About
From a closed city in Siberia to the boardroom.
I've often been the only woman in the room. Everything I teach comes from something I've lived through.
My story
I learned Russian as a teenager, and it took me somewhere I never expected: a year living in a closed Siberian city as the Soviet Union opened up. That story is for my memoir.
What followed was more than twenty years in metals and steel, often as the only woman in the room, rising from trader to CFO, COO and finally CEO of an international business with US$250 million in annual turnover. I've also spent 13 years as an entrepreneur.
Early on, a trader shouted and swore at me in the middle of an open-plan office, and I wanted to disappear. My husband Johan helped me see that I had a choice: I could decide what my story would be. I chose to stay, and to make the industry work for me while still being me. That choice sits at the heart of everything I do now.
Today, through Craftport, I work one-to-one with leaders in the situations that don't come with a playbook. I listen closely, tell them what I see, and help them decide the move and prepare for it. On stage I bring the same honesty to audiences of every size.
Things you might not know
A few more pieces of me
A Siberian winter
My year in a closed city meant ski clothes all winter. I thought I stood out as a foreigner, but apparently I didn't.
Women trading steel
When I traded steel, I was one of only two female steel traders in the world.
The coffee
More than once, visitors to the boardroom asked me, the CEO, to make the coffee. I turned to the male trader next to me and asked him to make it instead.
Ice hockey
I've managed teams all through my son's ice hockey journey, taken England junior teams to Bratislava and Dumfries, and served three years on the board of the national governing body for ice hockey in England and Wales.
Cultural chameleon
Johan's name for me. Whatever country I'm in, people assume I'm a local and stop me in the street for directions.
My anchor
I taught myself an NLP anchoring technique to stay grounded in pay negotiations. A few bars of Robert Miles' Children in my head, and I'm ready. I still use it almost every day.
What I believe
Leadership is personal.
These are the ideas behind my coaching, my talks and the way I work.
You always have a choice
You can't always choose what happens, but you can choose what your story will be.
Lead as yourself
What you see is what you get. Being promoted doesn't mean becoming someone else.
Leaders are human
Saying "I don't know" is a strength. Nobody knows everything, and pretending to helps no one.
Surround yourself with difference
We tend to promote people who look like us. The best decisions come from people who will respectfully disagree with you.
Decide, and keep moving
Making a decision is often better than making none. If it turns out to be wrong, change course. Standing still is the only real mistake.
Career
The road here
I've never had a ten-year plan. It has always been about finding the next step.
- 1983
First trip to the Soviet Union
A school trip to Moscow and Leningrad, a year after starting Russian.
- 1991
A year in a closed Siberian city
My university year abroad, during glasnost and perestroika.
- After university
"Russian speakers wanted"
Trading non-ferrous metals, then steel, as one of only two women steel traders in the world.
- The boardroom
CFO, COO, then CEO
Leading an international business with US$250 million in annual turnover.
- Today
Founder of Craftport
One-to-one leadership advisory, speaking, creating leadership retreats, and writing my memoir.
Coming soon
I'm writing my memoir.
I've been challenged to write about my experiences in the Soviet Union and Russia, from Cold War school trips to life in a closed city. It's well under way.
Until then, you can hear some of the stories in my Radio Bath interview.