She points out that today women and men leaders manage increasingly diverse, multi-generational teams. – This is a great challenge, but a modern leader sees many opportunities in it. Each generation brings something interesting. You can also learn many things from the youngest, so in addition to classic mentoring, our company also has the so-called reverse mentoring. Thanks to this, we learn from each other and this builds not only knowledge and competences, but also a system of values and creates the foundations for common success. – explains Joanna Kocik.
We have great leaders and the 50/50 split came naturally
– I personally strongly believe in mentoring and sharing knowledge between departments, countries and, above all, between generations. Young people appreciate that someone can wisely guide their development path. Sometimes this is more important to them than the salary itself. If a manager can point out: you are here today, but if you take these two steps, you will be here in a year and I will help you, it builds incredible loyalty. At DHL, we have very developed mentoring programs. I participated in them as a mentee and was lucky to learn from wonderful women from different parts of the world. This gives great strength, especially in a huge corporation, where there are plenty of opportunities, but sometimes it is difficult to see them yourself – emphasizes the leader.
He notes that women used to fight with men for a place at the table. Today some people claim that they fight both with men and with each other. – However, I believe in “female power”. When a new girl joins my team, I want her to immediately feel that she has an ally in me, not a rival. This synergy benefits the entire business. If there are only men in the company, there is a lack of female perspective and energy. If we focus only on competition between women, we lose the potential for cooperation. There is a very strong female representation at DHL. In many teams we have a 50-50 split. And this is not artificial inflation of statistics. These women are simply very strong in terms of content. We have great leaders in finance, business development, and managing directors. Our group-wide CFO is a woman, which sends a message to all employees that there is no glass ceiling if you have the right skills.
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