massive learning curve for me.” “Very seldom is an event, technology or a product this disruptive on its own,” said iOCO CFO Jo-Ann Pöhl. “Rather the interconnectedness and shift that this triggers helps us make strategic choices as the catalyst that informs our attitude and how we react.”

She explained that Covid-19 has allowed business and leaders to “properly rewire”, and for her this meant trying to find the balance between working from home or living at work.

Jo said she learned that driving to the office in the morning and home used to be where she could recalibrate, to adjust her focus and maintain her perspective. This is particularly relevant when the going gets tough, “If it was a bumpy start in the morning, you could drive to the office and reset. Or if it was a rough day at work, you could almost switch off on the drive home.”

However, with lockdown restrictions and working from home, not being able to drive or being deliberate about the transition points in a day blurs those boundaries between her role at work and her role at home. “So I had to think about how I could create those boundaries and reset them regularly,” she said. Jo added that trying to get that balance right hasn’t always been easy, particularly as we are passionate about our people and the businesses we serve. Her children have been key around reminding her about why and how she recalibrates. “They have taught me that not only must I talk the talk, but I must also walk the talk.” She said her children often remind her that she encourages her colleagues to spend time with their families, but then she works day and night and as such how she demonstrates her commitment to better balance is almost permission for the team to do the same. “They will pass me notes in the day to check in and hold up flashcards to count down to dinner, or that it’s family time. We remind each other of the commitments we made to each other, understand when things go awry (and there are days I get this very wrong) and agree to reset together.” Avashnee Ramdial, who has had to juggle being a single mother and executing her role as the CFO of Stanlib, said that even under normal circumstances it’s quite difficult to get that work-life balance, but once Covid-19 hit, resetting the boundaries of home and work was really difficult. “The wonderful thing we’ve learnt from Covid-19 is how resilient people can be and how you’re able to adapt and work with what you have been given,” she said. Like Aneshree and Jo, she also had to redefine and set boundaries to help her balance working from home. “I start work at 9am and finish at 4pm, and I try not to schedule back-to-back meetings to give myself the breathing room, so if there’s a crisis at home, I am able to go and help them.” She added that it’s important to communicate with the people around you. “We’ve been very lucky at Stanlib where people have been very understanding when your child walks into a meeting. It takes away the anxiety and allows you to be present.” Avashnee said that the world has changed. “We have the opportunity now for our lives to be totally flexible to work from home when we want to and organisations are rec-

ognising that. Organisations who don’t recognise that aren’t going to be able to retain and attract people.” PPC finance manager of projects Lauren Fullerton said that the new way of working has given her an opportunity to prove herself at PPC and move from a consultant role into a more permanent role. “It was a risk to move from being a contractor and having the flexibility it afforded me, to becoming a permanent employee,” she explained. “I think one of the reasons I’ve been willing to take that risk is because of the flexibility that working remotely during Covid-19 has shown us is possible.” She added that risk-taking takes on a new dimension when you can balance more. “But obviously making sure that you try and define boundaries, which I have to admit I am battling with.”

Using your influence for change

Ambassador Nozipho January Bardill came into the “spotlight” and delivered a powerful address with the theme, “You can’t change the world, but you can change your sphere of influence”.

“We occupy 52 percent of the demographic space in the country. We have struggled for a more just, equitable and peaceful country for many years before, during and after 1956,” Nozipho said. She added that women must continue to fight for the access they have to senior positions at work and how equally resources are shared (equal pay to work of equal value), to better care facilities for working moms (maternity and paternity leave) and other demands that will forever be their desire for a happy and fulfilling life. She concluded, “Happy Women’s month to all of you, we have big problems in our country. We have learnt a lot from the Covid-19 virus as it has touched us deeply in our souls but we still have a lot of work to do. I believe South Africa has a hit rock bottom stage which only can go one way and that is back up. “We can make a difference and influence our institutional situations, we can take a bit of more time to think about how we can do thought leadership differently and together we need to come out of our silos and work in collaborations, partnerships and find solutions to our social and economic problems.” l

The Women’s Event was made possible by:

CaseWare Africa Dimension Data Momentum Corporate Workday