In an engaging panel at the 9th Annual Executive Women’s Event, top women executives discussed innovation, diversity and the unique challenges women face in the C-Suite.
In an insightful panel discussion led by CFO South Africa’s content producer Jacqueline Maphala, Sharon Taylor, chief people and culture officer at Standard Bank, Dr Denisha Jairam-Owthar, CIO at the Council of Medical Schemes, and Aneshree Naidoo, CFO at Webber Wentzel, shared their triumphs and challenges in the C-suite.
The impact of innovation and diversity were the key drivers of conversation, as well as the nuances of the female experience in the corporate space. There was a very participatory energy in the air as audience members leapt to their feet to share in the conversation and contribute their own powerful testimonies as executives, mothers and women in business.
Jacqueline began by outlining the complex nature of the journey for women in the workplace, “Women leaders have to find ways to navigate things with agility, reshape structures, and drive innovation. We need to unpack how women make an impact through their leadership, how they show up and most importantly how they make their presence felt,” she says.
This initiated a dynamic and candid discussion about these complexities, emphasising the significance of collaboration and inclusion.
Denisha relishes creating impact but notes that it requires support: “You have to go in knowing that it is going to be uncomfortable and requires courage,” she said. She believes innovation also lies in inclusion and encourages continued participation across varying genders, experiences and ethnicities to truly foster diversity of thought. It is also about understanding people and business, she said: “I love leaving a place knowing that the place will be fundamentally changed because of you and your seismic contribution.”
She also mentioned that her industry is still having to prove themselves due to the business of “people” sometimes not being taken seriously, “The truth is that an organisation’s future is really steeped in people. It is what sets you apart. The impact you make on people is so important. Anyone in the HR profession gets most of their kick out of seeing the value that they are adding,” she explained. This requires seismic leadership to ensure that the industry is taking up meaningful space.
With “Seismic Leadership” being the theme of the evening, Denisha reflected on the literal nature of making an impact and believes that something seismic can be felt forever. “It means a change. We can’t go backwards, we need to move forward for the better. Innovation, for me, is very cognitive. It is quick, it is reshaping and it is rethinking,” she added.
Aneshree emphasised that impact can also be seen in the final details and does not always have to be data-driven, “Even though impact is super important, it does not show up in the numbers only, but in the sustainability aspect,” she explained. Her stance was focused on the knock-on effect of exponential impact: “Exponential means doing one small thing that touches one person, who then touches another person. It is about the art of replication to create seismic impact,” she said.
Sharon, on the other hand, shared that their professional accomplishments as a team weren’t necessitated by the potential of accolades, but by doing what was best for the business in principle, “We did not see what we have done as super special, but when we talk to people out there in the industry, locally and internationally, we understand that we have achieved some things that other people in the world have not necessarily achieved,” she explained. These are the markers of naturally adding value, and reaping the rewards later.
The overall sentiment was that collaboration, diversity and intentional support will continue to drive sustainable innovation. “The sustainable aspect of seismic impact is at the forefront of all my decisions. We can’t think of anything in silos anymore, it all needs to be infused,” Aneshree concluded.
