Executive women reveal secrets of their success

Executive women reveal secrets of their success

By Mehru Jaffer

JAKARTA (JP): They might call themselves FEW, but the roles
that they play are many. And the choices before them number even
more, with to play golf or not to play golf being the least
troublesome of them all.

Most agree that what pays in the end, whether one is man or
woman or at home or at the work place, is to be able to identify
a problem, find the most effective way of resolving it and then
go ahead and work on it.

And this is exactly what members and guests of FEW (Forum for
Executive Women) did here the other night. They refused to let
their disappointment get the better of them. Most of them had
happily sacrificed a few hours after a day's work in office in
the hope of listening to Rini Soewandi talk at this month's panel
on "Women in Business", only to discover on arrival that the
former chief of Astra was not going to be there to share with
them her experiences in her last job.

"I was curious to see Rini in person, to find out what lessons
she had learnt from the drama at Astra. Maybe I could have picked
up a tip or two from Rini's story ... ," regretted one of the
audience, who prefers to rush home after the office each day to
be with her children before their bedtime.

But not for long. Most members of FEW are an amazing blend of
mother, wife and CEO, and as soon as the three other speakers
took the microphone to talk about how they had survived, and kept
their top positions in their respective companies, all thoughts
of Rini seemed to evaporate and every ear in the jam-packed room
were lent instead to the stories unfolding before them.

As if a husband and a job as the country director of Mission
Energy Company in Indonesia were not enough, Carol Hessler
adopted an Indonesian child recently. And she may adopt another
one in the future.

"I am boss!" Carol replied when asked how she copes with so
much in her life, including all the reading she is able to do.
Very often she is in bed at 8.30 pm, she said. Besides she saves
a lot of time by not playing golf! She said she hated the stupid
sport.

Since she has no one watching over her, she does sneak home
for a while during the day to be with her child and she keeps a
complete office at home as well. What is important for her is to
be able to arrange her successful career in a way that still
enables her to remain close to her family.

Renee Zecha, founder and president of PT Widari Sarancipta, a
boutique investment bank providing financial advice and
transaction execution services to national and international
clients, agreed that it was up to individuals to arrange for
themselves how they combined their personal lives with their
careers.

She does not have children, but she still has to plan how to
keep connected with her husband who travels a lot. And if she
neglects her family, she just does not get to see any one of
them, be it her husband or other immediate relatives.

At meetings where men are mostly in the majority, she decides
on the spot whether to do battle or to get her point of view
across in a diplomatic way. She has no problems with repeating
the deferential Javanese phrase, "A 1000 apologies for opening my
mouth ... ," before a presentation if it means disarming her
Indonesian male audience.

Hariet Richards, president director of PT BHP Indonesia, finds
it extremely exhausting to enter meetings dominated mostly by men
as if she was at war. At one meeting with 30 other men she
consoled herself with the thought that as the only woman there,
at least she would not have to queue up at the toilet. Hariet
feels that to make a difference, to retain credibility and to
want to change things one has to put up a fight.

Carol agreed that it was not very pleasant to repeatedly walk
into rooms where nobody else present looked like yourself.
However, she did also confess that the worst boss she ever had
was a woman who looked upon every other female professional
younger than her as a threat.

As the number one woman in her company now, she hopes that her
role is that of a mentor to her women subordinates.

FEW was started in May 1996 with about 80 professional women
for the purpose of exchanging information, networking and
socializing. Today there are nearly 300 Indonesian and expatriate
women members. While there are old boy's networks aplenty,
professional women in Jakarta find it difficult to expand
business outside of the office. For all those women who do not
have faith in networking at the golf course, FEW suggests that
they try to do so at a spa.

However Renee has already succumbed to golf. Not because she
hopes to improve business connections but mainly to be able to
get some fresh air for a couple of hours in a terribly polluted
city like Jakarta. While on the job she does not keep reminding
herself that she is a woman and neither does she underestimate
the compliments she may get for having done a job well from her
male colleagues.

All the women present agreed that a certain fighting spirit
was needed in successful men and women if they wanted to be
number one or become leaders in any field. Hariet hoped she was
not seen by her women subordinates like Carol's earlier boss. She
looks upon herself as a very fair person who is very tough on all
her subordinates.

While working in Indonesia she has found people to be most
accessible as far as giving their time and information is
concerned, although at times communication between men and women
seems to lead no where. She never goes chasing contacts on the
golf course. Hariet still prefers to talk things over, face to
face with colleagues, over a cup of coffee perhaps.