Heba Capdevila Jangeerkhan: “Women have to find the way in a leadership labyrinth”

Heba Capdevila Jangeerkhan, Chief Operations Officer and board member at Taylor Smith Group, is happy to see the appointment of a number of women in CEO and COO roles in Mauritius. According to her, women bring to the boardroom a different set of perspectives, experiences and points of view. You must have come a long way up to COO. Can you share with us your professional career path? Everyone has the potential to go a long way! When I look back on my career I realize that every experience I have had, including the waitressing jobs as a student, have contributed to my belief that when you have a purpose you drive yourself towards it. Bringing people along, because they believe in what you do too, is essential to personal and professional growth. I grew up as a citizen of the world. This is really interesting... As a citizen of the world, I had a lot of exposure to a diversity of cultures, as my parents travelled a lot due to their professions. Before I went to the university, I took a year out and worked in the Sultanate of Oman, in a Trading and Contracting business, following which I went to the UK, and did a BSc in Business; and then my first job was in Sales, which was a great foundation. After a couple of years, I decided I wanted to learn more about what makes organisations tick in one direction or another; what is in the organizational design of companies that distinguishes them from each other. I did an Msc in Organisational Development, which was an amazing growth experience. In the UK I worked for a couple of years as a Management Consultant. When did you come to Mauritius? My adventure in Mauritius begun in 1995. I took my first job at Compagnie Mauricienne de Textile as HR Manager. I learnt creole. I fell in love with the people and the country and I loved every moment of it. I then had the opportunity to work with World Duty Free (Mauritius), and for 3 years I dived into the world of international retail, and airport management. I joined the Engineering cluster of Rogers in 2002, as HR Manager for the Cluster, and the amazing team of people with whom I continue to work 14 years later. We formed the Taylor Smith Group in October 2004, resulting from a strategic focus in the Rogers Group and the journey has been full of challenges which we have faced by playing on the strengths of each person in the team. My role in the group has evolved over time, aligned to my own development, and competence growth. I believe and embrace the group values of - Respect, Empower and Innovate- these are the values that as leaders in the organization we must live and inspire our colleagues to live by; the sustainability, resilience and growth of our businesses will always be through our people. How do you summarise your career? I believe that my career has been driven by purpose and the deep knowledge that I always do my best to get the job done to the best of my abilities, and value the contributions of all those I work with. I also gain a lot of satisfaction and growth from being involved in organisations such as the MIOD, where the exposure to best practices, different ideas and meeting people from a wide range of industries is very enriching. Making a difference by being active in what you believe in is important. What have been the main hurdles on your way to Boardroom? I think that while hurdles are there to be overcome, one has to identify them in order to overcome them. Women wear a lot of different hats in the various roles we have in life; this means that at times we will not make the time to invest in personal development, and in networking within professional areas of interest and environments; it is what I call, ‘being and staying on the radar’, you are visible, and you ‘see’ others; this is important. I think that women don’t have a glass ceiling, but we have a labyrinth through which we have to find the way, and this can be challenging unless you have a support network. It is important to have a supportive home and work environment, which builds confidence and encourages a Can Do mindset. I have been very fortunate to have had support and encouragement in both my personal and professional life. Women represent the world’s majority! We have to continue to advocate and create awareness for gender parity to achieve its rightful place. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"12439","attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-20372","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"640","height":"352","alt":"Chart"}}]] Women are underrepresented in management and on the boards. Why they have not made greater inroads? I think that in the past 10 years we have made a lot of progress in Mauritius with more and more women coming up the leadership lane; and I am so pleased to see that many of these women have clarity of purpose; that they have confidence in their capabilities and are shining. I am also happy to see recently, the appointment of a number of women in CEO and COO roles. I think the traditional social structure whereby the roles based on gender are clearly defined, have been grounded in the upbringing of many men and women. The paradigm change has to come from both men and women for the gender parity culture to really make its way both in organisations and our homes. I think that as women we often think we have to make a choice between our own development and being a good mum or spouse; I believe that one is not exclusive of the other; putting in place a good support system, focusing on the essential, and recognizing your potential, and the desire to be the best that you can be, are some of the pointers I would like to share. Organizations have an important role to play in building in the flexibility, the space for development, equal pay policies and the recognition that gender diversity both in boards and in management roles creates in terms of added value and results.   