About the Value of Radical Career Changes and Why Authenticity Can Be Tricky
Next Visions Podcast Episode 1: Ebru Koksal & Herminia Ibarra
Former Galatasaray Managing Director Ebru Koksal and London Business School Professor Herminia Ibarra had to make some tough decisions in their life. In the first episode of the Next Visions podcast by Porsche and the House of Beautiful Business, they come together to discuss why career paths don’t have to be linear and share some personal advice for leaders.
Can you still remember how you celebrated the millennium? The night connecting 1999 with the year 2000 was a historic moment even before it actually happened. When the first time zones got to celebrate, the fear of the Y2K bug finally gave way to a mood of optimism. A new millennium full of possibilities and opportunities, the very date itself seemed futuristic and bright.
Two personal turns of the millennium
The year 2000 was particularly transforming for both football and finance forerunner Ebru as well as Herminia, a world-renowned career and leadership researcher. Both of them had to leave their comfort zones and change their lives.
Twenty years later, they meet for the first time to share their stories about the radical changes that took place in the year 2000 — and what they have learned about careers and leadership ever since. Their talk forms the first episode of our Next Visions podcast series, in which we bring together thought leaders of today to discuss the topics of tomorrow and listen to their personal perspectives on the social, economic and ethical challenges of our time. We are Christian Knörle, Head of Company Building at Porsche Digital and Tim Leberecht, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of The Business Romantic Society.
How Ebru changed her career and became a pioneer
In 2000, Ebru had just become a mother for the second time, she already had an impressive career as a financial manager in New York and her home country, Turkey. But suddenly, things didn’t go as planned, she got fired and found herself needing to rethink her future. As history would have it, this ultimately led her into football by becoming Managing Director of Galatasaray, one of the most prestigious Turkish football club.
This difficult decision turned out to be the right one. In 2010, Ebru became the first and so far only woman to be elected to the board of the European Club Association. A year later, she also became the first and so far only female general secretary of the Turkish Football Association. During her time at Galatasaray, she also joined UEFA as a consultant and later worked for FIFA as well. Ebru’s story shows that it’s worth to take risks and leave your own comfort zone, or as she describes it:
“I took a leap of faith by leaving banking, but I stayed in football for the next twenty years.” — Ebru Koksal
What Herminia found out by studying leaders
Stories like this are nothing new to Herminia, who studies leadership and career development as a Professor of Organizational Behavior. At about the same time that Ebru started on a new path, Herminia has achieved in her career what many people dream of: she was a professor at Harvard Business School. As happy as she was with her work, something still kept her from feeling good overall. So she decided to follow her dream and moved to France, ending up living there for the next 15 years.
Today she works as a professor at London Business School and has made it to one of the world’s leading authorities on leadership and career development. Besides her work in academics, she has written several bestsellers, such as Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader and is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and the New York Times.
In her conversation with Ebru, she encourages everyone to try different things to find out what you want.
“Figure out exactly what you want, and then once you know what to do, define a target, network, just implement.” — Herminia Ibarra
This is not only true for the job, but also for your personal life and your surroundings, as her own story shows.
Both Ebru and Herminia have left their comfort zone and made radical changes in their careers. Ebru has established herself in the football world, which is still largely male-dominated, while Herminia has moved to another continent. They have observed, met and studied many people and careers. What have they learned? And who inspires them to grow?
The authenticity paradox
The question leads them to an in-depth discussion about authenticity. How is one authentic, and when does authenticity become an empty phrase? For Herminia, the answer is clear because it’s one of her current research topics. Last year, she held a Tedx talk entitled: “The Authenticity Paradox”, where she argues that authenticity is a double-edged issue. Everyone wants to be authentic, but a too narrow understanding of it can obstruct personal growth. People who always try to remain true to themselves can use this as an excuse to never leave their comfort zone.
In the podcast, she has another piece of advice for future leaders:
“Surround yourself with people who will tell you the truth and whom you can trust when you climb the ladder as a senior leader.” — Herminia Ibarra
It is not necessary to know all the answers but to ask the right questions. Or as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella once said, whom Herminia quotes: “Don’t be a know-it-all, be a learn-it-all.”
If you are curious to listen to the entire conversation and hear Ebru and Herminia’s full stories, learnings and advice — tune in for the first episode of the Next Visions podcast by Porsche in cooperation with the House of Beautiful Business:
The podcast is available on all common podcast platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Deezer. The next episode will be online on Wednesday, April 22 and feature architect Itai Palti and former professional athlete and founder of Secret City Trails Kristina Palovicova. Stay tuned!
