How being a sparkie taught me about leadership, teamwork and diversity in business
Starting out with a point of difference has allowed me to encourage outside perspectives and place value on diversity in the workplace to strengthen business and overall leadership skills, writes former sparkie Louise Monger, VP Schneider Electric.
I was 15 when my parents moved us to a mining town in Western Australia. At the time, I aspired to study law, unlike many of my peers who wanted to work in the mining industry. By year twelve my ambitions had taken a change of direction and I decided to apply for the apprenticeship program at the local mine site. I was selected into the electrical program and commenced my apprenticeship the following year, with a cohort of 12, including just one other female.
I never quite felt like I fit in on the various sites I worked on as an apprentice, and later as a qualified tradesperson. I felt a weight of expectation on me because of my gender, and as a result didn’t always speak up or ask questions when I should have, in hindsight putting myself at risk.
Starting out as an electrician gave me exposure to different management styles, customer relationships and jumping into new opportunities headfirst. Navigating the physically challenging aspects of the trade (trench digging, anyone?) helped me build resilience and determination that served me well to go on and achieve a masters degree while transitioning ‘off the tools’. My time working as a sparkie gave me directness in my delivery and a certain authenticity with customers that I have continued to use through the course of my career.
Why diversity is a business strength
Today, I oversee building automation systems, control systems and technology for built environments such as hospitals, office buildings and universities as VP of Digital Buildings at global energy management and automation company, Schneider Electric. You have probably heard of our Clipsal brand. Looking back, I can see what that inexperienced kid couldn’t, and that’s how my differences were a strength. I brought diversity to the workplace and with it, my different point of view and perspective.
The bottom line is that diversity of thought, experience and skill is good for business. A Catalyst study of Fortune 500 companies showed companies with a higher representation of women on their boards outperformed their peers by 53 per cent. In terms of dollar value, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) predicts an added market value of between $52m and $70m annually. There are more and more studies being released that show the long term performance benefits of diversity whether you’re on site or in the boardroom. Not to mention the fact that by actively employing females allows you to tap into a wider talent pool. Especially critical in industries such as technology which are constantly evolving.
Innovation and diversity go hand in hand
Diversity supports innovation. Thinking about the future-proofing of infrastructure is a key part of the work I do. But how can you prepare for a future that hasn’t arrived? Having a team of people with different life experiences, skills and backgrounds means we have a wider range of inputs when it comes to creative solutions.
I believe innovation is everyone’s job, and being in an environment where a range of creative ideas are on the table empowers employees to feel safe sharing their own ‘different’ ideas. When you have a psychologically safe workplace, creativity can flourish, and both the culture and the quality of the solutions are a differentiator for business.
Diversity lessens risk. In my role I’m responsible for communicating a strategy to my team of 350. I need to make sure they understand where we’re going and how, but also where we’ve come from and why we exist.
Each team member brings their own perspective to their role. But arming them with strategy and context, and surrounding them with people who think differently, builds a platform for the whole team to make decisions and manage conflict in a safe and creative way. When you have a diversity of opinions and approaches, the risk of siloed information, complacency and error is lessened.
Diversity improves safety and productivity. Re-engineering manual tasks to make them safer to suit a more diverse worker base, benefits all employees, not just females.
Why inclusivity matters
Diversity improves understanding. A diverse business is a better representation of our customers’ businesses and of the users of the built environment. When people look at the same problem from different viewpoints, your products, offers and services will better evolve to meet the broad needs of all your customers.
None of these benefits of diversity can be realised without inclusion, and when I reflect back on my early career experiences, I recognise that missing link. At the time, inclusion wasn’t even a buzz word, let alone a foundation of business strategies as it is today. Ultimately the lack of inclusion meant I left my trade much earlier than I would have liked.
I’m proud to work for a company that has such a strong commitment to diversity & inclusion. Schneider Electric’s executive team is 44 per cent female – 7 out of 16 of its most senior leaders are female, but more importantly, this commitment and aspiration is embedded into the culture at all levels of the organisation. Schneider is proud to say that it is our goal to have 50% of new hires by 2025 are women, up from 43% now.
Today, I can see that the skills built through my unique career progression are being actively applied to support our mission to be a digital partner for sustainability and efficiency in the built environment. My current role gives me the opportunity to grow and develop the leadership skills I learned on-site, to empower diversity of thought and lead us into the future of innovation.
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