Some women believe that they had to be more qualified than men to be considered for directorships. Do you share this view? The widely researched subject on the value of board diversity (Harvard Business Review amongst many others) is clear that the competencies and management qualities which are linked to a more ‘feminine’ management style, have a positive impact on both organization culture, decision making, long term risk strategy and overall financial results. Marketing experts believe that women drive over 70% of the purchase consumer decisions, so we are likely to be more in tune with consumer needs, which helps develop successful products and services! It is a fact that women bring to the boardroom a different set of perspectives, experiences and points of view. I think that there may be a perception by women themselves, that they need to more be qualified than their male counterparts. I personally do not share this view, from my own personal experience. I think that we should not compare ourselves to our male colleagues, our competences are complementary, we bring an added value and perspective. Research shows that women directors need to understand the subject in depth before making decisions, and therefore are more likely to probe deeply into the issues at hand by asking more questions, leading to more robust board discussion and deliberations. I think women generally have a different style of engagement, we seek the opinions of others and trying to get as everyone in the boardroom (or in teams) to take part in the discussion. A recent study in USA found a stark disconnect between female directors’ experiences and their male colleagues’ perceptions. Women told they were not treated as full members of the group. Does this situation occur also in Mauritius? I guess I am a positive example of the contrary! I have been part of the Taylor Smith Group for 14 years now, and I’ve always felt that I have had the space to contribute, that my views and input has been valued to an equal degree as my colleagues, regardless of gender. By being in a leadership position I am able to make a difference by promoting an environment where what we need is the best person for the job, where this is at the center of the recruitment criteria. Once again, I don’t believe that the answer lies in comparing ourselves with our male counterparts; women are different to men, this difference is a positive one; a difference that adds value to working in a teams, a difference that adds value to boards. We must see our feminine difference as our driving force and not our limitation. How women can find their way in the leadership labyrinth? Companies must open up to the profiles of people they bring on board, often a financial or legal background are a common criteria in the selection of board directors. While these are indeed very useful skills to have on a board, there needs to be a diversity of skills for board effectiveness; and people with Marketing, IT, Sales, HR and Operations should complement board membership. At an individual level; put yourself forward, and your hand up, when you see an opportunity you want to pursue; surround yourself with people from whom you can learn, and get yourself a ‘board of advisors’; these are people you trust and are supportive, from diverse areas of expertise, who you can reach out to when you need to talk, get specific advice or guidance. We often just need someone to believe in us, and say you can do this, to trigger self -belief! Join groups, organizations or associations where you can meet people in the industry, and where you can add value through your contribution. At different stages of your life the need will differ, as you change and you grow, so will your ability to influence and make a difference to people and your environment. Read, read, and read some more; keep yourself abreast of new thinking, technology and innovation. Invest in your learning and developing the skills you feel you will need to approach the next career turning. I cannot stress enough the importance of a supportive environment, both at home and at work. Partners who engage in doing their share of running the home and family, and employers who engage in a flexible work environment, with the possibility of working remotely when are where feasible, and breaking the traditional assumptions that ‘certain jobs are for men and others for women’. Above all, no matter what your job is, always do your job to the best of your abilities, focus on that, display professional conduct and nurture relationships. The labyrinth can be a fun place to navigate through! Several countries, including Belgium, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain, and the Netherlands, have enacted legislation that calls for a minimum percentage of female directors on boards. Do we need such legislation in Mauritius? There are arguments in support of and against the legislation on quotas; and this is a subject that merits a broader discussion amongst the different players, for there to be consensus on what is the most effective approach for Mauritius to increase the number of women directors on boards. Only 12% of board seats are held by women worldwide; Norway leads the way with more than 35%; based on MIOD statistics women make-up 7% of the boards in Mauritius (50 top companies); so we have a lot of work to do to improve these statistics. Research from McKinsey & Company shows that companies with the most gender-diverse management teams had17percentage point higher stock price growth compared to the industry average, and their average operating profit was almost double the industry average. Credit Suisse’s Gender Diversity and Corporate Performance report found that it would on average have been better to have invested incorporates with women on their management boards than in those without them. The business case is strong, so why are we struggling, not only in Mauritius, to get women on boards? I believe that the MIOD is an excellent platform to advocate, build awareness and take action to achieve getting more women on boards. The pipeline of women needs to be built, companies need to involve more women in decision making positions, promoting female talent and therefore creating a pool for Board appointments. The bottom line is that having women on boards and in leadership positions is good for business, it’s good for the economy and that’s good for Mauritius!