Gender & Diversity: The Women of Fadata

One’s actions define their purpose and one’s drive can be a catalyst to motivate and uplift others. You heard it before — sharing is caring — and with this article, we aim to present some of the prominent leaders, colleagues, and tenacious women of Fadata.

But why does this matter and should it be the focus? Let us start with the following — Inclusion & Diversity as a concept has been shifting and molding corporate structures and attitudes for quite some time now. We touched upon the I&D last year. However, due to the ever-expanding nature of the concept we were not content with having one piece of content on the topic.

That is why for 2021, we have decided to continue sharing our efforts to provide positive human interactions, policies of transparency, communication, and success stories. In the past 10 years, Fadata has been prominent in providing a stable and continuous parity when it comes to gender distribution. As mentioned in 2020, the percentage between men and women working at Fadata has been around the 50:50 mark. Now, this is impressive! Why — well, based on the numbers, the men to women ratio in 2021 on a company level is 51% to 49% while on the management and executive level is 67% to 33%.

We sat with some of our leaders, colleagues, and tenacious women of Fadata. Here is what they said to us:

Liselotte Munk, CEO at Fadata Group

How do you engage with and empower others?

To empower people means that you need to inspire them to take ownership of a task or a strategy. Young leaders need more guidance and sometimes questions just need to be answered for them to proceed with their tasks. Empowerment is not the same as a delegation. For more experienced leaders it’s about finding good answers in dialogue and making a decision.

I always prefer to engage personally face to face. The COVID-19 has challenged that preference, but I learned that video meetings can actually replace in-person meetings.

I always meet people with trust. If not, you can’t empower them. Trust means that we jointly overcome challenges and that we have a joint understanding that we are on a constant learning curve. As James Joyce says: “A genius does not make mistakes. Its mistakes are the gateway to new discoveries.“

Availability is another keyword. And that is harder when not at the office. Here all kinds of requests on digital platforms need to be answered fast. However, the less tangible issues my leaders have the harder it is to identify, and it requires even more trust and confidence to address it digitally than in a coffee session.

What advice would you give to aspiring female executives?

Be aware of the tone from others too and about you. And be willing to „call“ it a problem, management needs to solve.

Not to lose self-confidence when you are not heard or understood, have a network that can support you, and where you get meaningful advice on how to improve.

Don’t be shy. Speak up. Several analyses document, that men speak more than women around the management and board tables. Use all the communication tricks you can, by not letting others interrupt you, interrupt others if you have comments to an agenda topic that the others seem to be leaving if you are the meeting leader make sure everyone is heard.

Be aware that the feeling of well-being and an appreciative work environment is extremely important and contributes to financial performance as well. So the different perspective you come with as a female executive is equally important. But it can be hard to get it treated on the same level as other topics. The analysis clearly shows that people’s issues are often the last topic on the board agenda, and you can literally observe board members leaning back in the chair indicating the real meeting has ended, and it is time to relax and have a cup of coffee.

Don’t change your behavior to adapt to male culture. No one will respect a non-genuine leader.

Natasa Kolaro, General Manager at Fadata Serbia

What motivates you to continue your path, both personal and professional?

To take an active role in shaping a culture where trust, transparency and openness will bring value to the overall success, both in one’s personal and professional life. To break down barriers and build an environment where everyone is welcome to speak up and share ideas, concerns, and solutions. I strongly believe that giving autonomy to people will improve satisfaction and engagement.

Therefore, I tend to listen to people, to learn from them, to encourage and nourish a creative mindset of discovery and seek a diversity of thoughts. Being approachable is key to building relationships with the team. However, in order to earn trust, you first have to give trust to your team. Only then you can instil a shared vision and sense of purpose, where people strive to give their best.

What lessons and experiences can you share as a female leader?

Never be afraid of stepping out of your comfort zone, as this is the only way to go forward and learn. By continuous learning and accepting challenges, you gain the opportunity to grow, experience different perspectives and discover a deeper sense of self. Doing new things and taking over new responsibilities is always challenging and brings excitement once you begin feeling that what you do has an impact on other people and the organization overall.

Elena Manolova, Brand Ambassador & Marketing Professional

What are some of the traits that you admire the most amongst the leaders you’ve worked with?

The traits I admire the most in the leaders I’ve worked with are Integrity, Emotional Intelligence, Transparency.

The above 3 build Тrust. And trust goes beyond what you preach or how you treat others. Trust helps you make a better connection with others. If a leader has integrity, EQ and transparency, then for me, they are definitely leading by example. And in case I am working closely with such a leader, I’m for sure their follower, to say the least.

If I have to think about a great leader who represents the 3 traits I’ve listed, on top of my mind comes our Chief People Officer, Ivelina (also featured in this article). Often in times of uncertainty and new challenges, I’ve paused for a second to think about what will she do in a certain situation. Ivelina has high EQ and simply considering how she will react, helps me balance out my emotions.

Last but not least, these traits pretty much represent my values as well — be yourself (always), show empathy and look at things from a different perspective (the map is not the territory), communicate openly with others (no fooling, no games).

How do you unplug yourself from work?

To start off with, I am kind of addicted to my phone and experience FOMO from time to time. Not missing out on parties and fun, but on information and tasks…even while on holiday.

My top 3 ways to unplug from work, however, are — a hike in the mountain with my best friend; reading a nice book with a cup of tea; listening to loud music and singing (screaming) in the car while driving (I keep things very safe).

Antoaneta Karagyozova, Director Operations

Was it always your career plan to have a leadership role?

Many years ago, I began working in the insurance industry. It was at the same time a coincidence or a sign of faith that I found both my career path and my passion. I felt like this is where I will grow professionally and develop as a leader.

Ultimately, my goal was to build an organization that will provide excellent customer service and an enviable place to work. My career began from that passion for making a difference.

Here is where I am now. Leading our Professional Services teams through all kinds of challenges, making them feel proud to be part of our organization, and ensuring they keep striving to do their best every day.

To me, managing and developing others is more than a career. It’s a vocation and a devotion. It is the challenges I face and the excitement I feel each day that motivate me to keep going.

What’s helped you build confidence in your new position?

Confidence to me is a belief in yourself, a conviction that you can meet and overcome the challenges, achieve your goals and respectively succeed in your career.

My sense of satisfaction has always been closely linked to my feeling of confidence. Confidence is gained when efforts are appreciated and rewarded. Satisfaction follows appreciation. If the customers are satisfied with your service, then your goal is achieved.

On the other hand, the more satisfied your employees are, the more valuable your business becomes. This gives you confidence that your organization values your leadership.

An effective leader can make all of the above achievable. The person who is more than a manager, the one who guides you and teaches you in every step of the process. Someone who helps you discover your potential and grow professionally and personally. That is the one I have, and I greatly appreciate his efforts and dedication to my learning on the way.

Ivelina Zhelezcheva, Chief People Officer

Throughout your career, who were your biggest inspirations?

From the beginning of my career, I have been an ambitious person looking for challenges. Therefore, when asked about inspirations, I think of what, instead of who.

I do believe it is when you push yourself out of your comfort zone when you can find a better understanding of yourself as well as learn and experience more. Here comes my biggest inspiration — I am inspired mostly by the challenges solved. It is when the task is finished and the team has overcome the obstacles, a sense of relief and gratitude fills out the air.

There have been a couple of memorable moments, which inspired me, and I would like to share them. Creating a sufficient HR team from 0 to Hero, for example. It was not only about getting people to work and signing new contracts, but it was also about creating an atmosphere of appreciation, collegiality, and trust.

Next is the time I spent working during maternity with high speed and motivation. It was a first for me and I was as prepared as I could be, but you never know. Also, I love mentoring, motivating, helping develop and inspiring people daily. I am a people’s person and seeing others succeed motivates me as well and drives me further. Finally, keep a good spirit and positive vibes regardless of the situation. Times have shown that this might not be the easiest of tasks but it is an essential one, regardless.

Is empathy important at the workplace? If so, why?

Empathy as a theme is something I hold very dear and I believe it is at the core of my personality. It is constructing people’s relationships and invokes good collaboration. In our organization, I am the person striving to make empathy a part of our leadership team skillset. I believe that empathy is like a universal solvent, as it helps one to resolve all interpersonal problems.